RANT HERE thread

[LadyOtheFarm]

My dog ended up in the ICU tonight. Profuse watery vomit that took me some time to identify as blood due to the color of our carpets. But as soon as he got into the exam room...blood. Blood everywhere. Even as far as HGE goes, it was pretty horific to watch.

I hope everything turns out ok, and I wish you steadiness and peace as you navigate this.

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[Faefly]

My dog ended up in the ICU tonight. Profuse watery vomit that took me some time to identify as blood due to the color of our carpets. But as soon as he got into the exam room...blood. Blood everywhere. Even as far as HGE goes, it was pretty horific to watch.

Sorry about your dog. Hope he is ok now.

 

[that redhead]

I have somehow become the freaking sugar glider magnet in my area

 

[killerleaf]

awww but they are so cute!

 

[WildZoo]

I have somehow become the freaking sugar glider magnet in my area

Ugh
No
People need to not

 

[that redhead]

awww but they are so cute!

Plenty of cute animals out there that aren’t meant to be pets. Harrumph!

 

[DVMDream]

I have somehow become the freaking sugar glider magnet in my area

Maybe you could say you are no longer willing to see them?

 

[that redhead]

Maybe you could say you are no longer willing to see them?

I’m pretty close to saying that, haha. I just feel bad...I’m willing to see anything, I think it’s just that I really can’t fathom why people want them, they’re even harder to keep properly than most exotics, not very nice or easily handled, etc. So my frustration with their owners makes me grouchy when I have to see them, heh.

 

[DVMDream]

I’m pretty close to saying that, haha. I just feel bad...I’m willing to see anything, I think it’s just that I really can’t fathom why people want them, they’re even harder to keep properly than most exotics, not very nice or easily handled, etc. So my frustration with their owners makes me grouchy when I have to see them, heh.

I don't understand why people want them either. ..I'm guessing lack of research/understanding of their nature. Like the people that purchase a pure bred brachycephalic breed then complain about the snorking/snoring/noise.

 

[cdo96]

I don't understand why people want them either. ..I'm guessing lack of research/understanding of their nature. Like the people that purchase a pure bred brachycephalic breed then complain about the snorking/snoring/noise.

Or the persistent farting!

 

[Trilt]

Send'em to me. I kinda like sugar gliders and at least in my area they're usually some of the more researched/well kept exotics. People don't bother looking up how to keep their guinea pigs but most of my sugar glider people are in the fb groups and pretty dedicated.

Doesn't make their gliders nicer but they are freaking adorable so they neutral out for me lol.

 

[RahyneDays]

So, this is half rant and half asking for opinions.

Backstory:
I've applied this cycle for admittance, grew up on a small dairy, already have an associates degree (Criminal Justice), working on my bachelor's (Biology), shadowed with a small animal practice for 800+ hours over the last year and just started this past Friday shadowing at a local animal ER to get a different experience and see/learn new things. I had prepared by printing off and reading a publication one of the ER doctors had written earlier that year on sepsis to discuss and learn more about (if time allowed).

My Rant:
So the ER doctors had no idea I was coming (maybe lack of communication between front staff when I came in earlier that week?), so I waited in the lobby for nearly an hour to be taken back. Not a big deal, I know it is busy. The doctor I was supposed to shadow was crazy busy and quickly introduced me to the other ER doctors and surgeons and let me know to just jump from one to the next as things were happening. Cool! I thought this was great actually so I did so. One of the doctors, as we were rushing from area to area essentially was throwing questions at me as I was following like "What experience do you have", "Why veterinary", and "Why animals" which was good because it gave me a second to practice my elevator pitch. Essentially it boiled down to "Well, I've always been good with animals and reading body language, I think they are an important part of our lives and I want to be a medical professional who can help them stay as healthy as possible and educate their owners". She got quiet and dropped the questioning. When we got a moment of down time as she was filling out perscriptions I asked her if in her opinion that was a stupid response (it was kind of awkward after my mini pitch so I was looking for feedback).

She stopped, looked at me and said "Don't bother going any further. You arn't going to make any money doing this, I know colleagues in human medicine who are making more money than I could ever make in my whole career. If you love animals, love them as a hobby. This is a waste of your time.". I politely said thank you and continued to follow her and the other doctors for the next six hours.

