Class of 2020... how you doin?

Veterinary Science Graduate Programs from U. of I.
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FREEDOMMMMM
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SARdoghandler said:
Anyone else terrified of signing a job contract with a place that may end up being wrong for you?

I think I am more scared of this than I was of the NAVLE
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I lasted less than a week at my first vet job. They were pissed, but it was the right choice for me. Your contract should have details about how either party decides you shouldn’t work there anymore, so you can escape if you have to. I love my second vet job though!
 
@SARdoghandler a very large percentage of new grads leave their first job within the first year. It took me 2.5yrs to leave my first one, which was far too long. And even then my boss was a total, graceless ass when it came to me leaving. They had some red flags on interview that set my spidey sense off but I went with it anyway; I wish I’d listened to my intuition.

Now that I’ve been in practice for a bit, it’s easier because I know what I want and what’s important to me- things I wasn’t knowledgeable about as a new grad (which is totally understandable!) Make sure the terms of the contract are reasonable, listen to your hunches and go for it. I’ve been SO much happier at my second job, but I learned a lot about a lot of things - not just vet med- my first.
 
Can I survey y’all? Assuming you have been offered a job that is completely salaried (no prod. compensation) what’s the lowest salary you yourself would be willing to earn? I know the answer is different for everyone depending on debt burden and type of practice.

I want to make sure I am not selling myself short.
 
itsrocky said:
Can I survey y’all? Assuming you have been offered a job that is completely salaried (no prod. compensation) what’s the lowest salary you yourself would be willing to earn? I know the answer is different for everyone depending on debt burden and type of practice.

I want to make sure I am not selling myself short.
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Always ask for more.

consider cost of living too of course.
 
itsrocky said:
Can I survey y’all? Assuming you have been offered a job that is completely salaried (no prod. compensation) what’s the lowest salary you yourself would be willing to earn? I know the answer is different for everyone depending on debt burden and type of practice.

I want to make sure I am not selling myself short.
Click to expand...

I can't speak exactly to this situation but I've had one formal offer and one informal. They both offered statistically the median salary for a 1-2 year vet in their area on the nose. One is plus production, signing bonus, moving bonus, and a bunch of other benefits.

Probably going to take that deal as it is fair for the area plus all the extras.
 
itsrocky said:
Can I survey y’all? Assuming you have been offered a job that is completely salaried (no prod. compensation) what’s the lowest salary you yourself would be willing to earn? I know the answer is different for everyone depending on debt burden and type of practice.

I want to make sure I am not selling myself short.
Click to expand...

Depends on location.
 
itsrocky said:
Can I survey y’all? Assuming you have been offered a job that is completely salaried (no prod. compensation) what’s the lowest salary you yourself would be willing to earn? I know the answer is different for everyone depending on debt burden and type of practice.

I want to make sure I am not selling myself short.
Click to expand...

Depends on what else is offered in addition to salary
 
SARdoghandler said:
Anyone else terrified of signing a job contract with a place that may end up being wrong for you?

I think I am more scared of this than I was of the NAVLE
Click to expand...
More likely than not, it’s going to happen so don’t worry about it. If you get any spidey senses, listen to it and don’t try to excuse it away with rose-colored glasses. It’ll bite ya in the ass later. I can almost guarantee it.
But even if everything seems perfect, it can take weeks for you to realize that the place has dealbreakers that you didn’t even know would be dealbreakers for you.

It’s not the end of the world. My best advice is not to stay at a place that isn’t good for you. If you start to feel like you’d rather contract measles so that you wouldn’t have to go to work, gtfo! If you start behaving like the person you know you aren’t (unmotivated, irritable, etc...) GTFO! Be happy that you now know what you DON’T want, and move on. Don’t worry about leaving behind coworkers or support staff. They will live, and they can gtfo too. Not your problem. Don’t worry about the practice being ****ed over by your leaving. Not your problem.

Think of it as an opportunity! It is your way of negotiating more for what you’re worth. Chances are, you are going to be able to get more with a new job than from any sort of raise with the current one that is killing you little by little. Should be true so long as it remains an employee’s market.

so with this in mind, don’t worry about things you can’t control. Try to enjoy your new job as much as you can and know it’s not a big deal to leave.
 
itsrocky said:
Can I survey y’all? Assuming you have been offered a job that is completely salaried (no prod. compensation) what’s the lowest salary you yourself would be willing to earn? I know the answer is different for everyone depending on debt burden and type of practice.

I want to make sure I am not selling myself short.
Click to expand...

