focus of PS

[laitmanvet]

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I'm currently finishing up writing my PS and I'm a little worried that it isn't more animal medicine oriented.
For the past 7 years I've been working in research (mostly), and during the last 3 it's been with animals. However, I have also worked at a zoo (some of the time with vets) and volunteered in a vet ER.
I want to pursue clinical/translational research (thus far I LOVE GI work, but I suspect that can change) and, honestly, its what I feel most comfortable talking about, thus why my PS focuses on it. My logic is that my clinical animal experiences (zoo and ER) are in my application, therefore the schools should know about it.

Question: Is this smart? Should I talk about all animal experiences in the essay even though they aren't the field I'm interested in?

Thanks!

 

[CurrySpice]

I wouldn't worry about it.

If you are clearly expressing why you want a DVM as well as what this idea is founded upon.. you're golden! The adcom is going to read your entire application and discover your breadth of experiences there. IMO, the ps can be somewhere that you zero in on exactly what you're doing in the application pool.

Are you applying for DVM/PhD programs? (does anyone else always type pH first and then realize you need to switch the capitalization when you add the d? Dang chemistry...)

 

[squibby]

I think everyone agree that adcomms love to see research experience, but make sure you are really addressing the prompt. Your experiences at the zoo and emergency clinic have more than likely influenced your path toward vet school, so you should include them and explain their role in your path. I think as long as you can tie together all of your experiences you will be fine even if it focuses on your research.

 

[moosenanny]

I've always heard that it isn't the greatest to talk about every animal experience in the PS because then it becomes a glorified resume/autobiography. I personally always think it's better to zero in on key experiences and go into those with more depth.

I'd recommend briefly mentioning your other experiences to remind adcoms about them, but don't go into detail. In your conclusion, you could possibly say something like, "Now you know about my research in a lot of detail; this, combined with my experiences in zoo and clinical settings, have confirmed that being a vet is the right job for me." Obviously you'd write it much more formally and eloquently, but this is the general idea you may want to get across.

 

[laitmanvet]

I suppose my ER and zoo experiences are mostly further motivation to go to vet school, but not founding. Both gave me more depth, in terms of diagnosis and treatment of "everyday" animal health and disease, instead of in lab animals where the disease state is known and predictable.
I am applying to one DVM/PhD program, most, but not all, of the vets in research I know are dual degree.

Thanks for the help folks!

 

[sumstorm]

like Moosenanny said, don't turn your PS into a resume. At most, if they were not critical to your decisions, note them in a single sentence along the lines of 'in exploring this emerging interest in vet med, I worked at a zoo as a keeper and shadowed vets in a small animal ER.' As one of our ad coms says; it isn't about showing how much you love animals; you should show how you belong in vet med.