Animal experience - Personal statement

[Vetaspirant]

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I would like to include an info in my personal statement, but I am not able to remember the event distinctly. I would really appreciate your opinion and help in this regard. Several years ago I had a pet dog and I can't remember if he consumed an insecticide or if he had an overdose of tick medicine on his skin. But I do remember seeking a vet's help. He recommended me to give him plenty of water and he also gave a medicine that he said would help my pet to urinate frequently and get rid of the insecticide. There was no obvious symptoms - he was healthy and nothing happened to him. This insecticide episode is vague in my memory, but I would like to include this in my PS because it shows that I took good care of my pet. However, I don't want to sound stupid by telling wrong stuff with regard to treatment (due to my poor recollection). I would like to double check with you if giving lots of water and medicine to urinate is one of the correct treatments for insecticide poisoning/overdose of tick medicine.

Thanks for your help!

 

[lareinesoleil]

I would like to include an info in my personal statement, but I am not able to remember the event distinctly. I would really appreciate your opinion and help in this regard. Several years ago I had a pet dog and I can't remember if he consumed an insecticide or if he had an overdose of tick medicine on his skin. But I do remember seeking a vet's help. He recommended me to give him plenty of water and he also gave a medicine that he said would help my pet to urinate frequently and get rid of the insecticide. There was no obvious symptoms - he was healthy and nothing happened to him. This insecticide episode is vague in my memory, but I would like to include this in my PS because it shows that I took good care of my pet. However, I don't want to sound stupid by telling wrong stuff with regard to treatment (due to my poor recollection). I would like to double check with you if giving lots of water and medicine to urinate is one of the correct treatments for insecticide poisoning/overdose of tick medicine.

Thanks for your help!

Call the vet's office and ask them. They can probably even fax/send you a copy of the record for that day, if you want a physical copy to refer to. Then you would *know* you had the information right.

 

[kermit123]

Not that this answers your question, but …
Are you sure you want to use room on your personal statement to talk about how you take good care of your pet? Most people take good care of their pets, regardless of whether they aspire to become veterinarians or not. Perhaps instead of talking about what specifically was wrong with your dog if this is an important event to you, talk about what impressed you about the veterinarian that made you want to pursue that field (if that is what happened &#8230😉

Just my two cents from reading others comments about personal statements.

 

[tuckervet]

Not that this answers your question, but …
Are you sure you want to use room on your personal statement to talk about how you take good care of your pet? Most people take good care of their pets, regardless of whether they aspire to become veterinarians or not. Perhaps instead of talking about what specifically was wrong with your dog if this is an important event to you, talk about what impressed you about the veterinarian that made you want to pursue that field (if that is what happened …)

Just my two cents from reading others comments about personal statements.

I second this. The story demonstrates that you are a responsible pet owner, but wanting to become a doctor of veterinary medicine (and the key word there is doctor) is something very different than being a pet owner. If you are using this story to explain what initiated your interest in vet medicine, that might be more relevant, but I agree with kermit that you might want to talk more about what you learned from the vet, instead of how you followed his/her directions.

 

[jmo1012]

i agree with everything above posted, but i'd like to add that as a "veterinary" story, theres not much substance there. as you said, there were no obvious symptoms and the course of treatment wasnt very extreme. i'm not really sure it tells the adcoms that you learned something veterinary from the experience (even if you did or it sparked your interest). just for frame of reference, animals with toxic ingestion or pesticide poisoning that is serious typically present with any combo of seizures, vomiting, bleeding/anemia. they can require induced vomiting, charcoal administration, intensive fluid therapy, oxygen therapy, intralipid therapy (this is really cool), extensive and continued blood work, transfusions, and hospitalization for several days.

just my $0.02, don't take offense to it. 5000 characters is not a lot and most people have a hard time with that limit. its easy to want to go on forever and really explain things. my guess is that adcoms want to hear about pet ownership as much as they want to hear "i have always wanted to be a veterinarian" stories. it's much more important to highlight your understanding of veterinary medicine, how you feel that you are fully capable of handling a rigorous curriculum, how you've looked at beyond your education years and into the job scene, etc.

 

[bunnity]

I don't think that "my pet was overdosed on topical flea meds" exactly supports "I'm a responsible pet owner." Obviously accidents happen and I'm glad you sought medical care, plus I don't know you so I have no idea if you're a responsible owner, but I don't think that story particularly makes you look like one.

But as others said, I don't think the story really belongs in a PS unless it's something that had a huge impact on you.