Find out what the nearest Banfield is offering, as that is likely going to be the highest salary available for the area. You probably can’t negotiate that high, but you can always bring that number into the conversation. That number is always in the back of my mind when we are trying to hire an associate.

ideally you continue to interview over the next week or two and have another offer on the table. That will give you leverage for more or relief knowing that you’re getting a fair deal. Even then, always negotiate for something more. More CE money, more vacation, disability premium, etc... even if they say they can’t give you any more $.

Also, have the conversation now about how your raises will be determined and how transparent it will be. Will you have access to your production numbers? Also, make sure you have a consistent schedule that you agree on in advance. And also have them be upfront with you about how much you will be compensated if you fill in additional shifts. If they give you the “oh we expect you to be a team player and fill in as needed,” **** that!
 
Minnerbelle said:
Find out what the nearest Banfield is offering, as that is likely going to be the highest salary available for the area. You probably can’t negotiate that high, but you can always bring that number into the conversation. That number is always in the back of my mind when we are trying to hire an associate.

ideally you continue to interview over the next week or two and have another offer on the table. That will give you leverage for more or relief knowing that you’re getting a fair deal. Even then, always negotiate for something more. More CE money, more vacation, disability premium, etc... even if they say they can’t give you any more $.

Also, have the conversation now about how your raises will be determined and how transparent it will be. Will you have access to your production numbers? Also, make sure you have a consistent schedule that you agree on in advance. And also have them be upfront with you about how much you will be compensated if you fill in additional shifts. If they give you the “oh we expect you to be a team player and fill in as needed,” **** that!
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This is super helpful, thank you!!
 
Kinda relevant. Email I found sitting in my mail today:

_________ from Banfield here- I hope you had a great weekend! We have numerous DVM openings in the Northeast Region and we’re offering our best bonuses (up to 50k!!!) for full time, part time and locum/relief DVM’s. We’re also offering relocation bonuses if you’d be interested. I’d love to share more details with you and connect you with my Senior Recruiter.
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say wuh!?

I also get random texts from them as well. They’re like even more hardcore than the army when it comes to recruitment.
 
Minnerbelle said:
Kinda relevant. Email I found sitting in my mail today:



say wuh!?

I also get random texts from them as well. They’re like even more hardcore than the army when it comes to recruitment.
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They’ve been pestering me lately too.

@itsrocky a lot depends on location and type of practice. When I went interviewing as a new grad I was basically thinking average starting salary which (at the time) was $67k ish for small animal in a suburban area pretty close to a big city. I was on pro-sal and benefits weren’t great but I think I was making $80k ish two years out? And that was with me being too weeny to ask for much.

Especially with the hot job market right now, you can ask for more plus benefits (don’t forget CE and vacation time!) If pro-sal, considerations are a little different than straight salary though.
 
WildZoo said:
So officially, prior to taking the NAVLE yesterday, I had done 29% of vetprep

Posting this for posterity so I can see how bad of an idea that was later 😀
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I struggled to the finish line and got 100% the night before taking it. I don't know if it really helped. I'll give you my score breakdown (I assume they give us something like the practice test did), if you want to do some of your PhD stats magic on the numbers to crunch them.
 
Teepster87 said:
I struggled to the finish line and got 100% the night before taking it. I don't know if it really helped. I'll give you my score breakdown (I assume they give us something like the practice test did), if you want to do some of your PhD stats magic on the numbers to crunch them.
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Oooo we could figure out if there's a significant difference in our results

But also I don't know how to do that stuff yet, I'll be taking those classes next fall :laugh:
 
I
Teepster87 said:
I struggled to the finish line and got 100% the night before taking it. I don't know if it really helped. I'll give you my score breakdown (I assume they give us something like the practice test did), if you want to do some of your PhD stats magic on the numbers to crunch them.
Click to expand...
I can do this but power calculations indicate we need more people to participate to be able to draw any conclusions 😛
 
Okay my lovely friends, I am seeking advice! By now, I’m sure y’all have sort of gotten a handle on what you do to stay organized with patients and whatnot during clinics. What is this?

I’m going back and forth between getting like a large planner and a notebook, or several smaller notebooks specifically for patients & details, trying to find/ make a specific patient notebook, or a combination of everything?

any advice is appreciated
 
cdoconn said:
Okay my lovely friends, I am seeking advice! By now, I’m sure y’all have sort of gotten a handle on what you do to stay organized with patients and whatnot during clinics. What is this?

