Question About Experience?

[SkiOtter]

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Hello!
I was hoping someone would be able to tell me if horse riding lessons, showing, and leasing horses would count as animal experience or not for vet school applications. I never really thought about it possibly counting, but my mom mentioned it to me, so I was wondering if anyone knew if it would count or not.
Also, I volunteer at my local animal shelter as a surgery support volunteer and I mostly pop syringes, wash surgical and dental instruments, masks, endotracheal tubes, and make surgery packs (but occasionally clean a cage and take dirty clinic laundry to the laundry room for other volunteers to wash). This would count as vet experience, right?
Any answers would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[OtterMayhem]

All your horse lessons and shows will surely count for animal experience. Unless you're actually working with a veterinarian it doesn't count as vet experience.


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[battie]

Hello!
I was hoping someone would be able to tell me if horse riding lessons, showing, and leasing horses would count as animal experience or not for vet school applications. I never really thought about it possibly counting, but my mom mentioned it to me, so I was wondering if anyone knew if it would count or not.
Also, I volunteer at my local animal shelter as a surgery support volunteer and I mostly pop syringes, wash surgical and dental instruments, masks, endotracheal tubes, and make surgery packs (but occasionally clean a cage and take dirty clinic laundry to the laundry room for other volunteers to wash). This would count as vet experience, right?
Any answers would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

I counted my 7 years of lessons and showing with horses as animal experience. No reason not to.

Unless you're working under the veterinarian at the shelter, it would also be animal experience.

 

[Minnerbelle]

But really though? You could argue that surgical packs and such need to be done in a manner that is "under the supervision of a veterinarian." Especially if OP is in the surgical area able to kind of observe what's going on. OP is in a veterinary hospital helping out with necessary duties pertaining to surgeries even if she isn't directly involved in procedures.

Washing glassware in a lab counts as "research" experience. Being a kennel attendant in an animal hospital cleaning kennels and walking/feeding dogs count as veterinary experience. Is this really all that different?

It may not be the best quality experience, but I'm not so sure it's clear cut. If I were the OP, I would ask VMCAS as well as the admissions office of schools she's considering applying to.



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[dyachei]

Also, I volunteer at my local animal shelter as a surgery support volunteer and I mostly pop syringes, wash surgical and dental instruments, masks, endotracheal tubes, and make surgery packs (but occasionally clean a cage and take dirty clinic laundry to the laundry room for other volunteers to wash). This would count as vet experience, right?

I would consider this vet experience.

The horse stuff? Animal experience.

 

[pp9]

But really though? You could argue that surgical packs and such need to be done in a manner that is "under the supervision of a veterinarian." Especially if OP is in the surgical area able to kind of observe what's going on. OP is in a veterinary hospital helping out with necessary duties pertaining to surgeries even if she isn't directly involved in procedures.

Washing glassware in a lab counts as "research" experience. Being a kennel attendant in an animal hospital cleaning kennels and walking/feeding dogs count as veterinary experience. Is this really all that different?

It may not be the best quality experience, but I'm not so sure it's clear cut. If I were the OP, I would ask VMCAS as well as the admissions office of schools she's considering applying to.



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FWIW, when I was cleaning/sterilizing surgical equipment, I was under a vet tech's supervision and a veterinarian had absolutely nothing to do with it. I guess it just depends on who trains the OP and who he/she answers to. I wouldn't have called my experience 'veterinary' by any means. I also think talking to the schools is worth it. Miscategorizing is not going to be the end of you, so don't fret too much. Just do the best you can to categorize as accurately as possible. Still talk to your schools....not so sure I'd call VMCAS. You'd likely get a different answer depending on who's working the phones that day.

 

[SkiOtter]

Thank you all so much for your answers! Super happy that all of my years of horseback riding actually do count!

Especially if OP is in the surgical area able to kind of observe what's going on. OP is in a veterinary hospital helping out with necessary duties pertaining to surgeries even if she isn't directly involved in procedures.

