Areas of interest?

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
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onisteverina

onisteverina

c/o 2018
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Hey guys! I was just curious what other people are planning to do once they become a veterinarian? I personally feel like I won't really know until I'm in school and exploring the different options, but I know some people have a good idea of what they want to do... or at least an idea. I'm getting excited about all of the different possibilities!!


So I'll start off.. I only have experience with companion animals.. cats and dogs pretty much, but I'm really interested in reptiles too. I also like the idea of specializing and have been talking to the various surgeons and radiologists that visit the clinic.:)
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I first started out, and by first I mean undergrad years, adamant that I wanted to be a small animal vet. However, it wasn't until I took a nutrition course and an animal science course that I became very interested in food animal medicine. I took histology as one of my electives also, and I loved working with the microscope. If I mix food animal with a microscope and my fascination with diseases and abnormal tissue states, then I would say I am leaning towards pathology.
 
I am very much hoping to be lucky enough to get into an ER residency. I work in an ER clinic now as a back up/relief tech, and I love it! I know it's hard to say for sure before seeing more in school, but I can say at least that I doubt that I'll change my mind.

If not ER then I would likely want to work in orthopedics or some other surgical specialty. Only problem is: I injured my left hand pretty seriously as a child and still don't have full function in my index finger and thumb. I get around it pretty well now, but I'm not 100% sure how efficient a surgeon I could ever be.
 
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I would love to pursue a therio residency once I graduate....I have always been so fascinated by reproduction and could sit and learn about it all day! There's a vet in my area that has my dream job....runs an equine reproductive centre just outside the city that is affiliated with a large equine referral practice. I don't know how feasible it is yet to pursue this specialty, but it's where my heart currently lies.
 
I know I want to practice as an ER veterinarian. I also know that I definitely want to do an internship. After that...not sure. I am literally going back and forth every day as to whether or not I want to do a residency. But I have lots of time to decide that :)
 
I started vet school absolutely sure I wanted to be a food animal vet and see mostly cattle. Then I took a job in a clinical pathology lab because I wanted the money. I didn't even know what a clinical pathologist was at the time. Now I've been converted to clinical pathology.
 
I went into vet school thinking public health/infectious diseases/bacteriology. Then I discovered laboratory animal medicine, and I'm pretty firm in that now at the start of third year. It combines my love of clinical hands-on medicine while still satisfying my easily bored side with the plethora of species. :D
 
My general answer whenever someone asks me this is that I want to go into mixed practice. I definitely want to work with large animals, especially food animals, but I also don't want to miss out on the companion animals and exotics either. I'd like to be able to specialize as well, since there's often more job prospects and better pay available if you specialize, but I really have no idea what kind of field I would go into. Mostly I'm just keeping an open mind over the next four years and seeing where life takes me.

The more I think about it, the more I think that one of my professors actually has my ideal job. He's a large animal vet, so he gets to go out to farms and actually be involved in the clinical aspect of vet med. He also does research on dairy cattle AND teaches a few classes. I thrive on variety and I definitely have considered research and academia as possible career choices. If I could just find some way to work small animal medicine into all of that, it would be perfect!
 
Areas of interest over the years:

Dermatology, Internal Med, Emergency, Cardiology, Pathology (more recent), General Practice (small animals) and possibly being a practice owner.... I still have 3 years to figure it out and to add more to it.... :hungover:
 
Started wanting to do shelter med... still want to do shelter med. :love:

I do love emergency, surgery/anesthesia, derm, and radiology, but I don't have the stamina to do a residency plus I will get to do all of the above as a shelter vet.

I have a shameful dislike of complicated internal medicine cases. If I'm listening to someone present a case with 20 things on the problem list my mind wanders to... can't we just cut it open and remove something?

Oh, and I love everything to do with bunnies. :p
 
Research/teaching! In high school, I started out wanting to do small animal, but then switched to a zoo animal/wildlife interest. Freshmen year of college, I decided on research, and haven't changed since then. My research will be related to environmental health. If for some reason I did decide to work in a clinic, I prefer ER medicine. I was an intern/employee in an ER clinic last year, and I enjoyed it a lot.
 
I have a ton of interest in canine sports medicine and would love to be an Iditarod vet someday!!! But that isn't really a job, so I always just say mixed practice.
 
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Not entirely sure, but I am quite interested in public health and research; zoonosis strikes my fancy. Though pathology and surgery are interesting as well. I have some exploring to do.
 
I'm really interested in small animal surgery, particularly orthopedics. And I want to do research/teach eventually.
 
Started Vet school thinking I wanted to do a residency in either surgery, ER/CC, or Dentistry.... Now a month later, I'm just hoping I make it to clinics lol

Besides already being tired of being in lecture/ lab all day .. I really miss my husband and I'm just ready to be done with school already lol
 
I'm not in vet school yet, so there's still time to change...but I'm very interested in epidemiology/public health. I loved it in undergrad and fell in love even harder during my Master's program. I have my eye set on working for the CDC someday as a disease outbreak investigator for zoonotic infectious diseases. If I did clinical work, I'd want to focus on exotics or wildlife. Probably would have to do that in addition to seeing dogs and cats. :)
 
I'm really interested in shelter med. I'm also looking to get a MPH as well, since I like zoonotic diseases. I don't have a lot of experience with it, but emergency med is really fascinating to me as well.
 
bunnity said:
I have a shameful dislike of complicated internal medicine cases. If I'm listening to someone present a case with 20 things on the problem list my mind wanders to... can't we just cut it open and remove something?
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I'm definitely the opposite! I like internal medicine much, much better than surgery.
I also like: equine medicine; feline geriatric medicine, and surprisingly I really loved ophthalmology after the rotation. I thought I hated eyes and it totally changed my mind.
 
