First Shadow Opportunity Next Week...

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LTran562

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So I finally managed to get into contact with a great veterinarian who is willing to let me shadow him, however this is only a one time opportunity. He said he isn't willing to make this an on-going thing and would allow me to do it this one time unless further noted. Is it like this for most of you guys who shadowed doctors? He is in small animal practice and is fairly old school. Even under these conditions, I am very grateful. He diagnosed one of my dogs with Addisonian crisis the first 10 minutes of inspection... awesome! He began cortisol treatment on her immediately and she came out of the danger zone. Thank God for good doctors.

My second question is relating shadowing itself. This is all very new to me so I don't know what to expect. He was nice enough to let me choose between check-ups or surg, so naturally I chose surg because it seems there's so much more going on in that department. Should I be aiming to ask him any particular questions in your minds? Is there anything in particular I should get out of this if it is in fact a one time opportunity with him? I don't want this to be a wasted opportunity so I'd like to make the most of my first experience.

I would like to get a letter from him eventually, but I feel like shadowing him for just 1 day wouldn't qualify me for a letter. I would like it to be on a more personal note.. but I might try and ask anyway. Thanks for listening to me ramble. It's next week on Tuesday.. I'm pretty nervous but at the same time very excited!
 
Getting a letter of rec from a vet after only one shadowing session probably won't cut it at any school. The vet letter of rec may be the most important of the 3, and generally people get a letter from a vet with whom they have consistently worked for 1 or more years (not days)!

Hopefully this vet said it's a one-time deal until further notice because he wants to meet you first and see if you would be a good "shadowing match" before promising that you can shadow on a consistent basis.

Otherwise, if this truly is a one-time deal, I would put your energy into finding a vet with whom you can shadow at least once a week so that you build up significant hours/experience/a relationship with the vet. Then after a few months of consistent shadowing, if not longer, consider asking that vet for a letter of rec.

That's just my two cents 🙂
 
Don't touch anything blue and lean away from the table if your going to faint.
 
i agree with everything moosenanny said. especially about the eLOR, definitly don't ask this vet unless he allows you to shadow for more than one day. and by that i dont mean two days, but at least a couple of months/100+ hrs.

hopefully once he sees you are serious he will allow you to come in more often, but maybe his clinic is just too small. i have gotten turned down by some vets because they literally did not have any more space to squeeze someone in to shadow. if it does end up being 1 day only, good luck finding another vet! remember it may take a while, but dont give up! 😀
 
I went in for my first shadow yesterday. My vet wanted me to come in again later this week to watch a dental procedure. So just keep in open mind but if I were you I would assume it is indeed only a one time deal and would continue trying to find another vet who will let you shadow long term. Unfortunately in my case, it seems my vet just doesnt have enough clients to warrant me eventually volunteering but it is a good experience. I do agree that if it is a one time deal to not ask him for a letter.
 
I really do hope that he invites me to come back and shadow him more frequently. He seems like an amazing doctor, but I know 1 day (5-6 hours) wouldn't warrant a personal letter, or good one at that. It is a pretty small VCA clinic when I think about it. How many letters did you guys submit from a small animal doctor? Or how many letters total in general? I'm applying for an internship this summer to work with a marine mammal vet at a sea lion rescue center. Just trying to look for how much diversity I'll need in terms of LoRs. As for experience I've worked with small animals, marine animals, and some farm.

Thanks for the advice I really appreciate it!
 
My eLOR vet letter was from a lab animal vet (because i want to go into this). he also knew me better than the SA doctors that i intern with. I only needed 1 vet so i didnt bother asking the SA vets. The other 2 letters were from my two PIs who i did research with.

Some schools (ohio) require 2 eLORs from vets.

look in the successful applicant stat thread, at the bottom people list who wrote their letters
 
LTran562 said:
How many letters did you guys submit from a small animal doctor? Or how many letters total in general? I'm applying for an internship this summer to work with a marine mammal vet at a sea lion rescue center. Just trying to look for how much diversity I'll need in terms of LoRs.

Thanks for the advice I really appreciate it!
Click to expand...

Both of my letters came from SA vets. As I'd worked over 3,000 hours at the companion animal clinic, I chose to use the SA vets over the equine vets with whom I'd worked roughly 400 hours.
My interviewers at UPenn were not at all happy about this. Maybe it was just because I interviewed on equine day, but they would not let go of the fact that both my eLORs were SA. Even after I explained that I thought the people who had known me for 3 and 7 years would be better able to evaluate my aptitude and character than those who had worked with me for a single summer, they were still fixated on the subject to the point that the "hot" interviewer went through my application and read off all of my experiences, asking "And what about your time at XXX equine hospital? Didn't you feel like that merited a letter? And when you worked with Dr. ZZZ?" It was quite strange -- I don't know if they thought I was lying about experience or what, though I listed contact info for all of my supervising vets. 😕
Sorry for the rant, just wanted to make the point that variety in LORs as well as in experience is definitely something to consider.
 
I think I'm kinda screwed. I have about 250 hours from a clinic that I volunteered at in high school, but the vet who was always in the night I was in doesn't recognize me when I take our cat in *headdesk* I've put in 40 hours with another vet last year and I'll be seeing her once a week during May, June, and July, but I'm not sure if I'm going to reach 100 hours with her by the time I apply.