And I am in the surgical area while cleaning instruments/wrapping packs. This past Tuesday I was able to see a bit of a leg amputation on a kitty (poor thing was a very nice feral with a shattered front leg and the shelter opted to do the surgery for him anyway) and I am usually able to see the vet work from where I'm at whenever she's doing a surgery (so many feral cat spays/neuters).
I will definitely check with the schools where I'm planning on applying to see what they would classify it as. Thank you all for your help!

 

[Minnerbelle]

I don't think who trains the OP is relevant. I certainly don't train every staff member that is "under my supervision"


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[Minnerbelle]

Thank you all so much for your answers! Super happy that all of my years of horseback riding actually do count!


And I am in the surgical area while cleaning instruments/wrapping packs. This past Tuesday I was able to see a bit of a leg amputation on a kitty (poor thing was a very nice feral with a shattered front leg and the shelter opted to do the surgery for him anyway) and I am usually able to see the vet work from where I'm at whenever she's doing a surgery (so many feral cat spays/neuters).
I will definitely check with the schools where I'm planning on applying to see what they would classify it as. Thank you all for your help!

That is definitely vet experience.

Does the vet know you're interested in going to vet school one day? I'd let him/her know. They may take more interest in showing you things.


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[heyyimhayley]

I worked as a surgical assistant at a veterinary hospital and counted it as veterinary experience. 90% of what I did was instruments.. Occasionally helping pre and post op. My manager was an LVT. I did work with the veterinarians... But only when they'd come in, perform the surgery, and leave. Sounds like what you're doing is similar to what I did, so I would count it as veterinary.

Minnerbelle's question is a good one. Make sure they know you want to be a veterinarian! When I worked in surgery, it was pretty much my first real vet experience. I was young and shy, and afraid to ask questions. I don't think that most of the vets even knew my name. I got the experience, but I didn't make any connections except with techs and other assistants, and looking back I really wish I had tried harder to get to know the veterinarians. While there definitely are right and wrong times to, don't be afraid to ask questions. Spays and neuters are usually pretty routine, so most vets I don't think would have issues showing you what they're doing (as opposed to an emergency surgery, that's when you save your questions until after). So anyway, sounds like great experience, just want to encourage you to make the most out of it!

 

[Trilt]

My rule of thumb is that if it has a damn thing to do with animals, put it in as animal experience. If it's at all supervised by a vet, vet experience. Then let the schools decide otherwise if they want to.

 

[DVMDream]

I don't think who trains the OP is relevant. I certainly don't train every staff member that is "under my supervision"


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I agree and further even if your direct supervisor isn't a vet shouldn't matter. Heck we had a tech that supervised all the techs. So if you go by the "if your supervisor wasn't a vet" then vet tech experience wouldn't have counted. Same with veterinary reception experience. However both jobs are very much veterinary experience but depending on the clinic may have different ways of supervising all of their employees. I don't think it is as black and white as "was your supervisor a vet? Yes or no".

 

[cheathac]

I kind of ran into a similar problem when working at a histology lab at a veterinary diagnostic laboratory.. the supervisor in the lab is a histotechnician.. but the section head of the lab itself is a pathologist. I've worked over 600 hours here so I wanted to get it right. I just asked a admissions committee member from NC State that was at pre vet symposium. Without a doubt she said it was vet experience, so I agree, just ask a school or VMCAS and stick with that. People on here will tell you different things.

 

[battie]

What I was going off is what is in the VMCAS FAQ:

Veterinary Experience
Veterinary experiences should relate to any veterinary clinical, agribusiness, or health science experiences which took place under the supervision of a veterinarian. Do NOT list any veterinary research experiences in this section. ALL research opportunities should be listed in the Research section. The experiences you report in this section should also be different from those entered for Animal and Employment experience.

So asking the schools directly might be a better route than asking VMCAS.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

But really though? You could argue that surgical packs and such need to be done in a manner that is "under the supervision of a veterinarian." Especially if OP is in the surgical area able to kind of observe what's going on. OP is in a veterinary hospital helping out with necessary duties pertaining to surgeries even if she isn't directly involved in procedures.

Washing glassware in a lab counts as "research" experience. Being a kennel attendant in an animal hospital cleaning kennels and walking/feeding dogs count as veterinary experience. Is this really all that different?

