Should I continue with school?

[kajhnsn1]

Hello there,

I am in desperate need of advice. I'm a first year vet student and I am seriously considering withdrawing from school. My grades are fine (not stellar) and I'm not totally burnt out yet. However, I just don't feel interested in any of the classes I'm taking and have no motivation to study for them. And I don't feel any curiosity about what I might learn in later classes. Another thing is, I don't think I'm cut out for a mainly biology based career. See, I have the worst memory recall and retention. I couldn't tell you one thing I learned from any of my animal science classes from undergrad. My dad is the same way. He switched from zoology to chemistry in college because of his bad memory. Being a vet worries me because I know myself, and I just know that I'll forget something important when diagnosing a patient. Or if I ended up doing research, I wouldn't be able to remember how everything worked together to even come up with a plausible hypothesis. Math was always my strong suit, and I enjoy chemistry and physics as well. But my high school background in those subjects was abysmal, so I decided to go the pre-vet route. I did enjoy biology in high school, but I never felt interested in medicine. Another factor was my aversion to sitting in an office all day.

In undergrad, I got by pretty easily in pretty much all my biology classes by studying the night before, then forgetting it all right after the test. I didn't study much for chemistry or physics either because they came more naturally to me. I could usually deduce what was going on. What I'm trying to convey is that it's taken me this long to actually think about how much memorization is involved, because in undergrad I just rolled with it. But I did seriously enjoy my genetics classes (mainly because of Hardy-Weinberg problems), and I did some research with my genetics professor, which I enjoyed.

Any advice on what I should do or insight from other vets with memory problems would be greatly appreciated, and I'm sorry for the length. I just wanted to convey what's all going on in my head right now. I've heard that to succeed in vet school, you have to really want it, and I just...don't. I know I could get through it, but I don't want to just get through, especially since I'm paying so much for it.

Thanks,
K.

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[LetItSnow]

It's hard to give good advice to someone in your shoes.

The most obvious thing to say is: If you don't see yourself enjoying being a vet (whatever kind of vet that is .. SA, LA, clinical vs non-clinical/research, etc.), then you should bail on it sooner rather than later. The debt to income ratio is just too high to make it worth doing if you're not excited about it. Based on what you're saying here, it sounds like you don't see it as very interesting, so you should consider getting out now while you can. Don't accumulate more debt just to exit the field later.

That said, maybe you have other issues - like depression - going on that aren't obvious (either to me or you) but that may factor into things. It could be useful to talk to a counselor, dean, etc. - someone face to face who can help you think things through, and who may pick up on things that aren't going to be obvious in a forum post on the 'Net.

The memory issue I wouldn't worry about so much. I have one of the worst memories ever. And yeah, it did haunt me sometimes in vet school, like when I'd sit in rounds in Internal Medicine and other people would rattle off 500 differentials for some case discussion, and I'm sitting there having trouble remembering 3 or 4. Or when someone with good memory would rattle off all of the clinical signs of nephrotic syndrome and I'm still sitting there thinking "nephrotic syndrome?" They used to make us play Internal Medicine Jeopardy on that rotation, and I *HATED* it because I felt like such a *****. But in practice, no matter how bad your memory (unless it's truly pathologically bad - head trauma, dementia, etc.) you will do fine... you learn what you need through repetition, and the rest you look up. My memory sucks, but I know the dosing on all the drugs I use daily, and the rest of them I look up. I have a set routine for dealing with a critical patient - and honestly, the first goal with any critical patient is basically "stabilize to buy time". There really aren't an infinite number of diagnostic tests available (especially in any practical sense), so it's really not as difficult as it sounds to know which ones to recommend in which patient. For the 100 common diagnoses, you aren't going to forget them. And for everything else .... everyone else is just as likely to miss it, or it requires secondary or tertiary testing, by which time you've been able to sit down with a book and think things through. Bottom line - if you can memorize well enough to get through school, I wouldn't worry about it being a career-stopper.

If you're using the memory excuse to convince yourself you shouldn't be there, that probably tells you that deep down you want out. If you're just intimidated by the memorizing but still want to be a vet, don't let the memory thing get in your way. I powered through it, so anyone else can.

 

[kajhnsn1]

It's hard to give good advice to someone in your shoes.

The most obvious thing to say is: If you don't see yourself enjoying being a vet (whatever kind of vet that is .. SA, LA, clinical vs non-clinical/research, etc.), then you should bail on it sooner rather than later. The debt to income ratio is just too high to make it worth doing if you're not excited about it. Based on what you're saying here, it sounds like you don't see it as very interesting, so you should consider getting out now while you can. Don't accumulate more debt just to exit the field later.

That said, maybe you have other issues - like depression - going on that aren't obvious (either to me or you) but that may factor into things. It could be useful to talk to a counselor, dean, etc. - someone face to face who can help you think things through, and who may pick up on things that aren't going to be obvious in a forum post on the 'Net.