I was shocked and immediately upset. Never once did I mention money, and I really don't care about it. If I did, I would have picked another profession and pursued law. Sure, I guess if I had that impression that I would be a rich doctor and got to play with puppies and kittens all day that would be a wake up call. But I had specifically stated earlier with her I had experience with giving injections, helping with surgery (minor, more handing the doctor materials during spays and neuters), handling large animals, ect. It wasn't like I was fresh to animal care.

Who does that? If that had been my first ever shadowing experience I would have been left with an extremely negative outlook on veterinarians and how they viewed their patients. My husband said maybe she had a bad day, or maybe was trying to test to see how I would react. But her attitude didn't change the rest of the night. Was it because she really felt that way, and was trying to convince me to go down another path? The whole thing was kind of weird and frustrating.

Overall, it was a great experience. I got to be in the room for a GDV and splenectomy, observed an 8 week follow up to a cranial cruciate ligament repair surgury, saw some cool X-rays, and observed the process of an emergency situation involving a chihuahua labor that unfortunately lead to an euthanasia due to the cost of a c-section. I plan on going back every Friday. Should I just ignore what she said and chalk it up to a bad day?

 

[SkiOtter]

Many vets simply would NOT do it all over again if you asked them. There’s even a handful on here. The pay isn’t the best, the debt is horrendous, clients can be terrible. She probably is one who would not do it over, even if she went in loving the field, and was giving you her opinion about going into vet med.
My sister who is in school to be a physician assistant was actually considering medical school and was talked out of it by three different doctors who are family friends, for many reasons.
There are people in every field who love the field but would not do it over and don’t want other people to be in the same situation they are and so they advise against people going into their field.

 

[twelvetigers]

That probably wasn’t the best way to approach it, but I would make damn sure any volunteers knew exactly what the debt:income ratio is looking like these days, and how becoming one of the people that can’t even pay the interest on their loans each month is most definitely not worth it... because, I mean - shet, SOMEONE has to tell them. It’s important. If anything, make it a goal to figure out the cheapest possible way to attend vet school.

 

[flameshock]

"If you love animals, love them as a hobby:

I was shocked and immediately upset. Never once did I mention money, and I really don't care about it. If I did, I would have picked another profession and pursued law. Sure, I guess if I had that impression that I would be a rich doctor and got to play with puppies and kittens all day that would be a wake up call. But I had specifically stated earlier with her I had experience with giving injections, helping with surgery (minor, more handing the doctor materials during spays and neuters), handling large animals, ect. It wasn't like I was fresh to animal care.

Who does that? If that had been my first ever shadowing experience I would have been left with an extremely negative outlook on veterinarians and how they viewed their patients. My husband said maybe she had a bad day, or maybe was trying to test to see how I would react. But her attitude didn't change the rest of the night. Was it because she really felt that way, and was trying to convince me to go down another path?

OP, I would urge you to look at what she said a different way. She isn't saying these things as a test of your dedication to push through, she is trying to warn you. Many things about the path of veterinary medicine are flat out terrible. This doesn't mean she is an inherently 'unhappy person'. It means she is neck-deep in the profession and is dealing with those negatives first hand. It's one thing to say that you don't care about money when you're on the pre-vet path, but unless you are independently wealthy money matters. As someone who gets panic flares just by looking at her in-state loan statement, it really matters.

What she said also doesn't mean that she doesn't think you can succeed in veterinary medicine. If pre-vets ask me for advice, I will frankly tell them that 'If you can see yourself doing anything else but vet-med, go do that thing instead.' If people love animals and want to work with them as a career, there are options out there that don't come with the financial burdens of veterinary school. I suspect that was what your veterinarian was (admittedly tactlessly) possibly trying to say.

 

[RahyneDays]

Many vets simply would NOT do it all over again if you asked them. There’s even a handful on here. The pay isn’t the best, the debt is horrendous, clients can be terrible. She probably is one who would not do it over, even if she went in loving the field, and was giving you her opinion about going into vet med.
My sister who is in school to be a physician assistant was actually considering medical school and was talked out of it by three different doctors who are family friends, for many reasons.
There are people in every field who love the field but would not do it over and don’t want other people to be in the same situation they are and so they advise against people going into their field.

Thank you for your input on this. I couldn't really tell if this was a "test" or actual advice, it just came out with such intensity that I've been thinking about it for the last 48 hours.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

As someone who gets panic flares just by looking at her in-state loan statement, it really matters.