It may not be the best quality experience, but I'm not so sure it's clear cut. If I were the OP, I would ask VMCAS as well as the admissions office of schools she's considering applying to.



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I know this is how it is, but I really don't like this. Washing glassware is not research experience. Cleaning cages is not veterinary experience. There is nothing you learn in those experiences about research or veterinary medicine, no more than cleaning toilets at a football stadium.

Again, I know that's how it is and it can technically be counted. And unfortunately how a lot of jobs work (or at least what they start you out doing). But that's total bull****. Same with the whole counting pet ownership as experience.

 

[pp9]

I don't think who trains the OP is relevant. I certainly don't train every staff member that is "under my supervision"


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Sure, but OP made it seem like she really doesn't interact with the veterinarians except for being able to catch views of surgery. Watching surgery from afar is also iffy imo. If we're going to go that route, I can go sit in front of the veterinary window at Disney World and rack up hours without ever having talked to the veterinarians. VMCAS defines it as being supervised by a vet. To me, that means she answers to a vet in terms of training, instruction, what needs to be done, etc. If OP does this with surgical pack prep, then fine. Watching surgery from afar or scrubbing tools is not always under veterinary supervision.

I know this is how it is, but I really don't like this. Washing glassware is not research experience. Cleaning cages is not veterinary experience. There is nothing you learn in those experiences about research or veterinary medicine, no more than cleaning toilets at a football stadium.

Again, I know that's how it is and it can technically be counted. And unfortunately how a lot of jobs work (or at least what they start you out doing). But that's total bull****. Same with the whole counting pet ownership as experience.

Thank you. 100%. No school I applied to would have considered washing glassware as research experience, because I asked. Heck, they didn't even consider my actual research project because 1. it was for credit 2. It wasn't published. Washing glassware is paid employment. Research experience is so much about critical thinking, designing experiments, etc.

 

[cdo96]

I know this is how it is, but I really don't like this. Washing glassware is not research experience. Cleaning cages is not veterinary experience. There is nothing you learn in those experiences about research or veterinary medicine, no more than cleaning toilets at a football stadium.

Again, I know that's how it is and it can technically be counted. And unfortunately how a lot of jobs work (or at least what they start you out doing). But that's total bull****. Same with the whole counting pet ownership as experience.

I disagree. While the majority of what you do as a kennel tech/ research assistant isn't truly vet or research based, there's enough opportunities to do official stuff while working. Pretty much every day last summer when it was slow or I had finished all of my duties, I would (ask to) follow a tech or the vet around and they gave me a lot of experience that way- they taught me how to insert a catheter, or where to draw for various blood draws (still hate jugular draws). Heck I've had the vet pull me into surgery a couple of times and he walked me through exactly what he was doing. To say that none of that is vet experience would be wrong. While kennel tech isn't vet experience itself, there are usually enough opportunities to learn


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[Gwenevre]

I disagree. While the majority of what you do as a kennel tech/ research assistant isn't truly vet or research based, there's enough opportunities to do official stuff while working. Pretty much every day last summer when it was slow or I had finished all of my duties, I would (ask to) follow a tech or the vet around and they gave me a lot of experience that way- they taught me how to insert a catheter, or where to draw for various blood draws (still hate jugular draws). Heck I've had the vet pull me into surgery a couple of times and he walked me through exactly what he was doing. To say that none of that is vet experience would be wrong. While kennel tech isn't vet experience itself, there are usually enough opportunities to learn


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But the time spent washing the kennels isn't the experience. It's the time you spent afterwards with the vet and techs that is the vet experience. Some people actually split the time this way to better reflect how their hours in XYZ job are spent.

 

[pp9]

I disagree. While the majority of what you do as a kennel tech/ research assistant isn't truly vet or research based, there's enough opportunities to do official stuff while working. Pretty much every day last summer when it was slow or I had finished all of my duties, I would (ask to) follow a tech or the vet around and they gave me a lot of experience that way- they taught me how to insert a catheter, or where to draw for various blood draws (still hate jugular draws). Heck I've had the vet pull me into surgery a couple of times and he walked me through exactly what he was doing. To say that none of that is vet experience would be wrong. While kennel tech isn't vet experience itself, there are usually enough opportunities to learn


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That's your story, though. I know plenty of people who are doing exactly what WTF described-just washing glassware. In no way is that research experience. Not every kennel attendant even interacts with a veterinarian while working. This may be especially true in some of the really large, full service clinics where there are kennel managers, hospital managers, grooming staff, etc.

