are you prepared (Texas)

[goingtovetschoo]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Can anyone comment on how well they thought they were prepared for veterinary practice after school. I am specifically looking at applying to texas and was wondering if anyone can comment on if the students seem prepared coming out of school, or if they feel like they need an internship. Thanks!

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Can anyone comment on how well they thought they were prepared for veterinary practice after school. I am specifically looking at applying to texas and was wondering if anyone can comment on if the students seem prepared coming out of school, or if they feel like they need an internship. Thanks!

I think everyone comes right out of school feeling unprepared to some degree. It's the nature of the beast. That's why it's so important to have a good mentor at your first place of employment.

 

[lei325]

I think everyone comes right out of school feeling unprepared to some degree. It's the nature of the beast. That's why it's so important to have a good mentor at your first place of employment.

Agree 100% with this.

I've been told by numerous vets that the most important thing to have, whether it's your first job or an internship right out of vet school, is to have a good mentor to help you out, or be in a practice that has a really good support system for new graduates.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

I think everyone comes right out of school feeling unprepared to some degree. It's the nature of the beast. That's why it's so important to have a good mentor at your first place of employment.

I agree that I don't think anyone feels prepared when they get out, but the truth is that most probably are for the majority of what they'll face. I don't think an internship will necessariy make you feel (or be) more prepared for clinical work, and probaby won't make you more employable either.

 

[cdndvm]

I agree that I don't think anyone feels prepared when they get out, but the truth is that most probably are for the majority of what they'll face. I don't think an internship will necessariy make you feel (or be) more prepared for clinical work, and probaby won't make you more employable either.

100% disagree. The difference between a grad who has done an internship vs. a grad that has done a year of practice in GP is night and day. The issue of employability aside (which is a different discussion altogether), an internship provides a structured learning environment where you typically have specialists grilling you and teaching you for the entire year. Your knowledge base, clinical skills and diagnostic skills are bar none far superior after having completed a good internship. There are terrible internships just like there are terrible jobs, but if you compared a good internship to a good GP with mentorship, I think you'll find internship training to be superior (i.e.: interns are there to learn, and the people that support the internship are there to teach - its the whole point). If internships were mandatory the benchmark quality of general veterinary medicine in practice would be far superior to what it currently is today.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

100% disagree. The difference between a grad who has done an internship vs. a grad that has done a year of practice in GP is night and day. The issue of employability aside (which is a different discussion altogether), an internship provides a structured learning environment where you typically have specialists grilling you and teaching you for the entire year. Your knowledge base, clinical skills and diagnostic skills are bar none far superior after having completed a good internship.

Yup - and none of those things, IMO, are most important to a clinical (general) vet. The best knowledge base or clinical skills in the world won't help you if you're not good at communicating with clients, managing your time, and managing their budget. They certainly are more medically knowledgable, but I don't think they are better at working as a clinical vet.

 

[cdndvm]

Yup - and none of those things, IMO, are most important to a clinical (general) vet. The best knowledge base or clinical skills in the world won't help you if you're not good at communicating with clients, managing your time, and managing their budget. They certainly are more medically knowledgable, but I don't think they are better at working as a clinical vet.

I dont see how a more solid knowledge base and better diagnostic skills translate into poorer clinical skills. The idea that a superior knowledge isn't important to clinicians (both general practitioners and specialists) is alarming. I think general practice is probably one of the most difficult fields in medicine. You need to be good at everything, and you need to know your limitations. Many of my referring GPs have never spent a day in a referral centre and really have no concept of what a different level of care we provide. All they know is that they send their patients to us, we take care of them and generate big vet bills and the intricacies of the care we provide get lost along the way. Yesterday I had a vet phone me angry because she thought putting a central line in her patient with renal failure was unnecessary and was likely a money grab. She really didn't know what a central line was for, but how could she? She's never used one, she's never placed one, she's never managed one, and she's never going to. Does her ignorance make her a better GP then someone who has that skill set? I would argue not.

Just because someone is doing an internship doesn't mean they don't communicate with clients or have to manage a busy caseload. Our interns have to be very efficient with their time management and have to develop exceptional client communication skills given they are typically dealing with more complicated cases then those seen in GP, and extremely high caseloads. I admit that most people who are brining their pets to a referral centre do not have the budgetary concerns that may people out there in GP have, but financial skills can be learned quite quickly.

Having done an internship, I will fully admit I am biased towards their benefits. I think the biggest drawback is having to transition from an internship (where interns are typically used to practicing gold-standard medicine) to GP where you are forced to cut corners due to a variety of factors. I think that can be immensely frustrating. I suspect it is why internship trained clinicians move into EM or go on to do residencies. But I don't want people thinking that an internship is not the route to go if your goal is GP; I think you will get excellent training and you will set yourself up with good habits from the beginning of your career which equip you to provide your patients with the best care possible.

Just my opinion though.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

I dont see how a more solid knowledge base and better diagnostic skills translate into poorer clinical skills.

Of course they don't......in some cases they happen together. All I was saying was that those great stores of knowledge and technical/surgical skills will not make for a good clinician - it takes more than that. If more than that is there, terrific, but in my experience, an internship isn't the place to get those other things. I have not been impressed with the fresh-from-an-internship clinicians that I've worked with in private practice. They were knowledgable, but not very good working with clients in "real life" (i.e. not referral or academic environment).