@RahyneDays So much this! I have only been in school 1.5 months and I have over $350 just in interest. In the end itll work out for me because I've had some very fortunate things happen to me. If I didnt have a plan coming into this though that my debt would have been atrocious I 100% would have gone and done something else. I definitely think everyone hit it on the head in how you should evaluate her comments though. With that note really evaluate your stance and her words on all of this because it will come up again and again as you move through the application process.

 

[RahyneDays]

That probably wasn’t the best way to approach it, but I would make damn sure any volunteers knew exactly what the debt:income ratio is looking like these days, and how becoming one of the people that can’t even pay the interest on their loans each month is most definitely not worth it... because, I mean - shet, SOMEONE has to tell them. It’s important. If anything, make it a goal to figure out the cheapest possible way to attend vet school.

Thank you for your feedback. I could absolutely understand why not telling someone could weigh on your conscious especially if you are wrestling with that balance yourself. I really liked a lot about her, she had a great bedside manner and was very knowledgable it just seemed so strange to me at the time as that being the response.

 

[RahyneDays]

OP, I would urge you to look at what she said a different way. She isn't saying these things as a test of your dedication to push through, she is trying to warn you. Many things about the path of veterinary medicine are flat out terrible. This doesn't mean she is an inherently 'unhappy person'. It means she is neck-deep in the profession and is dealing with those negatives first hand. It's one thing to say that you don't care about money when you're on the pre-vet path, but unless you are independently wealthy money matters. As someone who gets panic flares just by looking at her in-state loan statement, it really matters.

What she said also doesn't mean that she doesn't think you can succeed in veterinary medicine. If pre-vets ask me for advice, I will frankly tell them that 'If you can see yourself doing anything else but vet-med, go do that thing instead.' If people love animals and want to work with them as a career, there are options out there that don't come with the financial burdens of veterinary school. I suspect that was what your veterinarian was (admittedly tactlessly) possibly trying to say.

Thank you for your quick feedback, this is a great network of individuals. I am most certainly not independently wealthy nor having anyone else pay for my schooling (I wish I did sometimes!), I just feel very confident in my choice. It was a moment of epiphany for me when I was close to finishing my first degree that not only I was decently smart academically (I was homeschooled and didn't have a lot of experience with "formal" education) but I wanted to make a difference in medicine within the context of animal husbandry. I don't choose anything lightly or without research and analysis; be it relationships, jobs, or academics (Of course, she doesn't know me, this was within the first half hour of us meeting). I knew the likelihood of me being financially comfortable most likely would be compromised by this profession.

I should re-state that I don't think less of her for her statements, it just came as such a huge surprise and I took it initially as her first impression of me was I wasn't good enough. I wanted to "rant" here to get feedback from those in school and who have graduated on how I should view her statements and thankfully got a lot of good feedback already. Honestly, my pitch may have come off not as strong as I needed it to be.

 

[RahyneDays]

@RahyneDays So much this! I have only been in school 1.5 months and I have over $350 just in interest. In the end itll work out for me because I've had some very fortunate things happen to me. If I didnt have a plan coming into this though that my debt would have been atrocious I 100% would have gone and done something else. I definitely think everyone hit it on the head in how you should evaluate her comments though. With that note really evaluate your stance and her words on all of this because it will come up again and again as you move through the application process.

I agree, I am 100% sure it will come up more from others! I am curious what you mean by revaluate my stance, I would love to get additional feedback. As in, I should reevaluate why I am pursuing this profession or reevaluate how I took her response? Thank you in advance!

 

[Caiter92]

@RahyneDays so from the doctor's response, I'm wondering if whatever your "elevator pitch" boiled down to "because I love animals" more than you realize?

It sounds like you've worked hard to get a variety of veterinary experiences, which is awesome! But if you're asked in an interview why you want to pursue vetmed, it's going to have to be a reason other than something that comes off as "because I love animals." I'm not saying that's why you want to pursue this field, but make sure you've really thought about and can articulate a response that really encompasses why you want to do this. Because we all love animals, but that's really not enough to fall back on in this field when it gets hard. I think that's what the doctor was trying to say with the "love animals as a hobby," though she could have phrased it better it seems.

 

[RahyneDays]

@RahyneDays so from the doctor's response, I'm wondering if whatever your "elevator pitch" boiled down to "because I love animals" more than you realize?

