shadowing leading nowhere...

[canis13]

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i've posted in here a couple times, but i figure it's worth another shot, because you guys are always pretty helpful.

i'm currently a senior, although i am not applying until next fall (need to finish physics and biochem after i graduate). i came to the vet school decision somewhat late in the game, so i feel like i'm pretty behind on experience.

in terms of my experience so far:
i had a kennel job, which i think i can count as vet experience (got to help restrain in addition to scooping poop), and got about 600 hours doing that. last spring i volunteered at a spay/neuter clinic (but can't continue because i no longer have a car to use). i did a RAVS trip last May. this past summer i worked for my neuroscience professor. and currently i'm starting a year long thesis which is being advised by a researcher at a well known primate center.

my only continuing veterinary experience (besides research) right now is shadowing a local small animal vet, and i've racked up about 60 hours since february (going once a week, with some weeks off). i applied to work as a vet assistant about 2 months ago, and while it looked like it might work out, i don't think it is at this point,and i've asked and called and tried following up as much as possible. (i've also applied to work at like 4 other clinics...almost got hired twice, except that they needed someone full time, which i can't do, and now i have 2 non-animal part time jobs so i've given up looking).
my issue is that i'm pretty bored shadowing. i've seen some a couple cool surgeries (rear leg amputation on a cat and bladder stone removal), and seen a bunch of spays and neuters. i witness some cool things from time to time, but by and large, it is routine office visits where i stand there looking awkward. the vet has let me help restrain from time to time as i've been there longer, but i still can't really do anything. and i find myself going just so i can put hours on my sheet, and get a good recommendation (which she said she'd give me). i just feel like i'm not learning as much as i could if i were allowed to actually do stuff...the RAVS trip i went on and the spay/neuter clinic were much more captivating because i was actually vaccinating animals and learning to do physicals. and this has been the single longest experience of feeling like a "in the way" newbie in my life (didn't feel like a nuisance at all, however, on the RAVS trip and the spay/neuter clinic).

so i guess my question is, should i ask the vet i shadow if there's someway to get some sort of insurance coverage so i can start getting more hands on experience? and if she says that's not possible, should i just suck it up and try to keep coming in once a week for the school year? i hope i will get the job and the hands on experience the summer after i graduate and before i apply, but i just feel like i'm so incompetent because i don't know how to draw blood yet or monitor anesthesia. and it's hard for information to sink in if i'm just watching; for example, it's hard to remember what drugs do unless you're the one administering them, writing up the instructions, and/or explaining them to the owners.

i'd love love love to get large animal experience, but i have no car and the closest large animal vet is an hour away. i applied for a zoo internship, didn't get it. called and emailed the state public health vet to shadow, didn't hear back. so i'm frustrated, as i feel like i'm hitting a crazy number of road blocks. for every experience i get that works out, 4 things don't work out.

sorry this post is so long, i guess i wanted to talk about all of my experiences so far so that i can get some confirmation that i'm not horribly behind, and also just vent.

 

[Ben and Me]

There is absolutely no reason to ever be bored during routine appointments. You can always learn something! Chances are, the clients are asking questions about foods, nail trimming, ear cleaning, heartworm prevention, etc--all stuff that you'll need to know upon graduation--and all things that might be asked about during your interviews. Pay attention! There's always something to learn! When I was an assistant, I would even quiz myself a little while clients asked questions, and see if how I would have responded matched up with the vet's response.

I'm in vet school and was only able to draw blood a few times, and never monitored anaesthesia during my previous job. Yes, both of those skills are undoubtedly very helpful, and I'll definitely be behind some of my classmates when we start learning those skills, but chances are that you won't be allowed to do them anyway unless you're a technician--and in some states, a licensed tech!

If you really are so bored, maybe you need to reconsider your career path? The profession is really more about being able to do a thorough physical exam, think through a problem, and develop a diagnosis than it is about giving injections, etc.

If you think it is a lack of responsibility that's making you bored, I'd keep applying for vet-related jobs. Or maybe start volunteering more at the spay-neuter clinic or a shelter?

 

[sunshinevet]

I know it seems like your missing out not being able to draw blood/monitor anaesthetics etc at the moment, but the thing is, while you have nothing to do but spend time with the vet, this is your big chance! Trust me, sometimes when you get into real teching, your so busy doing the technical stuff that you can miss out on the intellectual stuff.
If I were you, after each case you witness with the vet, talk to them about it. Ask them what pointers lead them in the direction they went, what other differentials could be,re what treatments they are using and why, what restrictions/problems they foresee in this case, etc. When overlooking routine vaccinations, afterward ask what problems the vet may foresee for this puppy in the future, (ie, breed, gender etc) how you would handle these problems, how we can better educate clients, etc.
Ask about difficult cases that were in that week you didnt get to see, how the vet handled them, what they found difficult/easy in each case, what speedbumps there were that week. This kind of experience is where the real learning occurs, and where you get a greater appreciation of the veterinary profession. (In fact, it makes me want to stop studying neurophysiology and do some more shadowing myself!)