The memory issue I wouldn't worry about so much. I have one of the worst memories ever. And yeah, it did haunt me sometimes in vet school, like when I'd sit in rounds in Internal Medicine and other people would rattle off 500 differentials for some case discussion, and I'm sitting there having trouble remembering 3 or 4. Or when someone with good memory would rattle off all of the clinical signs of nephrotic syndrome and I'm still sitting there thinking "nephrotic syndrome?" They used to make us play Internal Medicine Jeopardy on that rotation, and I *HATED* it because I felt like such a *****. But in practice, no matter how bad your memory (unless it's truly pathologically bad - head trauma, dementia, etc.) you will do fine... you learn what you need through repetition, and the rest you look up. My memory sucks, but I know the dosing on all the drugs I use daily, and the rest of them I look up. I have a set routine for dealing with a critical patient - and honestly, the first goal with any critical patient is basically "stabilize to buy time". There really aren't an infinite number of diagnostic tests available (especially in any practical sense), so it's really not as difficult as it sounds to know which ones to recommend in which patient. For the 100 common diagnoses, you aren't going to forget them. And for everything else .... everyone else is just as likely to miss it, or it requires secondary or tertiary testing, by which time you've been able to sit down with a book and think things through. Bottom line - if you can memorize well enough to get through school, I wouldn't worry about it being a career-stopper.

If you're using the memory excuse to convince yourself you shouldn't be there, that probably tells you that deep down you want out. If you're just intimidated by the memorizing but still want to be a vet, don't let the memory thing get in your way. I powered through it, so anyone else can.

Thank you very much for your reply, it actually did make me feel better. I've kind of wondered about depression, but I never went to get it checked out because I don't feel "down" or "hopeless" per se. I am making an appointment with our school's psychologist to see what he says. But hearing your struggles with memory definitely made me feel better about the situation, so I don't think it's just me looking for an excuse, which is a good sign. I'll just have to think about it over break when I have a clearer, more rational view of things, since I have ten exams in the next two weeks! I mean, that could be clouding my judgment a little bit. Or a lot.

But seriously, thank you for your reply, I really appreciate it.

 

[Caia]

Honestly, I didn't feel much excitement for classes until 3rd year (even then, it's selective - food animal med/surg? blech. Anesthesia or SA ECC? yay!). First year was probably the least exciting of all.

So I personally wouldn't be too worried if first year doesn't excite you much. If vet school as a whole doesn't interest you then I would consider looking at what really does excite you and see if a move needs to be made.

I also found working or volunteering PT in a clinic related to my area of interest helped get me excited because I can apply what I'm learning and see a light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. That's only increased as I've learned more and can have more intelligent conversations with clinicians.

 

[KCgophervet]

The memory issue I wouldn't worry about so much. I have one of the worst memories ever. And yeah, it did haunt me sometimes in vet school, like when I'd sit in rounds in Internal Medicine and other people would rattle off 500 differentials for some case discussion, and I'm sitting there having trouble remembering 3 or 4. Or when someone with good memory would rattle off all of the clinical signs of nephrotic syndrome and I'm still sitting there thinking "nephrotic syndrome?" They used to make us play Internal Medicine Jeopardy on that rotation, and I *HATED* it because I felt like such a *****.

So it's not just me then...

 

[Trilt]

So it's not just me then...

I took internal med first block with half our class' gunners. Two of the eight are doing path residencies right now. It took at least three more blocks for me to pick up my wholly shattered ego from where it was stomped into the floor and realize I wasn't a complete and utter ******* (just a moderate one).

Jeopardy was hell.

 

[LetItSnow]

So it's not just me then...

Nope. And .... what is the game where you have to draw things blindfolded? I went and picked up the card and ... crap. I can't remember what it was, now, but it was something, like, pretty obvious in retrospect. But I just froze and I was like "I have ZERO idea what this even is." Standing there feeling like a total idiot. Just... like... ok, fail me out now.

And then the next time up I had to draw "everted laryngeal saccules" blindfolded and I was like "screw you internal medicine!" I mean, at least I knew what that was, but I was 100% blank on how to draw it blindfolded. I can't even draw things when I'm looking.

Yeah. Loved the staff and residents, hated the games they did on Fridays.

 

[Caia]

Nope. And .... what is the game where you have to draw things blindfolded? I went and picked up the card and ... crap. I can't remember what it was, now, but it was something, like, pretty obvious in retrospect. But I just froze and I was like "I have ZERO idea what this even is." Standing there feeling like a total idiot. Just... like... ok, fail me out now.

And then the next time up I had to draw "everted laryngeal saccules" blindfolded and I was like "screw you internal medicine!" I mean, at least I knew what that was, but I was 100% blank on how to draw it blindfolded. I can't even draw things when I'm looking.

Yeah. Loved the staff and residents, hated the games they did on Fridays.

Wtf? Sounds like a part of my personal hell.

 

[supershorty]

Nope. And .... what is the game where you have to draw things blindfolded? I went and picked up the card and ... crap. I can't remember what it was, now, but it was something, like, pretty obvious in retrospect. But I just froze and I was like "I have ZERO idea what this even is." Standing there feeling like a total idiot. Just... like... ok, fail me out now.

And then the next time up I had to draw "everted laryngeal saccules" blindfolded and I was like "screw you internal medicine!" I mean, at least I knew what that was, but I was 100% blank on how to draw it blindfolded. I can't even draw things when I'm looking.

Yeah. Loved the staff and residents, hated the games they did on Fridays.

Wow, can't wait for this...

 

[LetItSnow]

Wow, can't wait for this...

I mean, you just smile, grit your teeth, and play along. And I loved my IntMed rotations - except for this part, which I HATED. They do it to try and make Friday rounds fun/educational, but it really takes a less introverted person to enjoy it, I think.