It sounds like you've worked hard to get a variety of veterinary experiences, which is awesome! But if you're asked in an interview why you want to pursue vetmed, it's going to have to be a reason other than something that comes off as "because I love animals." I'm not saying that's why you want to pursue this field, but make sure you've really thought about and can articulate a response that really encompasses why you want to do this. Because we all love animals, but that's really not enough to fall back on in this field when it gets hard. I think that's what the doctor was trying to say, though she could have phrased it better it seems.

I think you are probably right, the more I am reading responses to my post. I will definitely be rethinking how to reword my "pitch" to encompass the bigger picture. I probably stumbled over my words and left out important information that would have reflected how much I have thought about this career. It is always good to get feedback sooner than later.

 

[Caiter92]

I think you are probably right, the more I am reading responses to my post. I will definitely be rethinking how to reword my "pitch" to encompass the bigger picture. I probably stumbled over my words and left out important information that would have reflected how much I have thought about this career. It is always good to get feedback sooner than later.

Does your undergrad offer mock interviews? I did one before my interview and I found it really helpful. The counselors do a lot of them, and they had questions specific to vetmed for me and were really helpful to bounce ideas off of on how to phrase things.

 

[RahyneDays]

Does your undergrad offer mock interviews? I did one before my interview and I found it really helpful. The counselors do a lot of them, and they had questions specific to vetmed for me and were really helpful to bounce ideas off of on how to phrase things.

They do have a general program but my school doesn't have a pre-vet program or get many students interested in the veterinary field. I am going to sign up for one anyway and see what they can do to help me

 

[DVMDream]

I'm 1,000% in the same camp as that vet you shadowed. You couldn't pay me enough to come back to this field should I ever be able to escape. I am one of those vets that when I see volunteers or shadows... I warn them, they deserve to have all the information to make a good decision for themselves. I also don't dwell on it. I warn them, tell them if they ever have questions regarding the BS of vet med or what I've said to ask me, then I move on. Then I get to go... look at this cool ****ing wound I fixed, and these xrays and this bloodwork. I love teaching people about things and I love medicine. But the cons hidden within this career are enough that if I could escape, I'm unlikely to return.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I think she could have phrased it a bit more gently, but she was trying to do you a solid - especially if you came off sounding naive and the you weren't completely sure what you were getting into. I tend to do the same thing with pre vets that ask me if I think they are a bit pie in the sky with the whole field.

 

[RahyneDays]

I'm 1,000% in the same camp as that vet you shadowed. You couldn't pay me enough to come back to this field should I ever be able to escape. I am one of those vets that when I see volunteers or shadows... I warn them, they deserve to have all the information to make a good decision for themselves. I also don't dwell on it. I warn them, tell them if they ever have questions regarding the BS of vet med or what I've said to ask me, then I move on. Then I get to go... look at this cool ****ing wound I fixed, and these xrays and this bloodwork. I love teaching people about things and I love medicine. But the cons hidden within this career are enough that if I could escape, I'm unlikely to return.

I appreciate your insight!

 

[RahyneDays]

I think she could have phrased it a bit more gently, but she was trying to do you a solid - especially if you came off sounding naive and ugh the you weren't completely sure what you were getting into. I tend to do the same thing with pre vets that ask me if I think they are a bit pie in the sky with the whole field.

With all this feedback, I am definitely realizing I may have taken her comments more personally and less as advice, so I am glad I posted this here! I absolutely will work more on my pitch via @Caiter92 's suggestion with mock interviews to stengthen my confidence and directness of my passion as well as look into more of the debt to income ratio to reevaluate my plan for financials, or at least how I plan to tell someone about my plan for debt . It is good to know other veterinarians also give this advice to their pre-vet shadowers. My mentor (kind of?) did, but much more gently and spends alot more time teaching me than anything else. She is retiring soon and working on selling her practice so I getting to see how transitioning out and selling a practice functions (it is not a walk in the park that is for sure!)

You guys are all awesome!

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

If you still feel weird about the whole thing, I would perhaps thank her for her honesty when you catch her at a good time, and say that it did open your eyes. Also that you would still like to continue shadowing because you're trying to see if you love the medicine and the business of vet med as much as the animals, and that you'll be approaching this whole thing in a pragmatic way thanks to her input.

If she continues being grouchy about it (as in openly and repeatedly all the time, the point that it seriously affects your experience), a new clinic might be a better option....but I think she was just trying to have a tough but teachable moment. I mean I definitely get touchy and grouchy about the realities to people who ask me, but I would still take the time to teach them if they wanted and try to make it a positive environment.