But the time spent washing the kennels isn't the experience. It's the time you spent afterwards with the vet and techs that is the vet experience. Some people actually split the time this way to better reflect how their hours in XYZ job are spent.

Beat me to it!

 

[cdo96]

But the time spent washing the kennels isn't the experience. It's the time you spent afterwards with the vet and techs that is the vet experience. Some people actually split the time this way to better reflect how their hours in XYZ job are spent.

Yeah.. I just feel like that would be extremely confusing on the application. Essentially two different experiences at the same time for the same company? How would that be entered? I don't know... But I do agree with what you mean by "cleaning kennels isn't vet experience".


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[Minnerbelle]

I know this is how it is, but I really don't like this. Washing glassware is not research experience. Cleaning cages is not veterinary experience. There is nothing you learn in those experiences about research or veterinary medicine, no more than cleaning toilets at a football stadium.

Again, I know that's how it is and it can technically be counted. And unfortunately how a lot of jobs work (or at least what they start you out doing). But that's total bull****. Same with the whole counting pet ownership as experience.

Hey don't shoot the messenger. That's just how it's counted. I didn't make the rules

I'm not saying any of those examples are "good" experiences.

But like, I don't think it really matters as long as you're honest about the quality of your experiences in your description. At least when I applied, adcoms seemed to have really taken into account the quality of my experiences. It's really not about just the number of hours.

Just like I don't expect adcoms to treat my research experience (where I designed and executed a ton of experiments independently from scratch down to primer and subcloning design) the same as some undergrad who followed protocol and was proud they were able to run some PCRs, I don't expect adcoms to treat anything labeled "veterinary experience" the same.

Otherwise where do you draw the line? The more restrictive you make it with the idea that hours are all "legit", the more people will be penalized for having strong integrity/humility. Then of course it's the delusional idiots who will claim those hours. Really a bad idea IMO for a profession that tends to have issues with imposter syndrome to begin with.

I think it just works better for people to just follow whatever broad rules there are and let the schools decide how much they care about the experience, than to make a confusing complex algorithm for "what counts" or doesn't, and have to rely on someone random on the Internet to pick their experience apart to see if it qualifies.

I agree it reflects poorly to count pet ownership hours and would never in a million years. I think that's embarrassing IMO.

But when it's a case like the OP, where they're actually going out of the way to spend time in a veterinary environment, I don't see why we need to poo poo that. I mean whatever, anyone can **** on the OP's experience and say how her experience sucks so much more than other people's experiences. But it's not like OP was ever saying that her experience was equal to everyone else's. All she was asking was if it "counts" as veterinary experience.

 

[Gwenevre]

Yeah.. I just feel like that would be extremely confusing on the application. Essentially two different experiences at the same time for the same company? How would that be entered? I don't know... But I do agree with what you mean by "cleaning kennels isn't vet experience".


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Not if you have two categories. Doesn't really matter if they're from the same company. Heck, I worked in a library at my vet school. I also shadowed in the hospital at my vet school. Two completely different experiences under the same roof. I just made sure that I split the hours correctly on my application and it was fine.

 

[pp9]

Yeah.. I just feel like that would be extremely confusing on the application. Essentially two different experiences at the same time for the same company? How would that be entered? I don't know... But I do agree with what you mean by "cleaning kennels isn't vet experience".


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It's just two entries for the same place, but different categories. It can be harder for the applicant if they didn't keep track of how much time was spent doing what, for sure. Like I said earlier, miscategorizing won't be the end of you unless you fabricate hours or lie. I really think you should split your hours, especially if you work 40+ hours a week doing kennel work, but were able to shadow the vet for a few hours a week or whatever. That's a big difference over time, and trying to categorize all of it as veterinary isn't exactly honest.

