2011 Veterinary Medicine Current Events

[justcallm3jo]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hey guys,

I was wondering what your opinions were on current events on veterinary medicine to discuss in your interviews. There are a lot current events circulating on the topic of animal welfare but I wasn't sure whether this was considered "veterinary medicin-y" enough 😕... Would love to hear your opinions! 😍

 

[deleted387118]

It's hard to give any opinion on a topic since there are SO many and it depends on what you want to do. I'd be happy to give you my opinion on any food animal related topics if there is something specific you want to know about.

My suggestion when preparing for interviews would be to get a "google news alert" for any of the hot topics you are interested in so that you can get educated. I was glad that I had several (such as veterinarian, veterinary medicine, agriculture, livestock, etc) because they did ask in one of my interviews if I had seen such and such a video about dairy cows that came out the week before from an animal rights group.

Best of luck!

 

[cowgirla]

make sure you read enough about some topics to form your own opinion, not just parrot what people on the internet are saying. Try skimming some of the vet magazines- DVM360 would probably be a good one. Also a lot of the big papers will publish current events that are relevant to vet med- try searching.

A few big things that come to mind right off the top of my head:
Horse slaughter and issues related to/stemming from that
The texas lawsuit about the sentimental value of pets
Online pharmacies/ compounding pharmacies
if you are into horses, the recent EHV-1 outbreak could be a topic to bring up, but its kind of "old news" at this point.
Any veterinary/animal thing that's been in the newspapers recently- zoonotic diseases, military working dogs, carriage horses in NYC and bulldogs have all been there recently
Rinderpest eradication - happened just this year
breed specific legislation
financials of owning a pet /decreased compliance / lack of funds for emergency care
if interviewing at a UK school- there's a mysterious canine illness going around over there that's been killing a bunch of dogs.

 

[BlackDog618]

Definitely try to get your hands on some vet magazines. I asked the doctors at the clinic I work at last week and they handed over a big pile of them from the last few months. If you don't work at a clinic, but have a pet you take somewhere I'd suggest just asking a doctor the next time you go. The magazines come in so frequently and often they don't have time to read them all so I'm sure they'd be happy to hand some over to you.

 

[sunnex3]

how important is it to read up on current events? do schools actually ask about these things? i'm interviewing at tufts and penn in the next few weeks i had heard that their interviews were really laid back so i didn't think they would ask about current events because that is one thing that i'm not good about keeping up on 🙁

 

[justcallm3jo]

Thank you for all the suggestions guys!

Sunnex3, I would recommend that you know are at least familiar with couple, just in case they do come up! 🙂

 

[orca2011]

how important is it to read up on current events? do schools actually ask about these things? i'm interviewing at tufts and penn in the next few weeks i had heard that their interviews were really laid back so i didn't think they would ask about current events because that is one thing that i'm not good about keeping up on 🙁

Neither school asked me anything last year, but that doesn't mean that they won't. I'm definitely trying to read up on things for any interviews I might get this year though, just in case. I'm in the same boat as you (once again, haha). I'm not very good at staying up to date on any current events.

 

[sunnex3]

Neither school asked me anything last year, but that doesn't mean that they won't. I'm definitely trying to read up on things for any interviews I might get this year though, just in case. I'm in the same boat as you (once again, haha). I'm not very good at staying up to date on any current events.

jeez orca2011 we are literally the same person - to the point where it's almost scary! 🙄

 

[mulletsarelove]

how important is it to read up on current events? do schools actually ask about these things? i'm interviewing at tufts and penn in the next few weeks i had heard that their interviews were really laid back so i didn't think they would ask about current events because that is one thing that i'm not good about keeping up on 🙁

Both the schools i've interviewed at asked me. Nothing too specific, just kind of pick a couple of issues to talk about, so as long as you know a couple offhand and can talk about them semi-intelligently you should be good.

 

[sunnex3]

Both the schools i've interviewed at asked me. Nothing too specific, just kind of pick a couple of issues to talk about, so as long as you know a couple offhand and can talk about them semi-intelligently you should be good.

do you mind telling me which schools you interviewed at? (PM is ok if you wish, but if you have reasons to not tell me i completely understand)

 

[mulletsarelove]

do you mind telling me which schools you interviewed at? (PM is ok if you wish, but if you have reasons to not tell me i completely understand)

Haha no I don't mind! Florida and Ohio. Ohio asked me to state three current worldwide issues and elaborate on one of them, Florida just asked me to talk about one issue and my opinion on it, and how vets can be involved in solving the problem...and then they also asked me their own question about a current event that was more obscure. For the obscure current event (basically a specific case/example of letting nonnative wildlife go and posing a human threat), they gave me background info--so it wasn't so much a test of keeping up with events, but more just seeing if I could form an opinion on it.