 

[Caiter92]

They do have a general program but my school doesn't have a pre-vet program or get many students interested in the veterinary field. I am going to sign up for one anyway and see what they can do to help me

It was a general program for my undergrad, too. Ateast for us, they had us select or write about what type program we were applying to. We didn’t have any sort of pre Vet counseling, but we did have pre-med counseling, and they had experience with med school interviews and at least in my experience they had good insight into how to phrase things for some questions I wasn’t sure of how to answer.

At the very least I think it was good practice interviewing for an academic program since I’d only ever had job interviews before and I found the atmosphere different

 

[RahyneDays]

If you still feel weird about the whole thing, I would perhaps thank her for her honesty when you catch her at a good time, and say that it did open your eyes. Also that you would still like to continue shadowing because you're trying to see if you love the medicine and the business of vet med as much as the animals, and that you'll be approaching this whole thing in a pragmatic way thanks to her input.

If she continues being grouchy about it (as in openly and repeatedly all the time, the point that it seriously affects your experience), a new clinic might be a better option....but I think she was just trying to have a tough but teachable moment. I mean I definitely get touchy and grouchy about the realities to people who ask me, but I would still take the time to teach them if they wanted and try to make it a positive environment.

That is a great point. I'm still just as motivated to shadow there as I was prior to Friday. I will absolutely look for an opening to thank her again for her feedback. The good news is the hospital has at least 10 doctors working there, so if I feel the vibe isn't going to work ( I know some personalities don't always mesh well) I can always shadow some of the others more than with her. I learned so much in that short shift I would be a fool not to return!

 

[SkiOtter]

I'm 1,000% in the same camp as that vet you shadowed. You couldn't pay me enough to come back to this field should I ever be able to escape. I am one of those vets that when I see volunteers or shadows... I warn them, they deserve to have all the information to make a good decision for themselves. I also don't dwell on it. I warn them, tell them if they ever have questions regarding the BS of vet med or what I've said to ask me, then I move on. Then I get to go... look at this cool ****ing wound I fixed, and these xrays and this bloodwork. I love teaching people about things and I love medicine. But the cons hidden within this career are enough that if I could escape, I'm unlikely to return.

Aaaaaaaalmost tagged you when I first replied

 

[RahyneDays]

It was a general program for my undergrad, too. Ateast for us, they had us select or write about what type program we were applying to. We didn’t have any sort of pre Vet counseling, but we did have pre-med counseling, and they had experience with med school interviews and at least in my experience they had good insight into how to phrase things for some questions I wasn’t sure of how to answer.

At the very least I think it was good practice interviewing for an academic program since I’d only ever had job interviews before and I found the atmosphere different

Nice! I just set up my first one for October 17th, it will give me time to review their notes and still have time for a 2nd mock before actual interviews! It was a great idea (I am kicking myself for not considering it more until now lol).

Thank you again, I may message you in the future if that's okay with you

 

[DrinkWater95]

Is there anyone on here that came out with less than 75k in debt and still doesn’t recommend the vet field?
I know there’s a lot of contributing factors like euthanasia due to treatment being cost prohibitive and red tape. However, it seems like the biggest issue I’ve heard from vets is the debt to income ratio.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Is there anyone on here that came out with less than 75k in debt and still doesn’t recommend the vet field?
I know there’s a lot of contributing factors like euthanasia due to treatment being cost prohibitive and red tape. However, it seems like the biggest issue I’ve heard from vets is the debt to income ratio.

I'd say atrocious treatment by clientele (especially in the age of social media) is almost as big of an issue as debt. You need to have alligator skin. And even then, it wears you down horribly.

 

[DVMDream]

I'd say atrocious treatment by clientele (especially in the age of social media) is almost as big of an issue as debt. You need to have alligator skin. And even then, it wears you down horribly.

Plus dealing with staff, office managers, clinic owners, arbitrary measures of "if you're doing well"... and on and on and on.

 

[JaynaAli]

I had less debt than that and don't really recommend it. I'm firmly on team 'if you can be happy doing anything else, go do that other thing.' I agree with WTF that i'd say debt is probably the #1 issue, but dealing with clients (or practice management) is a very very close second for why people dislike the job. Overall, I do really like the specialty I'm pursuing, but its just a job. Luckily I don't have to deal with tons of debt on top of that, but I do feel like I could probably have been just as happy in another career if I hadn't had such intense 'vet med or bust' blinders on when I was in high school and undergrad.

