Thinking of dropping out

[Rose1996]

Dear people of the Student Doctor forums,

I am in my second year of veterinary medicine in the Netherlands (here we go straight from high school to university to study veterintary medicine for 6 years, after this we are fully qualified vets), but I am not sure whether to continue or not. Here are some of the doubts I have about the profession:

• I have heard from multiple people and have experienced myself that the work gets kind of repetitive. I have done quite a lot of shadowing (hope that's the right word!) and about 60-70% of the work the vets did was spaying, neutering, vaccinating and dental procedures (mostly cleaning). I think this might get boring in the long run.
• I have a lot of other interests beside veterinary medicine (like literature, the environment, history) and have no time to pursue these interests because vet med takes up all of my time
• I don't really feel at home at vet med, most of the people are very different than me. In the Netherlands we only have one place to study veterinary medicine, so I know these are the people I will work with later and that makes me sad.

Those aren't all the points, but I guess the most important ones. Are there any people here who have dropped out of vet school for the same reasons? Or who are thinking of dropping out because of the same reasons? Or maybe people who have had the same doubts, but decided to continue anyway?

I hope you can help me!

p.s. Sorry for the grammar mistakes, English isn't my first language
p.p.s. I hope I am allowed to post on this forum because I'm not studying in the USA

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[dyachei]

Dear people of the Student Doctor forums,

I am in my second year of veterinary medicine in the Netherlands (here we go straight from high school to university to study veterintary medicine for 6 years, after this we are fully qualified vets), but I am not sure whether to continue or not. Here are some of the doubts I have about the profession:

• I have heard from multiple people and have experienced myself that the work gets kind of repetitive. I have done quite a lot of shadowing (hope that's the right word!) and about 60-70% of the work the vets did was spaying, neutering, vaccinating and dental procedures (mostly cleaning). I think this might get boring in the long run.
• I have a lot of other interests beside veterinary medicine (like literature, the environment, history) and have no time to pursue these interests because vet med takes up all of my time
• I don't really feel at home at vet med, most of the people are very different than me. In the Netherlands we only have one place to study veterinary medicine, so I know these are the people I will work with later and that makes me sad.

Those aren't all the points, but I guess the most important ones. Are there any people here who have dropped out of vet school for the same reasons? Or who are thinking of dropping out because of the same reasons? Or maybe people who have had the same doubts, but decided to continue anyway?

I hope you can help me!

p.s. Sorry for the grammar mistakes, English isn't my first language
p.p.s. I hope I am allowed to post on this forum because I'm not studying in the USA

Well, I work as a general practitioner in the US and it is hardly boring. There are always interesting sick cases even if 60-70% is repetitive. Remember that vaccinating allows you to meet new people and animals.

I have time to pursue other interests. I work 4 days a week.

The last bullet point is really personal so I can't speak to that one.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

No need to apologize for your English skills - your post is very clear. I wish I was so fluent in another language as you seem to be. If you need clarification of anything in my post, please ask.

There is a lot of repetition in clinical veterinary medicine at the general practitioner level, except if you do emergency work (not that everything is different, but there is the increased element of surprise (no appointment) and speed (time is more important). Still, I think it's true of almost every job. One of the differences about veterinary medicine is that you can add to your education and skill set as you grow.

It's great you've done a lot of shadowing, and if you think that the regular general day-to-day life of a vet is not for you, you're probably right......however, that doesn't mean that a veterinary degree isn't right for you. Not only are there specializations you can pursue after you've got your veterinary degree, there are added skills you can focus on to broaden what you do (things like acupuncture, ultrasound, behavour, emergency care, rehabilitation) even if you don't pursue becoming a boarded specialist. The veterinary field is also global, which means that you can take your degree with you if you choose to move......there may be licensing hurdles to cross; I don't know about licensing in the EU, but you are eligible to take the NAVLE after graduation, which would allow you a license to work in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, or France.

 

[Seth Joo]

Dear people of the Student Doctor forums,

I am in my second year of veterinary medicine in the Netherlands (here we go straight from high school to university to study veterintary medicine for 6 years, after this we are fully qualified vets), but I am not sure whether to continue or not. Here are some of the doubts I have about the profession:

• I have heard from multiple people and have experienced myself that the work gets kind of repetitive. I have done quite a lot of shadowing (hope that's the right word!) and about 60-70% of the work the vets did was spaying, neutering, vaccinating and dental procedures (mostly cleaning). I think this might get boring in the long run.
• I have a lot of other interests beside veterinary medicine (like literature, the environment, history) and have no time to pursue these interests because vet med takes up all of my time
• I don't really feel at home at vet med, most of the people are very different than me. In the Netherlands we only have one place to study veterinary medicine, so I know these are the people I will work with later and that makes me sad.

Those aren't all the points, but I guess the most important ones. Are there any people here who have dropped out of vet school for the same reasons? Or who are thinking of dropping out because of the same reasons? Or maybe people who have had the same doubts, but decided to continue anyway?

I hope you can help me!

p.s. Sorry for the grammar mistakes, English isn't my first language
p.p.s. I hope I am allowed to post on this forum because I'm not studying in the USA

Since you are European, I am under the assumption that your education is paid for by your government so the financial consequences of you leaving school without getting a degree won't be as detrimental to you as for someone who leaves a university in the United States. I think the decision is yours.

I would still think twice about this.