Best way to contact vets about gaining experience?

[snafflebit]

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Hello!

I'm a senior in high-school with a wide-open summer schedule approaching. I'll be attending at University of Illinois for Animal Science this fall which I'm really excited about. I'm involved with horses although I've never owned, and beyond taking lessons I've racked up 1200+ hours volunteering at a nearby barn. However I am seriously lacking in small animal experiences or any experience working closely with vets, and I'm looking to change that!

I'm at the point where I'll be contacting vet offices to inquire about shadowing if possible, or even better volunteering regularly over the summer. What in your experiences has been the best/most effective way to contact them? Most clinics on my list I could contact by email or phone easily. I've gathered that delivering a resume in person is most impressive, and I plan to do this at least for some vets, but not all are easily within driving distance.

Is it worth the drive to see them all in person so that I won't be forgotten? If not, is calling or emailing looked better upon? Any other tips for scoring an opportunity like this?

Oh! One more thing - do animal experience/veterinary experience hours earned in high school count towards the totals asked for on applications to veterinary school?

 

[BlackDog17]

The first time I was looking for veterinary experience, I sent resumes and cover letters to every vet within driving distance from my house. I think I sent about 35 total. Most were ignored, but I did get a couple of responses. I ended up volunteering as a sort of veterinary assistant at the local animal shelter during my winter break that year. If there's an established shelter or rescue in your area, definitely look into that. Most of them have some sort of volunteer program in place, so that makes it a lot easier to get your foot in the door.

 

[LetItSnow]

Is calling or emailing looked better upon? Any other tips for scoring an opportunity like this?

I'm asking because I mailed a resume, called, and called again to a vet in Michigan who I know has allowed shadowing in the past (I have family up there) and heard nothing back. I understand vets are very busy and it's not a priority; I'm just looking to improve my chances of getting somewhere with this in my next attempts 🙂

I don't think it matters all that much. What's probably more important is not overdoing it - just ask to shadow for one day. If it goes well, ask them at the end of the day if you can come back again. If it didn't go well - yay, you are committed. Don't try selling them on having you come shadow/volunteer all summer long right out the gate.

 

[Frozenshades]

I don't think it matters all that much. What's probably more important is not overdoing it - just ask to shadow for one day. If it goes well, ask them at the end of the day if you can come back again. If it didn't go well - yay, you are committed. Don't try selling them on having you come shadow/volunteer all summer long right out the gate.

👍

You got plenty of time; no need to rush to commit yourself somewhere. Find a clinic and a vet you work well with.

 

[musher]

I personally feel like hand delivering the resume might be the way to go, especially if you're looking for something more long term. When you drop of the resume's you might get the chance to introduce yourself to some of the staff and see if they seem like the kind of people you would like to shadow. Just show them that you are really interested in learning, and be appreciative of their time.

 

[LetItSnow]

I personally feel like hand delivering the resume might be the way to go, especially if you're looking for something more long term. When you drop of the resume's you might get the chance to introduce yourself to some of the staff and see if they seem like the kind of people you would like to shadow. Just show them that you are really interested in learning, and be appreciative of their time.

If you do hand-deliver (personally, I don't think it's necessary for shadowing, but there's certainly nothing wrong with it), make sure to follow the first rule of getting into a clinic: Spend at least as much time getting to know the receptionist(s) and office staff and techs as you do the docs. If they like you they'll be sure to let the office manager and/or vets know.

 

[ThePiedPiper]

I personally feel like hand delivering the resume might be the way to go, especially if you're looking for something more long term. When you drop of the resume's you might get the chance to introduce yourself to some of the staff and see if they seem like the kind of people you would like to shadow. Just show them that you are really interested in learning, and be appreciative of their time.

I agree with this. And you should dress nicely, too, even if it's only business casual.

The one thing is that you say not all are within "easy" driving distance. If this is going to be an issue for you, then apply to the ones nearby first. If you strike out there, then you can start applying to surrounding areas. The thing is, driving out once to drop off your resume isn't going to be any more inconvenient than making the trek out there to shadow however many times per week, so be sure it's something you're willing to drive even when the newness of the shadowing situation/environment wears off. 🙂 I would say go in because you're more likely to get a response or if you do call ahead, ask to speak to the practice manager (and head vet if there is no practice manager). I would say avoid e-mail. It doesn't make an impression, is fairly easy to forget, and some people consider e-mail unprofessional.

 

[Easnadh]

I asked my family's veterinarian if I could start shadowing her in order to get small animal experience, and she was wonderful and very open to the idea. If you have pets, that might not be a bad place to start

 

[pirateyoho]

Oh! One more thing - do animal experience/veterinary experience hours earned in high school count towards the totals asked for on applications to veterinary school?

