Premed -> Prevet?

[helpmee]

Back story:
For a long time I've wanted to be a doctor. Have done many premed things to guarantee that (clinical contact, shadowing, volunteering, nurse assistant, etc). Still really want to pursue it.

But, I've always loved animals to a ridiculous point. I went to a foreign country to do medical volunteering, I ended up feeding all the strays my food and was touched by them (so skinny, poor things). Etc. etc

I love animals more than I love people. But, wouldn't this hurt me as a vet?

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[DVMDream]

Would what hurt you?

Loving animals more than people? You have to love animals to be a vet, obviously. But, you also have to be able to work with and dare I say "love" people. Animals don't walk into vet clinics with notes on their collars saying "please remove my testicles" and a credit card attached (though sometimes we all wish they did). Animals have owners, owners can be demanding, you have to be able to work with and be good at dealing with people.

If you are interested in vet med, you should shadow a vet, ask to observe and see what they do. The best way to know if you would be able to handle it, is to watch it first hand and see what really occurs in a vet clinic. And if you were to go down the road of vet school, you will need the veterinary experience hours anyway.

 

[helpmee]

Would what hurt you?

Loving animals more than people? You have to love animals to be a vet, obviously. But, you also have to be able to work with and dare I say "love" people. Animals don't walk into vet clinics with notes on their collars saying "please remove my testicles" and a credit card attached (though sometimes we all wish they did). Animals have owners, owners can be demanding, you have to be able to work with and be good at dealing with people.

If you are interested in vet med, you should shadow a vet, ask to observe and see what they do. The best way to know if you would be able to handle it, is to watch it first hand and see what really occurs in a vet clinic. And if you were to go down the road of vet school, you will need the veterinary experience hours anyway.

Sorry, I meant I could deal with the emotions of say, loosing a person or them being sick, but a animal? Not so much.

 

[epivetlove]

You can still be a human doctor and help out animals in your spare time. Probably save a lot more money that way.

But DVMD is right. The only real way to know if you're suited for the profession is to shadow. Shadow at any and all types of clinics that you can. Volunteer at a shelter if possible. Give yourself the opportunity to see all sides of vet med, the happy and sad.

 

[DVMDream]

Sorry, I meant I could deal with the emotions of say, loosing a person or them being sick, but a animal? Not so much.

There will be sick, injured, painful, scared and aggressive animals for sure. But there are also happy, wriggly puppies, happy geriatric labs, playful kittens, and many many animals that you will help when they need it most; even if that help is giving them a peaceful end.

So yes, there is bad in vet med, there are sad things, but there are good things too. Yes, it can be hard to see an animal that is really sick or really painful, but you learn to move past that and instead see what you can do to make that animal feel better. You find a way to turn that into empathy and use that to motivate yourself to treat and care for that animal.

Again, you will never know if you really can deal with the emotions of being a vet unless you experience it. If you experience it and realize you can't deal with it, then you have your answer.

Sorry, if I am missing something, but what is the purpose of this thread? Just to tell us you can't deal with seeing sick animals? Is there some form of question here that I am missing?

 

[StartingoverVet]

Loving animals and being are vet are not necessarily linked.

I can definitely see that if your feelings are too strong about animals, you may not want to be involved in treating them...

Vet med has crappy economics, I would strongly suggest you stick with human med, and continue to spend some time helping out at shelters and rescue. That would give you more of the emotional reward you are looking for without dealing with all the crappy parts of vet med, not to mention you will be in a much better financial situation to help the animals economically.

 

[bunnity]

Loving animals and being are vet are not necessarily linked.

I can definitely see that if your feelings are too strong about animals, you may not want to be involved in treating them...

Vet med has crappy economics, I would strongly suggest you stick with human med, and continue to spend some time helping out at shelters and rescue. That would give you more of the emotional reward you are looking for without dealing with all the crappy parts of vet med, not to mention you will be in a much better financial situation to help the animals economically.

I agree. Most of the bunny rescue people I know have good-paying, non-animal jobs, and then have more discretionary income to put towards their rescue efforts. There are many ways to help animals (paid and volunteer) that are not veterinarian jobs. Just think about it, if someone loves helping people do we automatically tell them to be a doctor? To be a vet you need to love animals and people and medicine/science (and poverty?!).

 

[Minnerbelle]

And to be a vet, it means you have to respect and support the OWNERS' wishes when it comes to how their pet will be treated so long as it's not breaking any laws. That can mean that you watch animals suffer, and you just have to grin and bear it because no matter how much you want to help that animal, you can't without the owner's consent. A lot of the decisions are made due to finances, which can be very difficult emotionally.