Accepted to medical school and having second thoughts.

[novemberskyline]

I've wanted to be a doctor since I was 16. Nobody pressured me into it, and if I did in fact get this choice wrong, it wasn't by much because I think I could definitely find happiness working as a physician. However, after finally deciding upon which school to attend this past week, I've found myself incessantly researching veterinary schools, wildlife organizations, and jobs in conservation. I don't remember what got me started, but now that I have I can't help but question whether I overlooked a path better suited for me.

It's not a people vs. animals thing: I love people and when I was working as a medical assistant as a pre-med I loved seeing patients. But at the same time it feels like there's this weird internal judgment scale in the back of my mind that's always there, unconsciously expressing sentiments like "sure, it sucks this guy has DMII and related complications but no one forced him to become obese", whereas wild animal populations are constantly pressured by human encroachment, environmental or climate changes, and poaching and yet they have a fraction of the resources supporting them. I'll be the first to admit though that I have no experience with wildlife conservation or anything even remotely related so that's why I'm here asking for help. Even if I find out I had an overly-romantic idea of what a career along those lines would look like that would make me feel better about attending medical school.

I've read here and other places that it's extremely competitive to get into wildlife medicine and that an masters or PhD is necessary unless you have networked strong connections. I thought maybe I could use this to my advantage and kill two birds with one stone because as of now I have absolutely no vet experience and my only animal experience is ~150 volunteer hours in a local animal shelter. I was thinking if I was to pursue this path then maybe the best plan of action for me would be to go to grad school for 2-3 years and while there also work or volunteer in a vet clinic to be competitive for veterinary school.

Is this a realistic plan?
Are there any particularly good websites/journals/blogs worth reading to gain insight into wildlife vets?
Am I crazy?

I will hugely appreciate any help or suggestions or reality checks offered.

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[KCgophervet]

Debt vs. income ratio is a real thing. Go to medical school, since you're pretty sure you'll be happy in that career field, and volunteer with wildlife on the side.

Sorry for the short answer, but really, I think it's your best bet.

 

[epivetlove]

Debt vs. income ratio is a real thing. Go to medical school, since you're pretty sure you'll be happy in that career field, and volunteer with wildlife on the side.

Sorry for the short answer, but really, I think it's your best bet.

+1. Not to mention that on top of being very competitive, wildlife medicine, historically, does not pay well either.

 

[genny]

It's not a people vs. animals thing: I love people and when I was working as a medical assistant as a pre-med I loved seeing patients. But at the same time it feels like there's this weird internal judgment scale in the back of my mind that's always there, unconsciously expressing sentiments like "sure, it sucks this guy has DMII and related complications but no one forced him to become obese", whereas wild animal populations are constantly pressured by human encroachment, environmental or climate changes, and poaching and yet they have a fraction of the resources supporting them.

You need some real-world experience. There is so much more to the story of the fat guy with diabetes than "he ate too much". I think you should seriously consider public health. Get an MPH with your MD, and look into working with underserved populations. That fat guy might not be able to afford healthy food because he lives in a food desert where unhealthy choices are the cheapest options, or his family has never learned about the risk factors for diabetes, or his community isn't safe to walk around in and he never gets exercise. These are all things that public health considers, and works towards finding solutions for. Public health is all about how to empower people to make the right choices.

Or an alternative path to helping wildlife is to use your MD to help impoverished populations around the world. A lot of wildlife conservation initiatives now have components that focus on how to help the community that lives near the endangered species of interest. By helping the community, they don't have to encroach upon wild animal populations as much, and you indirectly benefit animals.

Or if you specialize in something like cardiology or surgical dentistry, you might cultivate a consulting business with zoos. Sometimes DVMs will consult with MDs, especially on species like great apes.

There are so many things that you can do with an MD degree that don't involve being disgusted with your patients. Working with animals has the same ups and downs as working with people because the same people are paying the bills. If you're still undecided, maybe you could defer your MD admission for a year and try volunteering somewhere?

 

[novemberskyline]

You need some real-world experience. There is so much more to the story of the fat guy with diabetes than "he ate too much". I think you should seriously consider public health. Get an MPH with your MD, and look into working with underserved populations. That fat guy might not be able to afford healthy food because he lives in a food desert where unhealthy choices are the cheapest options, or his family has never learned about the risk factors for diabetes, or his community isn't safe to walk around in and he never gets exercise. These are all things that public health considers, and works towards finding solutions for. Public health is all about how to empower people to make the right choices.

Or an alternative path to helping wildlife is to use your MD to help impoverished populations around the world. A lot of wildlife conservation initiatives now have components that focus on how to help the community that lives near the endangered species of interest. By helping the community, they don't have to encroach upon wild animal populations as much, and you indirectly benefit animals.

Or if you specialize in something like cardiology or surgical dentistry, you might cultivate a consulting business with zoos. Sometimes DVMs will consult with MDs, especially on species like great apes.

There are so many things that you can do with an MD degree that don't involve being disgusted with your patients. Working with animals has the same ups and downs as working with people because the same people are paying the bills. If you're still undecided, maybe you could defer your MD admission for a year and try volunteering somewhere?