To top it off, you don't need tech skills to prove your commitment and understanding of the veterinary profession. You don't need tech skills to go to vet school - that is why we go!!!

Potentially one of the most useful things you could do is ask if they need a casual receptionist, doing weekends, evenings, whatever. You don't need skills for this job, and yeah, its not as "exciting", but you will learn a lot of things and you will communicate with A LOT of different clients. And this is the real test of vet science - if you can prove to adcoms that you understand the veterinary profession, and communicate with clients, they will look on you a whole lot better than someone who can poke a vein but has no understanding of the vet-patient-client relationship.

 

[HopefulAg]

I play the 'quiz myself' game too. Everytime the client asks a question I try to think of an answer before the vet and see if mine matches what they say. It's pretty fun, though when you actually tech you have to kind of put it to the wayside so you can pay more attention to things the vet says (so you know what to go and get).

 

[sumstorm]

consider expanding your vet experience and finding a different shadowing opportunity such as mixed practice, mobile, specialist, emergency, exotic, etc.

I am not a big fan of small animal general practice...isn't my taste, but I would spend every extra minute I could with zoo vets and in emergency clinics. it isn't that the small animal clinic was any less valuable, it just wasn't as much of a match for me.

If you really aren't enjoying it because it has become routine.... realize that every job has periods of routine and boring work. I only mention that caution because I do know a few vets who LOVED the constant learning of vet school...but dislike practice because it isn't constant learning.

 

[twelvetigers]

I am a tech. You know what I do all day? CLEAN. Lol. Shadowing isn't so bad!

BTW, I've drawn blood twice. Woo.

 

[Ben and Me]

Potentially one of the most useful things you could do is ask if they need a casual receptionist, doing weekends, evenings, whatever. You don't need skills for this job, and yeah, its not as "exciting", but you will learn a lot of things and you will communicate with A LOT of different clients. And this is the real test of vet science - if you can prove to adcoms that you understand the veterinary profession, and communicate with clients, they will look on you a whole lot better than someone who can poke a vein but has no understanding of the vet-patient-client relationship.

Great advice! I learned a ton as a receptionist because I took a big portion of the patient history, and then as I was re-filing after the appointment (we used paper files), I got to read the PE results, diagnosis, etc and really see what the conclusions and lines of reasoning were. Very cool! I also really enjoyed getting to talk to clients, and I feel like it really helped me gain some self confidence in talking to adults again (I felt like upon graduating from college that I'd really only talked to my peers for the last 4 years, haha) which definitely helped with interviews!

 

[Sophie10]

Great advice! I learned a ton as a receptionist because I took a big portion of the patient history, and then as I was re-filing after the appointment (we used paper files), I got to read the PE results, diagnosis, etc and really see what the conclusions and lines of reasoning were. Very cool! I also really enjoyed getting to talk to clients, and I feel like it really helped me gain some self confidence in talking to adults again (I felt like upon graduating from college that I'd really only talked to my peers for the last 4 years, haha) which definitely helped with interviews!

I was a receptionist too and I learned so much. You have to know your stuff well enough to explain it to clients when they ask for a breakdown of their bill or why they need a certain food/medication. If you haven't learned the answer, you get to find out! It's like getting paid to learn about veterinary medicine while also carrying food and being yelled at about how expensive vet care is. 😀

 

[canis13]

Thank you all for the feedback. I am feeling much better about continuing to shadow and feel reassured that I do not need to know how to do every hands-on type of thing. The vet I shadow is really great at getting me involved with the "intellectual" aspect of a lot of her cases, so I think I really should just try to focus on that and not worry so much about not getting to do anything. I think part of the boredom, though, comes from feeling like the cases are not "my" cases, and I am just an observer. I mean, not that they would necessarily be my cases if I were a tech, but it is difficult for me to not be allowed to get involved with the hands-on care.

Sumstorm, thanks for your thoughts regarding small animal general practice not being for everyone. I know I am very interested in public health and shelter animal medicine, but I think I need to try to find the aspects of those types of veterinary medicine that come up in general practice, such as parasitology (and related things like educating clients on routine flea/tick treatment) and infectious diseases.

And asking about a receptionist position is a good idea. I feel like I got a crash course in the client side of things on the RAVS trip I went on, as part of my volunteer duties were "client education"; it definitely seems like one of the more difficult parts of the job. But yeah, further developing my skills and experience in that area seems like a good idea.

I really wish I could go back to the spay/neuter clinic, but lack of a car is preventing a bunch of opportunities. I do think I am going to start pursuing shadowing different types of vets who I am able to get to...probably the vet at the primate center I'm doing my thesis at, zoo vet, and maybe look for other shelters that are closer in location to me.