 

[cdo96]

That's your story, though. I know plenty of people who are doing exactly what WTF described-just washing glassware. In no way is that research experience. Not every kennel attendant even interacts with a veterinarian while working.

I guess it just depends on where you work, as well as what your experience was like. I agree that if you *only* cleaned kennels or research equipment, it's not vet/ research experience. I worked at a small SA clinic with <20 total staff. I don't know if I could accurately split my time up between vet and other experience.


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[Lupin21]

split time is fine. I had to split my wildlife experience to animal when I was simply taking care of them with feeding and cage cleaning vs when I was working with vet providing medications and sx.

Entering things where they make sense is part of the application. Don't put things under vet if it isn't truly relevant to the medical capacity, and most animal exp is to show that you understand something about animals and their behavior, which is an asset as a veterinarian. Research needs to be that you are somehow involved in the collection and analyzation of data. Washing glassware and such is more of a work exp thing. When in doubt, ask a school or VMCAS. This is something people agonize about way more that they should.

 

[pp9]

split time is fine. I had to split my wildlife experience to animal when I was simply taking care of them with feeding and cage cleaning vs when I was working with vet providing medications and sx.

Entering things where they make sense is part of the application. Don't put things under vet if it isn't truly relevant to the medical capacity, and most animal exp is to show that you understand something about animals and their behavior, which is an asset as a veterinarian. Research needs to be that you are somehow involved in the collection and analyzation of data. Washing glassware and such is more of a work exp thing. When in doubt, ask a school or VMCAS. This is something people agonize about way more that they should.

Oh for sure. Pretty sure both VMCAS and schools tell you do do the best you can. There are some instances where there is no single category that best fits one experience, too.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Hey don't shoot the messenger. That's just how it's counted. I didn't make the rules

I'm not saying any of those examples are "good" experiences.

But like, I don't think it really matters as long as you're honest about the quality of your experiences in your description. At least when I applied, adcoms seemed to have really taken into account the quality of my experiences. It's really not about just the number of hours.

Just like I don't expect adcoms to treat my research experience (where I designed and executed a ton of experiments independently from scratch down to primer and subcloning design) the same as some undergrad who followed protocol and was proud they were able to run some PCRs, I don't expect adcoms to treat anything labeled "veterinary experience" the same.

Otherwise where do you draw the line? The more restrictive you make it with the idea that hours are all "legit", the more people will be penalized for having strong integrity/humility. Then of course it's the delusional idiots who will claim those hours. Really a bad idea IMO for a profession that tends to have issues with imposter syndrome to begin with.

I think it just works better for people to just follow whatever broad rules there are and let the schools decide how much they care about the experience, than to make a confusing complex algorithm for "what counts" or doesn't, and have to rely on someone random on the Internet to pick their experience apart to see if it qualifies.

I agree it reflects poorly to count pet ownership hours and would never in a million years. I think that's embarrassing IMO.

But when it's a case like the OP, where they're actually going out of the way to spend time in a veterinary environment, I don't see why we need to poo poo that. I mean whatever, anyone can **** on the OP's experience and say how her experience sucks so much more than other people's experiences. But it's not like OP was ever saying that her experience was equal to everyone else's. All she was asking was if it "counts" as veterinary experience.

Oh, no, I totally get you. I was just venting a bit. Mostly because I have, for example, had undergrads come through the lab who basically did **** (and not because I only assigned them ****) but still get to put research experience on their med school or vet school applications. Or other ones that we took on because it said on their resume that they had research experience doing X Y or Z experiments, and it turns out all they did was watch people and do scutwork and they're pretty incompetent. There is nothing that makes me madder than people misrepresenting themselves, because I'm the one that gets screwed by it when I have to babysit them. The ones I have now are really great, thankfully.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Oh, no, I totally get you. I was just venting a bit. Mostly because I have, for example, had undergrads come through the lab who basically did **** (and not because I only assigned them ****) but still get to put research experience on their med school or vet school applications. Or other ones that we took on because it said on their resume that they had research experience doing X Y or Z experiments, and it turns out all they did was watch people and do scutwork and they're pretty incompetent. There is nothing that makes me madder than people misrepresenting themselves, because I'm the one that gets screwed by it when I have to babysit them. The ones I have now are really great, thankfully.

lol the undergrad who worked in my lab would email the PI weekly to ask if her publication got out after finishing her semester/summer with us. Not sure her contribution was worthy, but whatever. I was like wtf. Of course she's now in med school at Hopkins. It's all a game in the end.