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses. I didn't meant to give the impression that I'm at all "disgusted" with my patients, I've worked in a free clinic for 4 years and have seen all kinds. And an MPH is something that I actually have thought of a lot. My plan in medicine has always been to go into primary care and work in underserved areas. It's definitely not my opinion that there isn't any good work to be done in human medicine, just that there far more resources and safety nets and support for people (at least in the developed world) than wildlife and that I may feel more rewarded therefore working in that area. I think you're totally right about maybe deferring. That would be much smarter than just declining the admission offers outright.

Debt vs. income ratio is a real thing. Go to medical school, since you're pretty sure you'll be happy in that career field, and volunteer with wildlife on the side.

Sorry for the short answer, but really, I think it's your best bet.

+1. Not to mention that on top of being very competitive, wildlife medicine, historically, does not pay well either.

Thank you for the heads up! I've never had much money and have learned to live happily on little income but I definitely need to consider money as a factor. Even though I'm single now it's not outside of the realm of possibility that I have a family as some point down the line. Google hasn't been very helpful with this though so just how little should I expect to make, for instance working in a state or national park position or even a non-profit?

 

[genny]

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses. I didn't meant to give the impression that I'm at all "disgusted" with my patients, I've worked in a free clinic for 4 years and have seen all kinds. And an MPH is something that I actually have thought of a lot. My plan in medicine has always been to go into primary care and work in underserved areas. It's definitely not my opinion that there isn't any good work to be done in human medicine, just that there far more resources and safety nets and support for people (at least in the developed world) than wildlife and that I may feel more rewarded therefore working in that area. I think you're totally right about maybe deferring. That would be much smarter than just declining the admission offers outright.

Thank you for the heads up! I've never had much money and have learned to live happily on little income but I definitely need to consider money as a factor. Even though I'm single now it's not outside of the realm of possibility that I have a family as some point down the line. Google hasn't been very helpful with this though so just how little should I expect to make, for instance working in a state or national park position or even a non-profit?

usajobs.gov is the website for finding federal jobs, but I don't think you'll find a National Parks position on there. I don't think NPS employs veterinarians. The Army does, and so does the USDA, and a few in the CDC/public health sector. Not so much wildlife jobs, unless you'd rather go for a PhD in biology.

Non-profit jobs don't pay much at all, and are few and far between, which is why Google won't have any statistics on salary ranges. State jobs with wildlife tend to max out around $80k, and start much lower than that, which is really something to take into account when you're looking at how much debt you'll be going into for vet school. A few of my friends will need starting salaries of $75k+ just to survive with the amount of loans they have to pay back.

If you're thinking about getting a zoo job, those are very competitive and usually require an internship and a residency first, which means 4 years of $23-33k/year salary while you're supposed to start paying back loans. And then you have to hope a zoo job opens up right as you're finishing your residency. Not every zoo employs a veterinarian full-time.

The biggest problem with wildlife jobs is that the credit card companies just won't extend credit to wildlife, so they never pay their vet bills. If you're good at grant writing, or soliciting donations from celebrities, or organizing fundraisers, then you definitely have a future in wildlife medicine. It's a field that takes a lot of dedication. Vet med is hard enough on its own, so it takes a special kind of crazy to be able to work with just wildlife.

 

[dyachei]

If you're thinking about getting a zoo job, those are very competitive and usually require an internship and a residency first, which means 4 years of $23-33k/year salary while you're supposed to start paying back loans. And then you have to hope a zoo job opens up right as you're finishing your residency. Not every zoo employs a veterinarian full-time.

Usually 5 years - they typically will need 2 internships

 

[rockatiel]

I think you may honestly be suffering a bit of imposter syndrome. I probably considered giving up my acceptance 5 times this week alone before finally accepting my seat about an hour before deadline. You sound like you may greatly benefit from volunteering with wildlife but sticking with medicine. Looks like the passion is still there but you have a bit of a side interest. Nothing wrong with that! Get some volunteer hours in and see what you think for yourself. Best of luck and congrats on the med school acceptance!!

 

[Jess Monster]

Maybe you just have cold feet about med school? You wouldn't be the first person.

Or maybe you're one of those people who feels all empty and disinterested in something once you've achieved it?

 

[CynicKitten]

If it makes you feel better, once I was accepted into vet school I also got cold feet and wondered, "Why didn't I go for med school?" In the end, I could do well in either area, I think, but my heart really is set on my path. I know what I am getting into and the good and bad things about it. I doubt I will regret my choice, and I doubt you will regret yours. Know you're not alone in the feeling, but don't change your path just because you have cold feet.


Think about it, if you become a doctor and eventually want to be a veterinarian, you may have the financial means to do so without taking a huge hit to your bank account. ;P So that's a bonus.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

I really think you should try to defer and get some 'life experience.' Shadow some vets, volunteer in wildlife rehab. Ask questions. Ask the vets how they feel about where wildlife medicine is heading.

