BIPOC - What is vet school like for you?

[bdoketu]

Hi all -

I just wanted to ask this of BIPOC. I was wondering how you felt going to veterinary school, what your experiences have been like, do you ever have to have "hard" conversations with your peer or deal with situations that might be ignorant when it comes to other non-white experiences (I say ignorant, but I don't necessarily mean with malicious intent).

In all honesty, I'm a little nervous attending a school that might not have the same community and support that I'm so used to - people with shared living experiences, faced the same hardships and discrimination. I've worked with some veterinary students in my undergraduate career where I've had to present about diversity training and faced some ignorant comments from people.

This might be a weird place to post this and ask about it, but I feel like it's still an important conversation to have, especially for incoming students into the field who have those different experiences and can't necessarily relate to the majority.

So...what have your experiences been like?

Thank you all!

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[MOOSEygoosey]

Hi all -

I just wanted to ask this of BIPOC. I was wondering how you felt going to veterinary school, what your experiences have been like, do you ever have to have "hard" conversations with your peer or deal with situations that might be ignorant when it comes to other non-white experiences (I say ignorant, but I don't necessarily mean with malicious intent).

In all honesty, I'm a little nervous attending a school that might not have the same community and support that I'm so used to - people with shared living experiences, faced the same hardships and discrimination. I've worked with some veterinary students in my undergraduate career where I've had to present about diversity training and faced some ignorant comments from people.

This might be a weird place to post this and ask about it, but I feel like it's still an important conversation to have, especially for incoming students into the field who have those different experiences and can't necessarily relate to the majority.

So...what have your experiences been like?

Thank you all!

Hi bdoketu! While I'm not BIPOC, I can share with you a link to an organization that has chapters in most veterinary schools in the United States and the Islands

VOICE

Veterinarians as One Inclusive Community for Empowerment

vetvoicenational.org

If your school isn't on their local chapter list, I'm sure reaching out to them and talking with your school about getting it started would be wonderful! Every vet school should have a local chapter imo

I hope this helps! And good luck!

 

[cdo96]

Hi all -

I just wanted to ask this of BIPOC. I was wondering how you felt going to veterinary school, what your experiences have been like, do you ever have to have "hard" conversations with your peer or deal with situations that might be ignorant when it comes to other non-white experiences (I say ignorant, but I don't necessarily mean with malicious intent).

In all honesty, I'm a little nervous attending a school that might not have the same community and support that I'm so used to - people with shared living experiences, faced the same hardships and discrimination. I've worked with some veterinary students in my undergraduate career where I've had to present about diversity training and faced some ignorant comments from people.

This might be a weird place to post this and ask about it, but I feel like it's still an important conversation to have, especially for incoming students into the field who have those different experiences and can't necessarily relate to the majority.

So...what have your experiences been like?

Thank you all!

I think the culture/ nature of understanding will also vary wildly on where you go to school. I go to Oklahoma State, and we have a relatively high rate of indigenous people, I imagine more so than other schools around the country, so more of the culture and respect is automatically present as opposed to at other schools where it might be more difficult... I know vet schools are constantly trying to add diversity, but I don’t know how that has changed the environment for BIPOC.

 

[blueheeler]

Hi all -

I just wanted to ask this of BIPOC. I was wondering how you felt going to veterinary school, what your experiences have been like, do you ever have to have "hard" conversations with your peer or deal with situations that might be ignorant when it comes to other non-white experiences (I say ignorant, but I don't necessarily mean with malicious intent).

In all honesty, I'm a little nervous attending a school that might not have the same community and support that I'm so used to - people with shared living experiences, faced the same hardships and discrimination. I've worked with some veterinary students in my undergraduate career where I've had to present about diversity training and faced some ignorant comments from people.

This might be a weird place to post this and ask about it, but I feel like it's still an important conversation to have, especially for incoming students into the field who have those different experiences and can't necessarily relate to the majority.

So...what have your experiences been like?

Thank you all!

Honestly, I haven't had any "hard" conversations with my classmates yet. Granted I'm only one semester into veterinary school. I expect I will one day, since I had those types of conversations with my classmates in undergrad. I came to terms in undergrad that these are conversations I will have to have throughout my life even if I don't want to.

Before I started the fall semester, I had similar thoughts - Would I fit in? Would I have to prove that I belong here? That I'm not here to simply fill an imaginary racial quota... that I actually earned this spot far and square. So far my classmates have been pretty great. I feel at home and welcomed (which has been so relieving to me).

If you haven't done so already, I recommend joining the MCVMA (Multicultural Veterinary Medical Association) on FB. There are some tough conversations on there about world events, how it feels to be a POC in the profession, etc.