I haven't yet been admitted, but am hoping this is my year. At this stage, I'm dead set on Lab Animal. I've worked in a technical capacity in the animal research field (within academia and the private sector) for well over 10 years with species as diverse as horses to alligators. Although my niche within lab animal may change, I think the regulatory side of the job may end up being my specialty of choice.

There are a lot of things to like about lab animal medicine, if research is your thing. Someone already mentioned the diversity. NCSU's College of Veterinary Medicine appropriately terms lab animal medicine the 'ultimate mixed animal practice.' I find the cross over between human and veterinary medicine fascinating, and the cutting-edge technology one can potentially be exposed to in the lab animal field is tops. Just a few of the 'pros' off the the top of my head- there are dozens more why I've chosen this direction.
 
The further I go along in clinics, the more confused I get about my areas of interest :(
I thought I would hate dealing with clients, esp in a GP capacity, but it turns out I love it!
 
nyanko said:
I want to do a residency in Neurology. This scares me. I did not think that I would want to do a residency. But I do.
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I love our neuro dept.. They make the residency look so fun.


And equine for me-- Internal Med or Sports Med....not big into surgery. Don't mind the smallies, but ponies are where my heart lies :love:
 
I'm only five weeks in but so far I still want to do SA GP. I like internal medicine but I'm also ready to be done with school after 4 years. I'm also enjoying ophtho, radiology and got a little too excited about dentistry the other day but I figure I'll see my fair share of that in GP. I'd still love to work at a feline-only practice but I'll probably end up wherever I can find a job...
 
I love Therio, so maybe a residency in that. I have ZERO interest in horses, so my main focus is going to be small animal as well as some beef cattle and sheep/goats? Still unsure, but all I really know is that I don't want to do equine, which I am well aware, is where all the money is... but I don't want to deal with horse people!
 
ECC or IM residency for me hopefully

ideally i want to find a rich husband so that we can spend 6 months a year sailing and diving the caribbean and then during hurricane season, i'll work for fun ;)
 
jmo1012 said:
ECC or IM residency for me hopefully

ideally i want to find a rich husband so that we can spend 6 months a year sailing and diving the caribbean and then during hurricane season, i'll work for fun ;)
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Dibs if he has a brother!!! Or cousin.

I want to do equine orthopedics... But that's still years and years away :D
 
I'm heading for conservation medicine. It's of course highly competitive, so I'm exploring all of my options in this area. Basically I'd love to go into research either in the zoo setting, or as field researcher for PREDICT, One Health programs, WWF ect. or more clinical working in a zoo and getting involved abroad and with breeding/reintroduction programs.
 
FutureZooVet said:
I'm heading for conservation medicine. It's of course highly competitive, so I'm exploring all of my options in this area. Basically I'd love to go into research either in the zoo setting, or as field researcher for PREDICT, One Health programs, WWF ect. or more clinical working in a zoo and getting involved abroad and with breeding/reintroduction programs.
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Future Zoo Vet....when are you applying? Are you up with me this application cycle? Perhaps we'll be seeing each other at USU ;) It's so rare to see other Utahns on this board.
 
I like aquatics and raptors, myself. There's something fascinating about fish, turtles, and birds of prey to me.

But of course, I recognize that it is a long shot with not a lot of opportunities, and I'd also like mixed practice as well. I think I'd enjoy that a lot.

And a part of me wants to serve my country. So yeah. ^^
 
Radiology. If I were to pursue a residency, it would be at least 5 years after graduating. I want to start a family after graduation, and family+residency would just not be doable for me in the beginning. GP small or mixed is what I plan on after graduation. Or, where ever I can find a job.
 
I had no idea going in but I've really been loving ECGs in Physio...so maybe cardiology?

Somehow I think a few weeks of being interested in lectures in Physio does not an interest make.
 
Lab Vet, I have a few years before I apply. I have at least another year in school, so I guess it's possible I'll be applying next fall, but I'm thinking I want to "take a few years off" by taking internships, volunteering, research, saving some money then spending it traveling :rolleyes: etc. so I don't know. However, I'm up at USU now as an undergrad, so if you do end up out here, definitely PM me and I can let you know where to live, study, eat cheap :). That goes for anyone who gets into USU!
 
I'm not in vet school yet, so it is possible my interests may change later on. But right now, I want to go into avian medicine. I love absolutely everything about birds. I love working with poultry and may want to work for the USDA. But I also really enjoy the private practice side of exotic avian medicine and like working with parrots and toucans. One day, I would like to gain some more experience with raptors and other large birds of prey.
 
my main area of interest currently is finishing vet school....
 
getting into vet school is mine

once I'm there… shelter med :love:
 
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