If you're interested in wildlife med purely for the gratification of doing something to help another living being, you can definitely volunteer during your free time as a human doctor, or a veterinarian in another sector. Just make sure you get an actual taste of what you think you want before you decide to commit to either. I've been doing wildlife for years now. I have met very few doctors in this sector who are fully content with their career/living comfortably/having a life outside of work. Local wildlife is a particularly frustrating sector of veterinary medicine. Most of the patients that come to you will be euthanized because a) they are so severely injured, it would be cruel not to do it (you get tired of seeing animals riddled with bullets or flattened by cars) b) you don't have the funds to treat them, even if the prognosis is decent c) someone baby-napped them, and they're too young to stand a chance in rehab, but would have probably survived had they been left with their mom. Another decent percentage of your patients die within 24 hours of being in rehab, even if they seemed stable. Many patients will die from the stress alone as well. Only a very small fraction of your caseload will be successfully rehabbed and released. Global wildlife is a little different, but equally as frustrating. With all of that being said, I do love rehab. Some people love it, some people hate it. Either feeling is perfectly fine, but you need experience to find out!

@genny hit the nail on the head...it definitely takes a special kind of crazy to make a career out of wildlife rehab. Crap pay, potentially on call every night, potentially working 7 days a week. It's a sector where your work is very unpredictable as is your job market and what to expect from a job. It's hard not to be enamored with the idea of it, but you will know how you really feel about it when you've got 60 'orphans' to feed 6 times a day in addition to the bald eagle that wants to kill you, the squirrel that punctured your finger twice yesterday, and the heron that wants to skewer your eyeballs. Now is a good time of year to start volunteering to get the jist of how crazy some places can get with the number of patients. I definitely don't want you to feel that any of us are telling you it's a terrible career to want, just please get real experience in it first.

 

[twelvetigers]

If you become a physician, you will have extra $$ in the future to do things with wildlife - help run or fund a rescue, or just donate, plus donating time and efforts when you can. I would consider that very heavily before giving up a med school acceptance and pursuing something like wildlife vet med.

 

[Minnerbelle]

If you have second thoughts after getting into med school, I can't imagine the doubt you'll have after getting into vet school (after your ship for med school has already sailed and gone...).


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[novemberskyline]

Again, thanks so much everyone for all of the thoughtful replies. This is exactly what I'm looking for, all the reason I shouldn't do this. For the most part I know exactly what the downsides of a career in medicine are and it's easy for me to focus on those while I imagine only the idealized versions of what it would be like to be a vet that I have in my head. As some of you have suggested I've thought about continuing on my path to be a doctor, and somehow using the extra resources I'd have to potentially do more good than if I were myself to become a vet, but it's also a kind of strange idea to me. What genny said about conservation groups using MDs and DVMs and biologists concurrently to solve the environmental problems does sound great too. I think I have a lot of soul searching to do. Sometimes due to my personality I get so wrapped up in doing exactly the right thing that I miss the forest for the trees. This is such a big decision that my neuroses seem amplified. I should also probably be a little more trusting of my instincts to pursue medical school in the first place. I'm going to see if I can find any places in my area where I can volunteer or shadow and keep reading of course.

 

[that redhead]

I've wanted to be a doctor since I was 16. Nobody pressured me into it, and if I did in fact get this choice wrong, it wasn't by much because I think I could definitely find happiness working as a physician. However, after finally deciding upon which school to attend this past week, I've found myself incessantly researching veterinary schools, wildlife organizations, and jobs in conservation. I don't remember what got me started, but now that I have I can't help but question whether I overlooked a path better suited for me.

It's not a people vs. animals thing: I love people and when I was working as a medical assistant as a pre-med I loved seeing patients. But at the same time it feels like there's this weird internal judgment scale in the back of my mind that's always there, unconsciously expressing sentiments like "sure, it sucks this guy has DMII and related complications but no one forced him to become obese", whereas wild animal populations are constantly pressured by human encroachment, environmental or climate changes, and poaching and yet they have a fraction of the resources supporting them. I'll be the first to admit though that I have no experience with wildlife conservation or anything even remotely related so that's why I'm here asking for help. Even if I find out I had an overly-romantic idea of what a career along those lines would look like that would make me feel better about attending medical school.

I've read here and other places that it's extremely competitive to get into wildlife medicine and that an masters or PhD is necessary unless you have networked strong connections. I thought maybe I could use this to my advantage and kill two birds with one stone because as of now I have absolutely no vet experience and my only animal experience is ~150 volunteer hours in a local animal shelter. I was thinking if I was to pursue this path then maybe the best plan of action for me would be to go to grad school for 2-3 years and while there also work or volunteer in a vet clinic to be competitive for veterinary school.

Is this a realistic plan?
Are there any particularly good websites/journals/blogs worth reading to gain insight into wildlife vets?
Am I crazy?

I will hugely appreciate any help or suggestions or reality checks offered.

Veterinarians are only a small piece of the puzzle when it comes to conservation and veterinary school talked about wildlife like, once in the whole curriculum. Completely changing your career path for a romanticized dream about wildlife medicine so late in the game when you haven't even experienced anything remotely related is silly, in my opinion. Go to medical school and maybe use your free time and/or excellent salary to contribute.