I’m going back and forth between getting like a large planner and a notebook, or several smaller notebooks specifically for patients & details, trying to find/ make a specific patient notebook, or a combination of everything?

any advice is appreciated
Click to expand...
I have an A5 notebook that I used for pretty much everything - rounds discussions, case notes, keeping track of patients, everything.

When I was on my externship recently though I started using a smaller notebook for keeping track of patients. I think if I were to do it again, I'd do that instead, and use the A5 just for topic rounds and things like that. Mostly because while I can fit it in my whitecoat pocket, I didn't have an easy way to keep it with me on rotations where I wasn't wearing a white coat. The smaller notebook could fit in my back pocket.

Edit: actually I just checked and it's slightly smaller (in width) than A5
 
I used one of these notebooks, with basically a half to full page per patient depending on how in depth it was. Stole one of the stickers with patient info and plastered it on the top.

I used it for rounds notes, too, just started from the back of the book and worked forward.
 
Trilt said:
I used one of these notebooks, with basically a half to full page per patient depending on how in depth it was. Stole one of the stickers with patient info and plastered it on the top.

I used it for rounds notes, too, just started from the back of the book and worked forward.
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Your link is taking me to nowhere. 🙁
 
Trilt said:
I used one of these notebooks, with basically a half to full page per patient depending on how in depth it was. Stole one of the stickers with patient info and plastered it on the top.

I used it for rounds notes, too, just started from the back of the book and worked forward.
Click to expand...
Squeaksmom said:
Your link is taking me to nowhere. 🙁
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Based on deciphering the link, I think she means this (even my link messed up when I tried to link it!)

28E3BFB6-E4C0-4ADC-9AA1-893999A2C937.jpeg
 
Yeah, I kept and notebook for all my day to day stuff, as well as an Excel sheet that I would track my cases by rotation. I used the Excel sheet just to easily find past discharges (our emr doesn't keep track of them for you - I was quiet jealous of UC Davis' system for doing that), so I can do copy/pastes from past good discharges, and to keep track of what clinicians I worked with so I could get clinical competencies approved by them through an online system we have that tracks all those.
 
Teepster87 said:
Yeah, I kept and notebook for all my day to day stuff, as well as an Excel sheet that I would track my cases by rotation. I used the Excel sheet just to easily find past discharges (our emr doesn't keep track of them for you - I was quiet jealous of UC Davis' system for doing that), so I can do copy/pastes from past good discharges, and to keep track of what clinicians I worked with so I could get clinical competencies approved by them through an online system we have that tracks all those.
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Bleh, you just reminded me that I have a bunch of clinical competencies to get signed off on that are mandatory, but everyone who runs the rotations meant for us to complete them keeps forgetting to sign off on them for us :dead:
 
Teepster87 said:
Yeah, I kept and notebook for all my day to day stuff, as well as an Excel sheet that I would track my cases by rotation. I used the Excel sheet just to easily find past discharges (our emr doesn't keep track of them for you - I was quiet jealous of UC Davis' system for doing that), so I can do copy/pastes from past good discharges, and to keep track of what clinicians I worked with so I could get clinical competencies approved by them through an online system we have that tracks all those.
Click to expand...
Yup that was also the main reason I kept track of patient numbers and major problems/diagnoses. Loved having previous discharges to use as a template.
 
^^ I highly recommend keeping copies of discharges/cases for being able to look back at them and reference them for similar cases that arise. Additionally, I used the Clinical Notebook given to rising fourth years by the AVMA because it fits in most white coat pockets which is veryyyy convenient!
 
Hi 2020!
I'm from class of 2021. have any of you gone through clinics with ADHD or dyslexia? If so any tips? 🙂
 
How's everyone holding up waiting for NAVLE results? Anyone else anxious? :scared: No, just me? Okay.

Also cracking up - the last time I commented in this thread was February 2016, after I had just found out I was accepted to vet school. Can't believe it's been four years. Finish strong, everyone! We're almost doctors!
 
WildZoo said:
Oooo we could figure out if there's a significant difference in our results

But also I don't know how to do that stuff yet, I'll be taking those classes next fall :laugh:
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I volunteer as tribute for this study. I got to like 34% hahaha :smack:
 
Coopah said:
I just got an email from the school who bought us vetprep and they highly suggest that we get to at least 80% :laugh: like that's gonna happen
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You guys are making me feel better! A ton of people in my class that I talked to finished it, or at least got to 80%. VetPrep will give you the subscription for free if you have to take NAVLE again, so long as you complete 80% or more of the program. I think that was big motivation for people. Your school probably doesn't want to have to pay a second time :laugh: That's awesome they buy it for you though!
 
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