 

[sunnex3]

Haha no I don't mind! Florida and Ohio. Ohio asked me to state three current worldwide issues and elaborate on one of them, Florida just asked me to talk about one issue and my opinion on it, and how vets can be involved in solving the problem...and then they also asked me their own question about a current event that was more obscure. For the obscure current event (basically a specific case/example of letting nonnative wildlife go and posing a human threat), they gave me background info--so it wasn't so much a test of keeping up with events, but more just seeing if I could form an opinion on it.

thanks i appreciate it 🙂

btw, dvm360 also has a twitter -- a really convenient way to keep up with their stuff! http://twitter.com/dvm360

 

[sunnex3]

and javma news too! http://www.avma.org/onlnews/default.asp

 

[Minnerbelle]

I wasn't asked any outright current events questions per se at Tufts or Penn, but both were very heavy on ethics. So I would personally at least go through and read up on what obligations vets have, and AVMA's stance on different issues (and whether you agree wtih them or not, and why).

 

[LetItSnow]

how important is it to read up on current events? do schools actually ask about these things? i'm interviewing at tufts and penn in the next few weeks i had heard that their interviews were really laid back so i didn't think they would ask about current events because that is one thing that i'm not good about keeping up on 🙁

Even if they don't ask specifically in the interview, it's not a bad idea to be up on it. Somewhere in your head try and remember that you're interviewing the entire day you're there, not just when you're sitting in a room with people firing questions at you. So it's worth having a working knowledge of the 'big' issues for those other times when you just wander into a conversation with someone in the hallway (who you later find out turns out to be on the applications committee, or the dean of the school, or ... etc.).

(And not that anyone asked about Minnesota, but they asked me no specific 'current events' type of questions.)

 

[Minnerbelle]

So it's worth having a working knowledge of the 'big' issues for those other times when you just wander into a conversation with someone in the hallway (who you later find out turns out to be on the applications committee, or the dean of the school, or ... etc.).

True that, and along those lines, I would prepare a smooth reply for topics that come up that you don't know too much about. Even if you don't know too much about something, there's an art to still sounding like a knowledgeable person nonetheless. At the very minimum, you do NOT want to sound judgmental on something you don't know a lot about, esp from the veterinary perspective (esp on easily heated topics).

 

[StartingoverVet]

. Even if you don't know too much about something, there's an art to still sounding like a knowledgeable person nonetheless..

This is very important.

UCDavis managed to ask me about some current event I knew nothing about, used vocabulary I did not know, and asked me about some diseases and vaccines...again not in my knowledge base.

I didn't fake knowledge, admitted my ignorance, but then responded I hope somewhat intelligibly after they "explained" to me. It was by far my worst interview.... but, somehow they still accepted me. So the key is to keep your composure, talk about what you DO know, and don't bluff....



One note: I do think that Davis was trying to see if I knew my own shortcomings in knowledge/experience relative to other applicants and if I was prepared to accept and deal with that. Although it was not enjoyable, I think it was a fair approach to my particular case. I am guessing that each interview has a slightly different strategy depending on the strengths/weaknesses of the applicant.

Edit: I did not "study" any current events. I just figured I wasn't likely to know what they asked and should just do my best under the circumstances. Not recommending any of you follow my example though.

 

[Minnerbelle]

So the key is to keep your exposure, talk about what you DO know, and don't bluff....

What!? so if you don't know something, you immediately strip down, look at the interviewer in the eye buck naked, AND THEN talk about what you do know??? No wonder why they liked you.

 

[twelvetigers]

Bahahaha. Composure! My goodness.

Sign up for this daily newsletter and it will keep you up to date on a lot of vet topics.

https://www.smartbrief.com/avma/index.jsp

 

[StartingoverVet]

What!? so if you don't know something, you immediately strip down, look at the interviewer in the eye buck naked, AND THEN talk about what you do know??? No wonder why they liked you.

I must say they kept their composure while I did my exposure. Freudian slip?

 

[Minnerbelle]

Bahahaha. Composure! My goodness

I just couldn't help myself. Too good an opportunity to miss.

I must say they kept their composure while I did my exposure. Freudian slip?

🤣
Well they do say you're interviewing the school as much as they're interviewing you. You gotta test them for their reactions to uncomfortable situations too ya know?

 

[nordicat]

Sorry to bump this thread if it's not relevant to anyone anymore, but check this page for the "Top 10 Veterinary Issues in 2011" from DVM360. Hope it can still help someone! 🙂

 

[krist]

Thumbs up for this thread....before my interview at Mizzou last year I tried to keep up with as many current event topics as possible and talked about JAVMA/DVM360 articles with the vets I work with, but of course none of those came up in my interview! Mizzou asked me how I felt about TNR (I knew something about that thank goodness!) but then also asked how I felt about the feral cat populations decimating certain populations of native birds in Arkansas, which I knew nothing about, so kind of just talked through my reasoning on my opinion, while admitting that I didn't have any actual knowledge on the particular topic. They also asked about how I felt about people keepting exotics as pets (not talking small snakes, etc...like lions and tigers) and luckily had some actual cases and knowledge on that from my ecology class in undergrad.

However, I also had a friend who interviewed at Mizzou the week before me and the only current event question she was asked was about the crisis that was currently happening in Lebanon, so nothing vet related at all!

I.e. I have NO idea how to prepare for this year besides to keep with the general news and vet world news as much as possible and cross my fingers that they ask me something that I am at least somewhat familiar with!