I basically ended up at a wonderful clinic (and as a result have a lifelong mentor and friend) by the most unconventional/accidental means possible, so the way “you should” do things is not always how they pan out in real life.
That said, I think just showing up with a resume can be hit or miss in a busy GP clinic, so I agree with LIS that calling ahead might be best. You can ask if they ever allow pre-vets to shadow and then if they want a resume you can take one. Definitely emphasize that you are a pre-vet and that you want to get experience shadowing and exploring the profession. I know Findlay has a lot of pre-vet students, so you might also consider looking for some place to shadow in your hometown where it might be less saturated if you have trouble finding a place where you are going to school.
This lol I went to Findlay for undergrad too and the few clinics in Findlay were soooo saturated with hungry pre-vets and hard to get your foot into it wasn't even funny. It can't hurt to still try though. Instead, I focused on getting quality vet experience during my breaks and summers and while I was at Findlay if I needed an animal fix I would look for "
animal experience" that wasn't necessarily supervised by a vet i.e. volunteering at the humane society, extra barn duty, whatever.
I remember my first spring break, driving around with my mom and a stack full of resumes to literally every clinic within a 10 mile radius. I got one bite.
One clinic was willing to take me under their wing and thank god, because they went on to be the place with the doctors that wrote me my letters of recommendation. Back then though, I was pretty shy (who am I kidding, I still am lol) and I settled for just dropping my resume off with the front desk staff. Don't do this! Make contact. Honestly I would go right for asking for the practice manager and chances are they'll know how to handle it. If they're busy, either come back another time or ask for them to call you. I would have a cover letter as well that states your intentions. If they are busy and the practice manager sees a random resume on their desk, it could get overlooked because they aren't necessarily hiring.
One way to make it less scary for the clinic to commit to you is to set up just a single shadow opportunity, or maybe a few, rather than a whole semester or a whole summer. That way, you can meet everyone and see how the day goes to really know if you want to spend a lot more time there. And the clinic isn't committing a whole summer to someone who might be cray (which I doubt you are). It's going to be so clinic dependent though. I know as a new grad, having someone shadow me at this point in time would probably make me nervous. But the more seasoned vets should be aware that things like this are part of the profession. I personally can't wait to give back to the profession and let someone shadow me after what horrible luck I had when I was trying to do the same. Good luck!
If you really want a place in Findlay and you're struggling, one of my sorority sisters is a vet at VCA Findlay and I might be able to message her to see if she takes pre-vet shadows. We're more acquaintances now, but if you're desperate let me know.
