Gaining SA vet exp: Shadowing v. Working

[snapcall]

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Hi everyone! I hope you guys can help shed some light on this, I'm in a bit of a pickle when it comes to SA vet experience hours, namely, I don't have any. I'm applying next cycle, so I've got a whole year to get the hours under my belt, but with the economy in its current state it seems like NOBODY is hiring 🙁. Which sucks, since I could really use the money, but not being able to get the hours I desperately need sucks worse. Luckily, I've been shadowing a terrific equine vet (who I've known for a long time, she's been treating my horses since long before I decided to pursue a career in vet med), so I'm sure I'll be able to get the necessary vet LOR from her. So my real question is whether or not it will be acceptable to just shadow a SA vet instead of having a paid position. My fear is that if ALL my vet experience consists of shadowing, that will not be looked upon favorably when I apply. That, and... well... I kind of want to DO something. 😛

The rest of my application should be pretty solid (3.6GPA, 9,000 hours total animal exp which is mostly equine but some petsitting too, and 100 hours volunteering at the Zoo). Although I haven't taken the GRE yet, I tend to do very well on standardized tests in general and will definitely put the studying hours in between now and when I take it in January, so I'm not very worried about the outcome of that (though anything can happen ).

What to do? 😕

 

[OtakuVet]

Its always acceptable to Shadow! It shows initiative because you are doing something for free! One of the things that my PI loved was that people were trying to help in order to get the experience. This journey is a consistent path of always learning new things. So even if its shadowing and it will still be reliable veterinary experience. Now, it would be a good idea to volunteer at a SA Hospital or Shelter. That way you get more hands on and hopefully you may be able to sneak in some equine too!

 

[variegata]

Shadowing is a wonderful way to get experience! I started shadowing at a local clinic. The doctor knew I had little experience with private practice, so he set me loose in IPN (in-patient nursing) where I was allowed to see dentals, surgeries, exams and everything else that went on back there. I wasn't allowed to touch any animals due to liability reasons, but I helped fold towels, clean up and fetch things for people when they needed them. After about 8 or 9 months of shadowing, they hired for the summer, so I'm now getting hands-on experience.

They could easily have posted an ad and gotten someone 100x more experienced than me, but since I'd been with them so long, they knew my personality fit with the rest of the staff, they knew I worked hard and wanted to learn and they were willing to teach me everything I needed to know. I just had my 3 month review, and they're keeping me! They're very pleased with the progress I've been making.

But back to the main point...shadowing is great. I've been told that vet schools don't care so much about practical skills like drawing blood and such so much as you getting the intellectual part of the profession and seeing everything and still wanting to be a vet. As long as you're a good person and you're interested, it should be fine--it's their job to teach you the skills you need.

So go shadow already!

 

[ReadyBeVet]

I work at a new (within the last 2 years) SA hospital. They're just starting out although the doctor has been practicing for 20 years. They were in a $$ pinch and allowed me to be a "volunteer" technician. I did everything a tech does, but I also signed a liability waiver if I got hurt. Since another tech left to go back to school, I'm now getting paid.

 

[snapcall]

I've been told that vet schools don't care so much about practical skills like drawing blood and such so much as you getting the intellectual part of the profession and seeing everything and still wanting to be a vet. As long as you're a good person and you're interested, it should be fine--it's their job to teach you the skills you need.

This is exactly what I was hoping for! I love it when reality actually matches up with what I wanted to hear 😀

Thanks for all the replies! Guess I'd better get out there and shadow 👍

 

[cowgirla]

This is exactly what I was hoping for! I love it when reality actually matches up with what I wanted to hear 😀

Thanks for all the replies! Guess I'd better get out there and shadow 👍

Many new vets I know are HORRIBLE at blood draws and catheter placement. It's almost scary.
They tend to just hand things over to whichever experienced technician happens to be closest.
So no, I wouldn't be too worried about shadowing instead of working and getting hands on experience.

 

[quantized]

I volunteer and get to do about everything a regular tech does, so that's something to look into especially if you have a big non profit animal shelter near you. They actually asked to hire me but I refused due to a combination of not wanting to be flaky with working around school and my other job and the fact that their management leaves a great deal to be desired with how they treat their employees. I may revise that as I get poorer!