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- Jan 20, 2017
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Hi everyone. I have been lurking around SDN for ages but I've just gotten myself a new account so that I can post this.
I have just graduated from veterinary school. Before I went to veterinary school, I was involved pretty heavily in animal rescue groups where I did voluntary advocacy work - and I was very gung-ho about doing the best that I can for companion animals. For some strange reason, I didn't meet any extremist nutty misanthropes among the animal welfare groups I worked with. All were well-adjusted and polite people. I was like "Sweet! When I graduate, I'll work with these people and improve things for animals in society".
Thing is - as I progressed through veterinary school, I became painfully aware of the impact that cyberbullying has on the veterinary profession. I think many of you have heard of Dr Shirley Koshi - the veterinarian who took her own life because of cyberbullying (http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...n-suicide-cat-custody-fight-article-1.1701820) Many of you are also aware of websites such as Regret-A-Vet, which focus specifically on veterinarians who have earned the posters' ire for various reasons.
As I got through rotations, I realised how much I didn't know and how much I had to learn. It got to the point where I felt nauseous whenever I look at a radiograph, or whenever I have to interpret a urinalysis, or look down a microscope. Also, I realised how much I detest anaesthesia and if it were a physical thing, I would set it on fire at the first opportunity.
However, I did enjoy some aspects of veterinary school, such as spay and neutering, and preventative care. I find it very fulfilling whenever I come across pet owners on the street. I talk to them about basic things like vaccines, deworming etc and the advantages/disadvantages of sterilisation, and they seem very receptive. I find it very meaningful to give owners information which is easy to act on, and would benefit their pets immensely. I am also very passionate about anti-rabies vaccination efforts and I would like to engage in these efforts in the future.
I will get to the point here - as a new graduate, I feel very nervous about practising in my home country, where social media has a strong presence and cyberbullying against veterinarians happens.
I have seen pet owners launch online petitions against vets in my country, make police reports, compare the vets to serial cat killers, and repeatedly call the authorities to check if the vets' licenses were revoked. I have also seen how countless other people join in the online massacre and wish painful deaths upon the vets and their families etc.
I love talking to people about their pets. However, I am a new graduate and I am bound to make mistakes. The painful awareness that I don;t know much actually makes me nauseous. I don't know who amongst my potential clients will be crazy enough to persecute me for any mistake that I might make. The consequences can be devastating - it will bring shame to me, the clinic who hires me and my family. I would end up earning the ire of many people who never knew me, and who could have been potential networkers.
This is why I turned down the four jobs that were offered to me upon graduation. I didn't want to destroy the good faith that these people had in me. I didn't want to be suffocated by anxiety over not knowing enough. I didn't want to mess up as their employee.
My parents don't understand why I am so scared, and tbey encourage me to give it a shot. I am still so, so scared of the damage that social media can do. I have a veterinary degree (which took up a chunk of my parents' money) and I feel extremely guilty for having wasted their money this way.
I am thinking of doing some volunteer shelter work in a developing country - where I can practise and grow my vet skills and make an impact in a developing society. The thing is, I would have to save up for at least a year to support myself in these countries becauses there is no way I am gonna take any more $$$ from my parents.
I've signed up for volunteering in human social work, because I've been thinking of going into international development. At the same time, I don't want to let go of veterinary medicine entirely. I really want to do spay/neuter work and preventative vaccination work, but leave all the complicated diagnostic shizzbang to someone else.
Should I just tell myself to toughen up and go to private practice for a year in my home country, while praying that I don't get steamrollered by cyberbullies?
I have just graduated from veterinary school. Before I went to veterinary school, I was involved pretty heavily in animal rescue groups where I did voluntary advocacy work - and I was very gung-ho about doing the best that I can for companion animals. For some strange reason, I didn't meet any extremist nutty misanthropes among the animal welfare groups I worked with. All were well-adjusted and polite people. I was like "Sweet! When I graduate, I'll work with these people and improve things for animals in society".
Thing is - as I progressed through veterinary school, I became painfully aware of the impact that cyberbullying has on the veterinary profession. I think many of you have heard of Dr Shirley Koshi - the veterinarian who took her own life because of cyberbullying (http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...n-suicide-cat-custody-fight-article-1.1701820) Many of you are also aware of websites such as Regret-A-Vet, which focus specifically on veterinarians who have earned the posters' ire for various reasons.
As I got through rotations, I realised how much I didn't know and how much I had to learn. It got to the point where I felt nauseous whenever I look at a radiograph, or whenever I have to interpret a urinalysis, or look down a microscope. Also, I realised how much I detest anaesthesia and if it were a physical thing, I would set it on fire at the first opportunity.
However, I did enjoy some aspects of veterinary school, such as spay and neutering, and preventative care. I find it very fulfilling whenever I come across pet owners on the street. I talk to them about basic things like vaccines, deworming etc and the advantages/disadvantages of sterilisation, and they seem very receptive. I find it very meaningful to give owners information which is easy to act on, and would benefit their pets immensely. I am also very passionate about anti-rabies vaccination efforts and I would like to engage in these efforts in the future.
I will get to the point here - as a new graduate, I feel very nervous about practising in my home country, where social media has a strong presence and cyberbullying against veterinarians happens.
I have seen pet owners launch online petitions against vets in my country, make police reports, compare the vets to serial cat killers, and repeatedly call the authorities to check if the vets' licenses were revoked. I have also seen how countless other people join in the online massacre and wish painful deaths upon the vets and their families etc.
I love talking to people about their pets. However, I am a new graduate and I am bound to make mistakes. The painful awareness that I don;t know much actually makes me nauseous. I don't know who amongst my potential clients will be crazy enough to persecute me for any mistake that I might make. The consequences can be devastating - it will bring shame to me, the clinic who hires me and my family. I would end up earning the ire of many people who never knew me, and who could have been potential networkers.
This is why I turned down the four jobs that were offered to me upon graduation. I didn't want to destroy the good faith that these people had in me. I didn't want to be suffocated by anxiety over not knowing enough. I didn't want to mess up as their employee.
My parents don't understand why I am so scared, and tbey encourage me to give it a shot. I am still so, so scared of the damage that social media can do. I have a veterinary degree (which took up a chunk of my parents' money) and I feel extremely guilty for having wasted their money this way.
I am thinking of doing some volunteer shelter work in a developing country - where I can practise and grow my vet skills and make an impact in a developing society. The thing is, I would have to save up for at least a year to support myself in these countries becauses there is no way I am gonna take any more $$$ from my parents.
I've signed up for volunteering in human social work, because I've been thinking of going into international development. At the same time, I don't want to let go of veterinary medicine entirely. I really want to do spay/neuter work and preventative vaccination work, but leave all the complicated diagnostic shizzbang to someone else.
Should I just tell myself to toughen up and go to private practice for a year in my home country, while praying that I don't get steamrollered by cyberbullies?
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