I noticed nobody answered this yet, so I thought I'd jump in and say, yes, it does count. 🙂 In fact, on this board, I've seen it specifically advised that high school students considering vet school go ahead and start getting some exposure to the field.

 

[snafflebit]

Thank you to all of you, you're all wonderful people for taking time to share what you know with the rest of us! I had a day off of school this past week and I went driving around to nearby vet offices with resumes in tow. I'd say it went better than expected, and several said they would let me shadow there. I'll be calling tomorrow or next week to hopefully get something scheduled.

I can't tell you how excited I am to actually start working my way towards this in more of a concrete way, so, thanks everyone for helping!

One more question: Is it in poor taste to shadow at multiple places at once? The thing is I have no job for this summer and since I have time to put to good use I'd like to spend as much time learning about vet med as possible. I certainly don't want to be rude however if that would be looked down upon.

 

[Frozenshades]

Thank you to all of you, you're all wonderful people for taking time to share what you know with the rest of us! I had a day off of school this past week and I went driving around to nearby vet offices with resumes in tow. I'd say it went better than expected, and several said they would let me shadow there. I'll be calling tomorrow or next week to hopefully get something scheduled.

I can't tell you how excited I am to actually start working my way towards this in more of a concrete way, so, thanks everyone for helping!

One more question: Is it in poor taste to shadow at multiple places at once? The thing is I have no job for this summer and since I have time to put to good use I'd like to spend as much time learning about vet med as possible. I certainly don't want to be rude however if that would be looked down upon.

It's not a job, and you don't know the places or the people, so there's no real expectations from you. It's nice of them to let you shadow yes, but you shadowing elsewhere isn't detrimental to them and you owe them nothing. However, for the long term I wouldn't juggle multiple shadowing gigs. Once you find the place that you fit with the best (and will continue to have you back) it might be better to drop the others and spend more time there and get to know the vets.

 

[485501]

Thank you to all of you, you're all wonderful people for taking time to share what you know with the rest of us! I had a day off of school this past week and I went driving around to nearby vet offices with resumes in tow. I'd say it went better than expected, and several said they would let me shadow there. I'll be calling tomorrow or next week to hopefully get something scheduled.

I can't tell you how excited I am to actually start working my way towards this in more of a concrete way, so, thanks everyone for helping!

One more question: Is it in poor taste to shadow at multiple places at once? The thing is I have no job for this summer and since I have time to put to good use I'd like to spend as much time learning about vet med as possible. I certainly don't want to be rude however if that would be looked down upon.

Last summer I shadowed four different vets, partly because each of them had only certain times they could have a shadow. All of them knew I was shadowing the others, all of them thought it was a great idea to get diverse experience (it was one SA clinic that unofficially specialized in rabbits, one mostly-SA internal med specialist, one equine internal med/sports med specialist, and one equine/LA old-school vet).

 

[catlady816]

If you're free all summer I would look into volunteering along with the shadowing. Not just piling on shadowing at different places. Chances are you'll get a lot more hands on experience that can boost your resume, especially if you find a shelter with a low cost clinic.

And when I started asking for experience I sent out copies of my resume and cover letter. I had this irrational fear that the receptionists would just chuck it and never show the Drs hahaha. I also found that chatting up the vets during my own pet's appointments were a lot of help. Through out all my shadowing/jobs I noticed once the vets realize someone's interested in going to vet school, they're more than willing to help out!

 

[adams30]

One more question: Is it in poor taste to shadow at multiple places at once? The thing is I have no job for this summer and since I have time to put to good use I'd like to spend as much time learning about vet med as possible. I certainly don't want to be rude however if that would be looked down upon.

No not at all it's actually REALLY helpful to shadow at multiple places because then you get to see different perspectives from different people in veterinary medicine. Plus every practice is different and it's good to get all of the experience.

I shadowed at several different clinics that each specialized in different areas (SA, LA, wildlife, etc) so it's helpful to get diverse experience.

Congrats on Coming to the U of I. I am actually graduating this May with a degree in Animal Science from the University of Illinois so you can always ask me for more advice about it. Be prepared to learn A LOT about animal agriculture/farm animals as well as heavy science courses such as nutrition, physiology, repro physio, genetics, etc. We have a couple equine classes too. You will have to take some farm animal handling classes which is nice because the U of I vet med counts that for animal experience on VMCAS.

I am like you I've always wanted a horse but never had one. I plan to get one after vet school (once I'm able to afford it lol)

Talking to vets in person sometimes is more helpful to get the position I've found.

Good Luck!