I think misrepresentation is more a personal character issue rather than a systemic issue inherent in the application process though. I think when you put the whole application comes together, how you portray yourself overall is much more telling of who you are as an applicant than the numbers anyway. The cheaters/charlatans go either way. Often times they keep being rewarded for their bad behavior. Sometimes it totally ****s them over. It's so so satisfying when it does.


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[missdarjeeling]

Sure, but OP made it seem like she really doesn't interact with the veterinarians except for being able to catch views of surgery. Watching surgery from afar is also iffy imo. If we're going to go that route, I can go sit in front of the veterinary window at Disney World and rack up hours without ever having talked to the veterinarians. VMCAS defines it as being supervised by a vet. To me, that means she answers to a vet in terms of training, instruction, what needs to be done, etc. If OP does this with surgical pack prep, then fine. Watching surgery from afar or scrubbing tools is not always under veterinary supervision.

I guess under your criteria, shadowing would be absolutely meaningless and useless since it's just watching from afar. I don't really see the point in splitting hairs so much. The way you describe what you actually did and learned in the description box is what really matters, and whether it's veterinary experience can be a judgment call. I don't think it's dishonest if you see it one way but your description makes it clear what the experience actually entailed. There's room for legitimate disagreement. And like Minnerbelle pointed out "under a vet's supervision" doesn't mean direct supervision by a vet for every task performed. As a surgery assistant, I primarily answered to the LVTs, unless I was circulating in the OR where the doctors gave direct orders. Outside of the OR, the surgeons supervised by implementing protocols and telling the LVT team leaders how they wanted things done. Just because they didn't directly teach me how to wrap a surgical pack didn't mean they weren't ultimately supervising the entire team and directing their efforts. Again, that just seems like more hair-splitting. I fail to see how the doctor telling me to ice a TPLO incision would've been a greater learning experience than an LVT telling me the same thing after the doctor told them to do it. I don't see how there's enough of a difference to make one veterinary experience and one animal experience.

I also think it would be absurd to expect each applicant to accurately break down precisely how many hours are specifically related to medicine versus husbandry in experiences that involved both and then list those two things separately instead of just explaining in the box that you also did XYZ approximately Whatever% of the time. Where I've worked, LVTs often feed patients, clean cages, walk dogs, and change out litter boxes. To have an LVT list those hours separately from the ones where they were placing catheters and monitoring anesthesia seems like a pointless waste of time.

I agree it reflects poorly to count pet ownership hours and would never in a million years. I think that's embarrassing IMO.

I can only speak to the schools I applied to, but some admissions reps are explicitly encouraging applicants to list pet ownership when the question comes up. I put it on mine because of that explicit instruction even though it still strikes me as weird.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I can only speak to the schools I applied to, but some admissions reps are explicitly encouraging applicants to list pet ownership when the question comes up. I put it on mine because of that explicit instruction even though it still strikes me as weird.

Oh I know. I still wouldn't have even if schools told me to on this one. I'm sure I had enough quality experience that not including my 26 years of pet ownership was ever going to hurt me. I don't fault people for doing it, but I just would never be able to do that for myself

If including/not including pet ownership was going to make or break your application, you weren't a great applicant IMO.


