How much should you know before vet school?

[kakei]

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Hello! Long time lurker here. So I was just wondering, before entering vet school how much stuff should you actually know how to do? As in should you know how to place catheters, do blood draws, analyze samples, do x-rays, etc. Or will we learn it all in vet school? Right now I work in a vet hospital but we only help the techs and doctors in restraining the dogs and cats during these types of procedures. We’re more responsible for walking, cleaning, feeding, and medicating the animals. I’m just a little worried that by the time vet school rolls around most people already know how to do everything and I’ll just be behind all the time.

So what did you guys learn how to do during your vet/animal experiences?

Thanks!

 

[twelvetigers]

It's great to learn as much as you can, but you shouldn't worry about not knowing enough of that stuff for vet school. It's wonderful experience, but it's not required, and you will learn it in vet school. It may seem like everyone knows how to do this or that, but I promise that others in your class will have a similar amount and depth of experience, and there will probably be students there with even less. I also promise that someone in your class will "know" how to do this or that, but will proceed to do it in an incorrect manner. Sometimes learning things from scratch is much easier than re-learning things you'd been doing a different way.

Anyway, that should be the last thing that you're fretting about in regards to vet school! Knowing how to place catheters isn't an admission requirement. If it were, I'd be in trouble as well, because I mostly do the things you mentioned doing above. 🙂

 

[rachroo]

Also according to a recent vet school graduate, there was a person in his class who had NO clinical experience at a vet hospital and they were accepted into vet school.

I'm just trying to fathom how they got accepted! Furthermore, how could they be certain that being a vet is what they really wanted if they didn't have any first hand experience?

 

[DVMorBust]

Well, there's more to the veterinary field than just clinical work. Not saying that this individual was aiming for one of the other areas, just pointing out that there's a multitude of opportunities that don't deal with patient care.

 

[Bill59]

1. What you're getting into, both in terms of veterinary school and a career in veterinary medicine. This includes the financial aspects. The best way to learn this is to work/volunteer somewhere in the veterinary field first.

2. How to study.

3. How to handle large and small animals safely or at least how not to get yourself or someone else killed.

That's about it in my opinion.

 

[NittanyKitty]

My hospital at home lets me do pretty similar stuff, kakei. I'm not a certified tech, so I usually just hang around and lend a hand wherever needed. As long as you're observant and ask questions, I think you can pick up an awful lot this way. Sure, you might not have ever placed a catheter yourself, but after holding for one for the umpteenth time, you have a pretty good idea how it's done, what procedures you place them for, etc. 🙂 Any experience you can get is good experience, so just try to pick up as much as you can. The practical skills can come later.

 

[ShelterGirl]

Ditto what Bill59 said.

At my school we're starting out first year with basic restraint because the clinical skill level varies wildly. We have research people with very little clinical experience, large animal people who don't know diddly about small animals, small animal people like me who don't know diddly about large animals, and the occasional rock star who knows everything.

 

[AuburnPreVet]

Ditto what Bill59 said.
... and the occasional rock star who knows everything.

Or... more likely THINKS that they do. 😳

 

[charismarl]

You want to know as much as you can because it will make life easier in vet school and you will rock out at say phlebotomy if you've been doing it for years as opposed to the people in your class who (inevitably) have never drawn blood before. However, with that being said...you are going to vet school to learn how to do that stuff...no practical skills are actually required to get into vet school. What you should be dangerously familiar with is ethical issues, current events, background knowledge of the veterinary field, and veterinary medicine as a career. Also, some states have strict rules to what assistants/techs can and can't do so depending on what state you're from (and/or how strict the practice where you work is) you may or not even have the opportunity to learn that stuff. I had a lot of practical skills and conceptual background going into school and it has definitely helped me but it's not like those that don't have the background are falling behind. Plus, everyone has a different background...some city people have never handled a horse, palpated a cow, etc. whereas people who grew up on farms did that stuff everyday.

Just worry about keeping your grades up and having a good interview...the rest will come later.

 

[dpcdoc]

Hello! Long time lurker here. So I was just wondering, before entering vet school how much stuff should you actually know how to do? As in should you know how to place catheters, do blood draws, analyze samples, do x-rays, etc. Or will we learn it all in vet school? Right now I work in a vet hospital but we only help the techs and doctors in restraining the dogs and cats during these types of procedures. We’re more responsible for walking, cleaning, feeding, and medicating the animals. I’m just a little worried that by the time vet school rolls around most people already know how to do everything and I’ll just be behind all the time.

So what did you guys learn how to do during your vet/animal experiences?

Thanks!

While obviously, having had experience in the clinical procedures described above may have benefits in later years. It seems the first half of vet school knowledge base must include; how to work well with others, study gross anatomy until you are dreaming of the origin, insertion, action and innervation of the serratus ventralis and at the same time keep up with biochemistry, physiology, embryology, histology, ethology, among other classes. Best advice would be to review alot from your pre reqs that will be assumed that you still remember. You do not need to know how to do any of that stuff early on and the class has such a diverse backround that most things are explained as if to a layman. I had very little typical clinical veterinary experience when I aplied to vet school; but a lot of time working in research using a swine model and helping to teach a combat casualty care course. I could assist on a necropsy or teach a bunch of medical students how to do a peritoneal lavage or insert a chest tube on a pig, along with the treatment of blast injuries or gunshot wounds but I could not show how to properly restrain a small animal for a clinical procedure.
Bottom line is you will not necessarily be behind;the class is too diverse and it seems things are tought to the lowest level. So if you know how to perform venipuncture, assuming it is the same way your professor wants you to do it, thats one less thing to have to think about too much. Best of luck to you. The things you listed are insignificant compared with the academic workload that is to come. Best of luck to you.

 

[VetMed555]

First year is as far from clinical stuff as you can get, but VERY heavy on prereq. knowlege such as Biochem. What I wish I would've done: reviewed Biochem before starting school. It's been 2 years since I took it, and it seems to come at you from all sides: Biochem, Physiology, and even some Histology. So my advice is, get clinical exposure, but don't worry about knowing all the procedures etc. They will teach you all the clinical stuff that you need to know, and they'll teach you their way, not your clinic's way.

 

[Moonpaw]

At UTK we have Physical Diagnosis lab, where we work on things like that. There are some people who have a ton of experience, and some who have none, so it's great to have others sharing their knowledge. It's also wonderful to have a class that is working directly with animals (LIVE ones, anatomy lab doesn't count!) and doesn't require a nose being buried in a book to learn. The many doctors and techs who are present are really great at showing us what to look for, what to do, and then encouraging us to do it ourselves.

 

[kakei]

Thanks everyone for your advice! I think I just needed some reassurance that it's ok 🙂