 

[DrinkWater95]

I'd say atrocious treatment by clientele (especially in the age of social media) is almost as big of an issue as debt. You need to have alligator skin. And even then, it wears you down horribly.

I can definitely see this. It’s tough to help a patient when a client throws out comments like “well I read online..” (okay doctor google) or “$xxx?? And how much of that goes in your pocket?” Or, the most recent thing I experienced, a guy literally yelled at the doctor in front of me calling the doctor a dick, douchebag, money sucker, etc. all because we ran a UA (that he approved) and it came back normal. Some clients don’t like to spend money for results to come back normal.
Thank you for the input. I know bad clients can spur an entire day/week easily.

 

[DrinkWater95]

I had less debt than that and don't really recommend it. I'm firmly on team 'if you can be happy doing anything else, go do that other thing.' I agree with WTF that i'd say debt is probably the #1 issue, but dealing with clients (or practice management) is a very very close second for why people dislike the job. Overall, I do really like the specialty I'm pursuing, but its just a job. Luckily I don't have to deal with tons of debt on top of that, but I do feel like I could probably have been just as happy in another career if I hadn't had such intense 'vet med or bust' blinders on when I was in high school and undergrad.

Thank you for your input!
Working in a few different hospitals, I see how staff and clients can make the job harder than it needs to be.
I’m interested in livestock. Do you feel this different type of practice/clientele can have someone have a different outlook?
Most of my experience is with small animals but I’ve shadowed equine vets and they tell me how there is a stark difference in clientele from equine to small animal to cattle.

 

[DrinkWater95]

Plus dealing with staff, office managers, clinic owners, arbitrary measures of "if you're doing well"... and on and on and on.

Do you notice most clinics have high turnover of staff? I’ve worked at 3 clinics. 2/3 have had high turnover of staff - but their business practices were very similar. They were both baised on banfield and had “wellness plans” and pushed sells heavily.

 

[SkiOtter]

Thank you for your input!
Working in a few different hospitals, I see how staff and clients can make the job harder than it needs to be.
I’m interested in livestock. Do you feel this different type of practice/clientele can have someone have a different outlook?
Most of my experience is with small animals but I’ve shadowed equine vets and they tell me how there is a stark difference in clientele from equine to small animal to cattle.

I personally haven’t worked with cattle, but I have a some classmates who have. From what I’ve heard from classmates I’ve talked to, people are less likely to treat something with cattle. If the cow gets sick (and is a food animal), using antibiotics means a loooong wait time until they can kill and process the cow. Same with if it breaks something. If they’re going to kill it anyway, they’re generally not going to be willing to spend a lot of money on fixing it, when in their minds, it’s just going to be killed soon anyway and fixing the problem just eats away at their profit when there isn’t going to be any payback to fixing the problem.

 

[Caiter92]

Plus dealing with staff, office managers, clinic owners, arbitrary measures of "if you're doing well"... and on and on and on.

This is definitely what I’m most worried about, and what I think is most likely to lead to burn out for me.

 

[JaynaAli]

Thank you for your input!
Working in a few different hospitals, I see how staff and clients can make the job harder than it needs to be.
I’m interested in livestock. Do you feel this different type of practice/clientele can have someone have a different outlook?
Most of my experience is with small animals but I’ve shadowed equine vets and they tell me how there is a stark difference in clientele from equine to small animal to cattle.

It kinda depends, but overall yes there are differences. Most livestock producers really care about their animals. After all, a sick animal won't produce like a healthy animal will. Overall, they tend to be less emotional and more facts based when they bring an animal in. Like Ski talked about, there is often a limit to what they are willing or able to do. I actually felt like the livestock producers I worked with were the more sane and appreciative clients I have worked with. But that comes with the trade off of being way less well paying work. In my experience and from talking to friends a lot of 'Horse ladies' are essentially crazy cat ladies with money. They raise spoiled rotten one ton animals with little respect for boundaries. Those that are competitive in some horse sport can try to push the limits of what is acceptable ethics and performance wise. They use Dr. Google just as much as small animal patients or want the latest and greatest supplement because person X is using it. And you're expected to show up at the drop of a hat when they beckon. Small animal clients run the gamut but are often irrational because so many people view their dog/cat as their 'furbaby'. They don't understand that quality medicine costs money and are often resentful about the costs. I'm not saying that there aren't great clients out there in every avenue of vet med...but each type of vet med has its unique challenges. A lot of it will be regional too. I felt like the equine clientele was a lot different back home where we mostly saw rodeo and ranch horses. Now that I'm closer to the east coast and English horses are a lot more common than ranch horses, the clientele is quite different even among those two populations of horse clients. I don't see patients currently so I may be wrong, but just impressions from passing through the teaching hospital.