But yeah... I've had similar problems for the last 3 years... nobody wants to take me on... now I'm struggling with who I'm going to ask to write me a LOR. The prof that I work for now will probably do it, but I'm not quite sure how he feels about me... I used to feel quite stupid and awkward around him... but now he's super excited about doing an honours with me, so I donno.

I'm the unluckiest pre-vet. Several people agree with me 😛
 
haha i feel quite unlucky as well. i live around so many SA practices and i have not managed to find a doctor to actually take me on for long-term shadowing. i thought i would only be able to get letters from several professors and my student health adviser, but im not giving up! this summer ill be interning at the MMCC (marine mammal care center) down in san pedro and ill get to work directly under their on-site veterinarians. if i can't get shadowing experience under a SA doctor i guess im gonna go Big!

thanks for the help guys. im definitely looking into diversity and a more seeded position for LoRs. my only problem is getting a doctor to take me on in a sea of SA clinics around my area. it's quite frustrating actually
 
LTran562 said:
i thought i would only be able to get letters from several professors and my student health adviser, but im not giving up!
Click to expand...

That's the attitude to have!!! 👍
I'm going on the VIDA trip... I'm pretty excited. It's the last big thing I'll be able to do before applying. It's kind of sad that I have to travel out of country to get experience, but it's so going to be worth it.

Your intern position sounds like quite the experience. Have fun!
 
Something else to consider: some schools (eg Ohio) actually require that you obtain a certain amount of hours working with or shadowing a veterinarian. Ohio State actually requires that you submit a form signed by a veterinarian, stating that you have met the minimum requirement of hours (which I THINK is still 100? OSU applicants from this cycle, help me out here!). If you already know which schools you are thinking of applying to, you should find out if they have a minimum requirement for vet experience.

If this guy won't let you come in more than once, definitely keep trying to find someone else (or try find a shelter that uses a vet and volunteer there). Do you think you'll be able to get about 100 hours at your internship this summer?
 
yeah the commitment is 30 hrs a week for 10 weeks, so somewhere in there i hope to shadow the vet directly. the opportunity is there, i just have to make good use of it now. i wasn't aware that some schools required a minimum amount of hours before application. i always thought it was just like your own agenda to strengthen your application. ah i feel like i have no knowledge of admissions and it's approaching so fast!
 
BlacKAT33 said:
My eLOR vet letter was from a lab animal vet (because i want to go into this). he also knew me better than the SA doctors that i intern with. I only needed 1 vet so i didnt bother asking the SA vets. The other 2 letters were from my two PIs who i did research with.

Some schools (ohio) require 2 eLORs from vets.

look in the successful applicant stat thread, at the bottom people list who wrote their letters
Click to expand...


Does Ohio count PIs as vets? Ie, can I have one letter from a vet and one from my PI to count as two?

Oh BTW, I think the VMSAR said that Ohio requires 80 hours from one veterinarian.
 
NStarz said:
Does Ohio count PIs as vets? Ie, can I have one letter from a vet and one from my PI to count as two?

Oh BTW, I think the VMSAR said that Ohio requires 80 hours from one veterinarian.
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, what is a PI?

Ohio State requires that vet recommendations come from a DVM or VMD (or equivalent to this, if the degree is from a foreign country). So, two actual vets. Sorry. 🙁

I checked on the requirement for vet experience, and you're right: it's 80 hours.
 
going in tomorrow to shadow for the first time! pretty excited. hopefully he will ask me to come back again. do people typically wear scrubs when shadowing? i dont wanna show up in scrubs and have him look at me like "um you know you're not gonna touch anything right?" or not show up in scrubs and get "um where are your scrubs". haha im a nervous wreck right now
 
Oman we definitely had a thread about this. I may be searching for it...I think it was under a random "shadow/volunteer/new job" thread.

People will say all different things. You could wear scrubs, you could dress up, you could do a casual in between. When I first went in to shadow (at 2 clinics) i just showed up in scrubs, yea it was kind of awkward my first time there, i didn't know what to expect. But everyone else helping out is in scrubs so you kind of fit in anyway (some techs even thought I was a new vet tech lol). I think it just presents yourself as "if you want me to be hands on...im ready". Even at one of my clinics, she didnt want me to be hands on for a long time...but she wanted me to wear scrubs since I was in the back.
But khakis/jeans and a nice shirt would be fine too if you want.

Let me find the thread...

YAYY!! http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=702972&highlight=scrubs
 
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darn, from the SDN time stamps looks like you beat me by 1 min!! that is 0-2 for me tonight lol
 
If theres any time tommorow before you go in it might be a good idea to ask them. I went in for my first shadowing a few weeks ago and the office manager specifically said to wear a polo shirt and dockers. If you cant call in advance I would not wear scrubs. If he didnt say anything about attire wearing scrubs would look like you think you are going to be doing something other then observing.
 
jtom said:
If theres any time tommorow before you go in it might be a good idea to ask them. I went in for my first shadowing a few weeks ago and the office manager specifically said to wear a polo shirt and dockers. If you cant call in advance I would not wear scrubs. If he didnt say anything about attire wearing scrubs would look like you think you are going to be doing something other then observing.
Click to expand...

Or maybe wear nice khakis and shirt and bring along a scrub top that you can slip on? That way you can ask once you get in if it would be appropriate for you to wear scrubs without being too presumptuous either way.
 
thanks for the thread, id better check into it before blasting questions. im just gonna lug a pair of scrubs along and try to arrive early. thanks for the advice! ill report back and let you know how it goes 🙂
 
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