I know its early...

[thedeafkid]

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So I am in highschool, 10th grade. I'm pretty certain that I want to be a veterinarian and this summer I'm thinking about asking my local vet if I can volunteer this summer but I was wondering if vets allow people to do that? I did some research and I know that you need experience which is why I want to. Plus I want to see firsthand if I really want to pursue it.

And I realize that being 15 you probably won't take me seriously but whatever, its never too early right? 😉


ALSO, does anyone know anything about the University of Calgarys program? I live in Edmonton and I don't want to go far from home.


Thank you!

 

[luplodw]

Heck I started shadowing in the 7th grade! It's definitely not too early to get some experience! Just go to some vets in your area and ask if you can shadow. You should look into going to a vet camp in the summer. I went to one at Texas A&M in 9th grade. It's a lot of fun, and they did a great job showing you all the things you could do as a veterinarian.

 

[SocialStigma]

Definitely worth a shot, I actually regret not starting accumulating my vet experience earlier. I'm 19 and have always wanted to be a vet but I never tried to get vet experience until last summer, though I have plenty of animal experience. Bring in your resume and cover letter to clinics and try and talk to the vet if all possible, calling the clinic doesn't usually work as well because receptionists are busy and may forget to pass on the message or they don't want to bother the vet(s).

Good luck!

 

[TrocarKarin]

Can't hurt to try. The vet I work for has two 13-15 year olds that come in and shadow. Just don't be too surprised if you're not allowed to do too much hands-on stuff due to liability issues.

 

[clairbear]

I started in the the fall of my junior year and I stayed at that clinic for about a year and a half. Its definately worth checking into.

 

[moosenanny]

Also, once you start accumulating volunteer/shadowing hours, make some sort of excel spreadsheet that keeps track of all your hours, the vet's name, contact information, etc. In five or more years when you start applying, this information will be hard to remember and you'll love yourself for having it all recorded and organized.

Hopefully you won't run into too many obstacles in finding a vet who is willing to let you shadow/volunteer. You age might be an issue regarding liability (under 18 - heck, under 16)! Be persistent and don't get frustrated if you have to go to 10, 20, 30 places until you've found a willing vet clinic. You can search past threads discussing topics of how to approach vets and ask them about shadowing/volunteering/etc.

In addition to A&M, Tufts has an vet adventure program for high school students: http://www.tufts.edu/vet/avm/high_school.html. I actually posted about this earlier today, coincidentally. You may want to check it out 🙂

 

[clouds815]

And I realize that being 15 you probably won't take me seriously but whatever, its never too early right? 😉

Its Never too early! you'll be ahead of the game which is awesome because you'll have so much time to get diverse animal and vet experiences in! i didn't figure it out for myself until after starting college

welcome 🙂

 

[luplodw]

Also, after you finish shadowing/working for each vet, make sure you get a letter of recommendation. Some schools like Cornell require LORs from every vet you work with to even count the hours. It's hard to get them years later!

 

[Nechochwen]

I think it's great that your checking out SDN this early. By the time it's your turn to apply, you'll have seen (indirectly) how the process goes a few times over.

A big part of gaining experience is getting diverse experience too. Once you shadow a vet a little and see if you're still in to it, you might try over at Valley Zoo. I know I wish I had got some large animal experience.

I ran into some insurance liability issues when I tried job shadowing, but that was just me.

 

[Nephromaniac]

Agree with the above! Never hurts to be ahead of the game, & kudos to you for being on top of things! Also, can't hurt to talk to your school guidance counselor / schedule director to see if your school has any programs which may help, or an independent study type course. I started shadowing through a mentorship program at my school which was designed to expose students to fields they may be interested in to see if it's something that they'd really like to pursue, so I got experience AND class credit! Independent study may be a little more difficult b/c they're generally more academic related, but it can't hurt, & either way, a clinic may be more likely to let you shadow if it is school related. Good luck, & don't get discouraged if you have trouble finding somewhere, it just takes persistence!

Oh, & don't forget shelters... many of them need help cleaning, feeding, & exercising pets. It probably wouldn't start off very "medically" oriented, but if you can't find a vet, it's still good animal experience, & potentially a good way to make connections which may help you get more experience down the line.

 

[rhinocerotidae]

I agree with everyone else, start early! It can't hurt.
There are many clinics in Edmonton which I'm sure will take on volunteers at your age, so if for some reason your local vet says no, just ask around to a few other clinics near by.

ALSO, does anyone know anything about the University of Calgarys program? I live in Edmonton and I don't want to go far from home.

Are you taking about U of C undergrad program? or UCVM?
Are you considering going to the U of A also?
I live in AB so feel free to PM if you want to chat about undergrad programs at those schools.

But you still have a few years to decided, so I wouldn't stress to much about it right now.

 

[thedeafkid]

I agree with everyone else, start early! It can't hurt.
There are many clinics in Edmonton which I'm sure will take on volunteers at your age, so if for some reason your local vet says no, just ask around to a few other clinics near by.



Are you taking about U of C undergrad program? or UCVM?
Are you considering going to the U of A also?

I actually live in Stony Plain which is near to Edmonton but I figured no one knew where it was haha. I am thinking about doing my undergrad in U of A because then I can live at home for a little while and not have to pay the costs of apartments and etc. I am talking about UCVM though.

Also, unfortunately we don't have any shelters in Stony Plain so I am going to wait until I am 16 and can actually drive to a shelter in Edmontonish area.

I thought it would be a good idea to get a start up on everybody, especially considering I'm deaf so I'm going to have to work a little bit harder. Not that my deafness ever stops me anyways but still.

 

[chii chan]

Definitely give it a try! One of my vets brings a friend's daughter to work every Friday during the summer for half a day. Usually she just watches, but every now and then we need her to pick up the phone and put someone on hold. I think she's only 12 or 13.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Like others said, go for it! It can't hurt! I started at a humane society when I was a junior in high school and started vaccinating and drawing blood right away - best experience ever! Pretty much the only thing that kept me going back in the day (I was one of those teenagers with a lot of angst).

 

[alliecat44]

I

I thought it would be a good idea to get a start up on everybody, especially considering I'm deaf so I'm going to have to work a little bit harder. Not that my deafness ever stops me anyways but still.

That's fantastic--good for you! 🙂 I agree with everything everyone on here has said. I started working in a veterinary hospital as a kennel attendant when I was 14. (At least you won't be driven crazy by all the barking dogs!) It is definitely not too early!

Here's a great article about deaf veterinarians: http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/nov09/091115e.asp

There's also an organization referened--the Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses. Their website is www.amphl.org as listed in the article. 🙂 Not sure if you'd seen either of these! Click on the "Veterinarians" page at the AMPHL website for things to consider regarding veterinary education and those schools who have graduated students with hearing losses.

Best of luck to you--and kudos for getting on SDN early. This website will be an amazing resource to you on your journey--wherever it takes you!

 

[quantized]

I work with a deaf veterinarian. Some of the stuff she does to cope is really neat! It's definitely not a barrier to being a vet, you just have to figure out some alternative ways to "hear" some things, which I'm sure you've had to do in other circumstances anyways.