 

[DVMDream]

Do you notice most clinics have high turnover of staff? I’ve worked at 3 clinics. 2/3 have had high turnover of staff - but their business practices were very similar. They were both baised on banfield and had “wellness plans” and pushed sells heavily.

Depends on the clinic really. A lot of veterinary staff will leave when they realize they can make more doing something else. I have many friends that used to be techs/assistants...that are now in human nursing, physical therapy, counseling, etc....they all left because this field doesn't provide enough for them.

 

[twelvetigers]

Is there anyone on here that came out with less than 75k in debt and still doesn’t recommend the vet field?
I know there’s a lot of contributing factors like euthanasia due to treatment being cost prohibitive and red tape. However, it seems like the biggest issue I’ve heard from vets is the debt to income ratio.

I had about $79k flat and I probably wouldn’t be pushing anyone into it that didn’t have enough money to shift easily to something else if they fell out of love with it.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

I agree, I am 100% sure it will come up more from others! I am curious what you mean by revaluate my stance, I would love to get additional feedback. As in, I should reevaluate why I am pursuing this profession or reevaluate how I took her response? Thank you in advance!

What I meant is in regards to her comment really think about her words and how that applies to you and your views and plans in the field is all. Good luck!

 

[Trilt]

Is there anyone on here that came out with less than 75k in debt and still doesn’t recommend the vet field?
I know there’s a lot of contributing factors like euthanasia due to treatment being cost prohibitive and red tape. However, it seems like the biggest issue I’ve heard from vets is the debt to income ratio.

Just a bit over that and honestly, I'm a pretty happy vet two years out and steadily paying it off. But it's literally almost a grand from my pay every month on a ten year plan. The debt is obscene and such an impact on general QoL and job mobility.

Iunno. I like what I do but it's just a really tough profession to recommend.

 

[Caia]

I graduated with zero debt and I’m 50/50 as to whether I would do it again or not with the amount of stress I’m under constantly, how much clients suck and the amount of paperwork I do every shift.

I’m not bored. But I’m not sure whether there’s a clear winner in preference between boredom and high level chronic stress.

Maybe it will be better after a couple years in practice.

 

[SkiOtter]

I had to be outside for 5 hours yesterday for open house and the ragweed is high and my allergies flared up and now I have a bad ear infection
This is why I don’t go outside.

 

[DrinkWater95]

It kinda depends, but overall yes there are differences. Most livestock producers really care about their animals. After all, a sick animal won't produce like a healthy animal will. Overall, they tend to be less emotional and more facts based when they bring an animal in. Like Ski talked about, there is often a limit to what they are willing or able to do. I actually felt like the livestock producers I worked with were the more sane and appreciative clients I have worked with. But that comes with the trade off of being way less well paying work. In my experience and from talking to friends a lot of 'Horse ladies' are essentially crazy cat ladies with money. They raise spoiled rotten one ton animals with little respect for boundaries. Those that are competitive in some horse sport can try to push the limits of what is acceptable ethics and performance wise. They use Dr. Google just as much as small animal patients or want the latest and greatest supplement because person X is using it. And you're expected to show up at the drop of a hat when they beckon. Small animal clients run the gamut but are often irrational because so many people view their dog/cat as their 'furbaby'. They don't understand that quality medicine costs money and are often resentful about the costs. I'm not saying that there aren't great clients out there in every avenue of vet med...but each type of vet med has its unique challenges. A lot of it will be regional too. I felt like the equine clientele was a lot different back home where we mostly saw rodeo and ranch horses. Now that I'm closer to the east coast and English horses are a lot more common than ranch horses, the clientele is quite different even among those two populations of horse clients. I don't see patients currently so I may be wrong, but just impressions from passing through the teaching hospital.

Interesting, I guess I never really thought of the clientele difference that geographical variables can bring. Lots to consider! I’m really interested in livestock as well as pathology and the OneHealth mission. Some vets have tried to steer me away from livestock however. They shared your sentiments about low pay.