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[pp9]

I guess under your criteria, shadowing would be absolutely meaningless and useless since it's just watching from afar. I don't really see the point in splitting hairs so much. The way you describe what you actually did and learned in the description box is what really matters, and whether it's veterinary experience can be a judgment call. I don't think it's dishonest if you see it one way but your description makes it clear what the experience actually entailed. There's room for legitimate disagreement. And like Minnerbelle pointed out "under a vet's supervision" doesn't mean direct supervision by a vet for every task performed. As a surgery assistant, I primarily answered to the LVTs, unless I was circulating in the OR where the doctors gave direct orders. Outside of the OR, the surgeons supervised by implementing protocols and telling the LVT team leaders how they wanted things done. Just because they didn't directly teach me how to wrap a surgical pack didn't mean they weren't ultimately supervising the entire team and directing their efforts. Again, that just seems like more hair-splitting. I fail to see how the doctor telling me to ice a TPLO incision would've been a greater learning experience than an LVT telling me the same thing after the doctor told them to do it. I don't see how there's enough of a difference to make one veterinary experience and one animal experience.

I also think it would be absurd to expect each applicant to accurately break down precisely how many hours are specifically related to medicine versus husbandry in experiences that involved both and then list those two things separately instead of just explaining in the box that you also did XYZ approximately Whatever% of the time. Where I've worked, LVTs often feed patients, clean cages, walk dogs, and change out litter boxes. To have an LVT list those hours separately from the ones where they were placing catheters and monitoring anesthesia seems like a pointless waste of time.



I can only speak to the schools I applied to, but some admissions reps are explicitly encouraging applicants to list pet ownership when the question comes up. I put it on mine because of that explicit instruction even though it still strikes me as weird.

Did you even read the thread to figure out what I was referring to as "watching from afar?" Huge difference between what most of us know to be shadowing (aka being with the vet) and just being able to see the OR/vet from where you stand while you make packs.

We also are talking about a kennel assistant who gets a few veterinary hours here and there as someone who should consider splitting time...not an LVT who primarily is working with the veterinarian. Each hospital is different.

I think I ended up putting pet ownership one one of my apps, but it was only the hours I spent providing end of life care (tube feeding, SQ injections) at home.

 

[heyyimhayley]

Hmm, I had been under the impression that pet ownership was something that you should list, and schools will just ignore it if they disagree. I can't imagine listing it actually would hurt anyone's application unless, like you said, they already weren't a great applicant. I listed 100 hours, and I only included it because I had had exotic pets, and I do want to work with exotics in the future, so I found it relevant.

 

[dyachei]

so...wrapping surgical packs actually implies specific med knowledge - you have to understand aseptic technique and sterilization or you do it wrong, you have to understand what is necessary for a surgery for that specific pack. You have to be able to understand what the tools are meant to do so you can pull faulty equipment. For vet techs there are literally quarter-long courses on packs and how to wrap them.

Just something to keep in mind. Even if it seems "easy" to you, there's implied knowledge

 

[pp9]

Hmm, I had been under the impression that pet ownership was something that you should list, and schools will just ignore it if they disagree. I can't imagine listing it actually would hurt anyone's application unless, like you said, they already weren't a great applicant. I listed 100 hours, and I only included it because I had had exotic pets, and I do want to work with exotics in the future, so I found it relevant.

For schools that don't care to see it, I still am sure it wouldn't hurt you. One school I applied to said "We assume that most applicants have pets at home, and this type of experience isn't what we are looking for to determine our incoming class." Or something along those lines.

 

[Doktor Timo]

Good points made by everybody, but I'm inclined to say that any experience that takes place in a veterinary hospital should be considered veterinary experience. If nothing else, you're exposed to the daily running of a veterinary clinic, which is important. It may not be medical experience, but the veterinary profession isn't just about medicine, it's also about business. If the goal of getting experience is exposure to the profession, then I think it absolutely counts.

 

[mht2k3]

The past year, i've done a research internship at a medical research institute. The PI of the lab has a DVM/PHD. most of the hours were not animal related (a lot of cell culture, viral transduction, etc), but some of it was working with mice. Would the animal hours go under vet hours since technically I was under the supervision of someone that has a DVM or would all the hours just go under research since he wasn't acting as vet?

 

[Minnerbelle]

The past year, i've done a research internship at a medical research institute. The PI of the lab has a DVM/PHD. most of the hours were not animal related (a lot of cell culture, viral transduction, etc), but some of it was working with mice. Would the animal hours go under vet hours since technically I was under the supervision of someone that has a DVM or would all the hours just go under research since he wasn't acting as vet?

Research


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