new with questions =)

[in a pickle]

---

Members don't see this ad.

hello everyone,

so i'm new to the forum and i have a dilemma that i was hoping you all might be able to help me with.

i am currently a junior in a direct-pathway medical program. but for the past couple years i have just been very ambivalent as to whether i really want to become a doctor.

somehow, i just don't really think my heart is in it for the long haul. i like working with people and helping people and am fascinated by anatomy and biology, but somehow, i just don't know if human medicine is really for me. there is sooo much schooling and training, and the "no-life for the next 8-10 years" factor really sucks.

lately, i've been thinking about going into veterinary medicine. the prospect of working with animals really excites me but i guess i just wanted to know a bit more about the field.

i've been browsing some of the threads and veterinary school seems to be really competitive. do i even have a shot at getting in? i have no experience working with animals (though i intend to begin volunteering at an animal shelter and want to look into shadowing a vet asap). all of my volunteer work and jobs have been geared towards medical school. my gpa is good and my mcat score is good, but i still haven't taken the GRE.

what do you guys think? should i just stick to the medical school route and hope that my passion for that field will return? i'd appreciate any input at all.

 

[bakaduin]

there is sooo much schooling and training, and the "no-life for the next 8-10 years" factor really sucks.

While vet school isnt for 8 to ten years, unless you want to be a specialist, I can assure you the course load for 4 years will be every bit as rigorous and leave you with just as little of a life outside of class! Switching from Med school to vet school wont be an easy way out.

 

[sheep girl]

I understand kind of where you are coming from. I thought of doing the opposite while studing in college. Before you decide on becoming a veterinarian, there are some things that you need to figure out.

For example, I grew up on a sheep farm (imagine that); I was very involved in 4-H. I loved the lifestyle. Since the age of 8, I have wanted to be a vet. I want to help producers (large animals). In college, becoming a MD sounded great, ambitious, etc. I took the MCAT, scored fair. But, I still was not sure. (before then my life revolved around becoming a vet)

So, this is what I did. I volunteered at mental health clinic. It was good. But the real test was volunteering in Africa (The Gambia) for 8 weeks at hospital. There I realized that it was not for me. You have to love people for both professions, but you have to follow your heart. My advice is to dig-in and get involved (spend alot of intense time) working with animals (in the field you think you want to practice)

If you chose to be a vet, stay involved. You have to have experience (your medical experience will not be all lost), and the more well rounded the better (small, large, equine, exotics, and research animals) My view is that both medical and vet schools are both competitive. But, to me the Gre is easier and your GPA counts more with vet schools. Also, talk to a pre-vet advisor. The classes are exactly the same, but they can give you experience advice.

Also, you are still going to have no life for a couple of years with either one. Get over it; if time is an issue, neither one is for you.

GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Vet school is basically four years of med school for dogs, four years of med school med school for cats, four for horses, cows, swine, etc all stuffed into ONE session of four years.

It is just as much, if not more schooling than med school....so I have to say, if med school scares you, then vet school should -twice as much😀 If the main reason you are losing passion for med school is the workload...trust me, ya can't avoid it buy doing vet med. Vet is also just as people-oriented as med, so even if you love animals, you gotta love people to (I would hope you do since you're in med! 😉 Are there other reasons you feel your interest is waning?

However, if you really think it's for you, I would take a year off and spend it getting experience. Work in a vet clinic, work at shelter, work in animal-related research. You really have to experience the field before you can figure out if you will be truly happy in it.

 

[FlyOnTheWall]

lately, i've been thinking about going into veterinary medicine. the prospect of working with animals really excites me but i guess i just wanted to know a bit more about the field.

i've been browsing some of the threads and veterinary school seems to be really competitive. do i even have a shot at getting in? i have no experience working with animals (though i intend to begin volunteering at an animal shelter and want to look into shadowing a vet asap). all of my volunteer work and jobs have been geared towards medical school. my gpa is good and my mcat score is good, but i still haven't taken the GRE. .

You need to get out and get some first hand experience with some veterinarians. See it up close and personal to get a feel if it's something you could see yourself doing. It is competitive and regardless how good grades and test scores are we wouldn't accept a candidate that had no veterinary experience. An exception might be a rock star researcher wanting some clinical skills to take back to research.

These boards have some really good info about where to look for the experience. Another good resource would be the admissions office at your closest vet school.

Good luck!

 

[Pandacinny]

I think you should try to get some actual clinical experience as soon as you can. This should help you see what the day to day work is like for whatever type of vet you happen to be working with. It's something that's not only necessary for you to get accepted to vet school, but really necessary to help you decide whether or not this is the profession for you.

You might also take the GREs soon, if you can. Even if you decide not to go to vet school, having a nice GRE score on your resume/applications for other schools shouldn't hurt you in any way. 😉

 

[in a pickle]

thanks everyone! i will definitely try to get more experience with animals (i've already called a bunch of local animal hospitals to see if i can shadow a vet to get a better feel for whether vet med is for me).


but on a different note:

what got you into vet med? if you're a veterinarian, how do you like your job? pros/cons?

 

[fargeese]

I understand kind of where you are coming from. I thought of doing the opposite while studing in college. Before you decide on becoming a veterinarian, there are some things that you need to figure out.

For example, I grew up on a sheep farm (imagine that); I was very involved in 4-H. I loved the lifestyle. Since the age of 8, I have wanted to be a vet. I want to help producers (large animals). In college, becoming a MD sounded great, ambitious, etc. I took the MCAT, scored fair. But, I still was not sure. (before then my life revolved around becoming a vet)

So, this is what I did. I volunteered at mental health clinic. It was good. But the real test was volunteering in Africa (The Gambia) for 8 weeks at hospital. There I realized that it was not for me. You have to love people for both professions, but you have to follow your heart. My advice is to dig-in and get involved (spend alot of intense time) working with animals (in the field you think you want to practice)

If you chose to be a vet, stay involved. You have to have experience (your medical experience will not be all lost), and the more well rounded the better (small, large, equine, exotics, and research animals) My view is that both medical and vet schools are both competitive. But, to me the Gre is easier and your GPA counts more with vet schools. Also, talk to a pre-vet advisor. The classes are exactly the same, but they can give you experience advice.

Also, you are still going to have no life for a couple of years with either one. Get over it; if time is an issue, neither one is for you.

GOOD LUCK!!!

You were in The Gambia?! Salaameelekum! I was a Peace Corps Volunteer there for 2.5 years, I didn't work in the health sector but instead was an agroforestry volunteer. The hospitals there are super depressing, and most of the people I knew did not want to go there at all, because they were afraid of catching something worse there. And now the dictator (fair elections my a$$) is telling everyone that he now has a secret formula to cure AIDS and asthma. Africa is awesome!
I was glad to get out of there with nothing worse than salmonella and dysentary, but it was my own fault for eating mayo and MSG sandwiches in the market, and drinking the water from the plastic baggies they sell at the police/bribe stops to people baking on the bus (so cold and delicious, but you pay later!)

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

About why we did vet: here is a good thread which shows a bunch of different viewpoints about all the many things you can do with a DVM

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=490868

 

[NittanyKitty]

I was kind of in the same situation as you, in a pickle. I had dreamed of veterinary school nearly forever, but when I got to college, I started to think about other options. I knew so many people in my classes who were thinking of grad school and med school, that I couldn't help but consider other options. In my freshman and sophomore years I seriously considered medical school; the parents weren't helping much either. They never had an issue with my goals, but they suddenly started pushing the med school idea. They especially encouraged me to apply to both, mostly to "hedge my bets".

I had to really think out what I wanted from life, and I finally came to the realization that I'd be cheating myself out of my dream job if I chose medical school over vet. The sole reason I could think of to become an MD was the money. And that's just not who I am. I love veterinary medicine, and having a career I'm passionate about was so much more important to me than a lucrative job. I think I could be happy being a human doctor, but why give up on my real dream? I know I'd always wonder if I would be happier down another road.

 

[cock a too]

Apathy is NOT what makes doctors! If you need to take time to figure out what to do with your life, then do it. If you need someone else to make decisions for you, then maybe a career at starbucks is right for you!
Clinical experience may be the only way for you to figure this out!

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Rudeness and posturing is not what makes doctors either, cock a too.

The OP asked very valid questions and was just seeking input, just as I am sure you did at one point/still do.

 

[cock a too]

I did not mean to be rude, and I am sorry for offending you.
I did mean to be blunt, as I don't think this question can be taken lightly.
You are correct, I had to ask these questions too. I worked at several hospitals that showed me the good and the bad. I think that Pickle needs to see both, and be honest with him/herself.
IMO, the best advice isn't of the candy coated variety.

 

[BobDog]

I also got derailed from my dream of vet med during undergrad, but I saw it happening and made it a controlled derail. I knew that I really liked research and wanted to get research training, and I knew that if I still wanted vet med it, I could easily combine the two later on. I found that I still want it, big time 😀. Your situation is different (althought I do know quite a few DVM/MD/PhDs , but they are more crazy than misguided). You have a big question to answer, and you should definitely answer it now rather than later. Don't go into med or vet school half-hearted, because either one can eat you alive if you are not committed (from what I hear, of course 😀).

 

[BobDog]

Oh yeah, and experience is a pre-req for vet school. So if you are going to do the vet thing, you better get started on that and that will help big-time in your decision. Good Luck! 😀