Varied Vet Experience

[GellaBella]

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Hi guys,

I need some advice about varying my vet/animal experiences for my first round of applications this fall. As of this moment in time, this is what I have:

Veterinary Experience:

200 hrs clinical experience with a companion exotics vet
(birds,ferrets, rabbits etc)
500 hrs research experience (under a vet) working with birds and pigs
(occassionally-like 2 or 3 times i got to work with horses)

Animal Experience:

200 hrs research experience (under a PhD) working with birds.
I dunno if this counts but my family had potbellied pigs and pygmy goats growing up as pets, along with our dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, rabbits etc

I also have a large amount of of research that does not deal with animals in any way.

My question is, what do you feel would be more beneficial for me, to continue shadowing with the exotics vet and accumulate more hours with him, or to switch to another vet and get a different type of experience?

Sorry guys I know you get these types of questions all the time, but I'm just not sure whether I should keep going with the exotics or whether I should switch to something new.

 

[sumstorm]

I think I would try to get in with a SA vet, zoo vet, or LA vet in a different area than pigs & birds.

I have no idea if the chickens/ducks/goats/pigs count, if they were around just as pets. We had all those and more and I counted it as animal experience, but we also competed and butchered.

 

[Shanomong]

It really depends on where you want to go... I know Penn prefers depth over breadth, and Cornell is the opposite. Can't speak for any other schools though, maybe others know.

That is of course assuming you want to go into exotics 😀, otherwise I'd def get experience in your area of interest.

 

[eventualeventer]

Remember, all of your research experience counts as vet experience for most places as long as it was conducted under someone with a doctorate. I.e., research under a PhD is fine; the PI does not have to be a vet.

I'll leave the rest to those more qualified than I. I am in a similar position of lacking SA experience. Here is how my experience breaks down:
~ 3000 hours equine private practice
~ 500 hours (and still accumulating) equine academic/teaching hospital nursing
~ 200 hours equine nutrition research, mostly stall mucking with a little interesting stuff
~ 100 hours basic research -- I'm starting my own project on stalk-eyed flies which will take up a lot of the summer
~ 21 hours SA pvt practice

That's right, 21 hours SA. Pretty pathetic. Dr. Keiter at UPenn said that I should be OK if I get about 100 hours total SA experience. He said they want to see that you have been exposed to the world of SA pvt practice, where these "are people's kids", in his words.

Of course, some other school might say something completely different. 🙄

I certainly don't need more equine experience, but I am completely addicted, and staying in touch with equine medicine reminds me of why I need to buckle down and do well in classes. It doesn't hurt that it pays very well for someone without a college degree!

 

[gone2dogs]

Remember, all of your research experience counts as vet experience for most places as long as it was conducted under someone with a doctorate. I.e., research under a PhD is fine; the PI does not have to be a vet.

This is actually going to be one of my questions at my file review next week... are you saying that science research (basic science, not vet related) can count as "vet experience" if it was done under a PI with a PhD? Or maybe you were just talking about the OP's research with birds.

I would be super excited if I could list my research experience as something other than employment/school... that would add 6000 hours to my otherwise totally pathetic vet experience... (I applied last cycle with less than 200 hours since I didn't include research). Somehow, I don't think it really counts though.

 

[twelvetigers]

I need more LA experience, since my clinic hours should be about 1600 by mid September (my planned submittal date, lol). I also have some research hours under my belt, as well as a lot of "work experience" that I find pretty relevant, but does not fit into other categories.

I already have a game plan for the LA experience this summer. So, uh... I could volunteer for a local rescue... I could volunteer for the humane society... these are things I have considered. I'm really not sure of any way to get exotic experience, but I'm also not sure how much that matters to my IS school. There are zoos around, but if I'm driving 1 1/2 hours each way, it had better be important, you know?

Just looking for some feedback as well - sorry to the OP for hijacking the thread. 🙁

Just so this post is somewhat constructive, I'll mirror what a couple of other people said - just get some plain jane SA and LA experience.

 

[sumstorm]

I would be super excited if I could list my research experience as something other than employment/school... that would add 6000 hours to my otherwise totally pathetic vet experience... (I applied last cycle with less than 200 hours since I didn't include research). Somehow, I don't think it really counts though.

VMCAS says it is veterinary experience if it is supervised by a health professional.

And
"Veterinary experiences should relate to any veterinary clinical, agribusiness, health science, or research experiences that you have had with veterinarians, other health scientists, or other professionals.
Include all relevant experiences, whether they are voluntary, paid, or academic experiences, beginning with the most recent. "

I included my research hours, which were on toxicology (using turtles as source point pollution bio-indicators) but if I had researched fluid mechanics under a physics PhD, I wouldn't have counted it. I did NOT include my study on international conservation education (did under animals) or my study on the threats to the remaining virgin timber stands around the world, since it didn't relate to animal/human health. I did include the work I put on another persons research in neurobio.

 

[jakem333]

Sorry in advance for a dumb question but: If you've done basic research in something like genetics, would list it under both Vet. experience AND research experience, or just choose one?

 

[JulieB361]

I think having more varied veterinary experience will only help you. Some schools seem to value it more than others. I had mainly small animal, but I had alot of it. I was accepted to Kansas but I did not get into my IS (Ohio) and they said it was because I needed more varied vet experience. Maybe try to shadow a LA or SA vet. I'm not sure about the research question. You could call the school or maybe vmcas.

 

[GellaBella]

Thanks guys,

Thats pretty much what I was expecting to hear (sometimes you just need other people to tell it to you, you know?).

My take on the research thing is that biology-related research, if done under the supervision of a PhD can still be counted as Vet Experience. I guess from my perspective, research can be an important part of being a veterinarian-if you chose to go that route. Whether you are doing clinical research or more 'basic' biology research shouldn't matter because you could do either as a DVM, so any exposure to that type of environment could be veterinary experience.

I'm just talking (writing) off the top of my head though, trying to rationalize it.

So I need more large animal experience (and small animal) all before the end of the summer. Blah!

Anyone know any good large animal vets in central NJ? How about small animal?

I sure am jealous of everyone who has been getting their experience for years!

 

[twelvetigers]

Sorry in advance for a dumb question but: If you've done basic research in something like genetics, would list it under both Vet. experience AND research experience, or just choose one?

You should never double-list anything on VMCAS. However, there's not a specific slot for research experience (if I remember correctly) so you would just list it under vet experience (as long you worked under someone with a phD). Don't worry, it makes more sense once you see everything in context, and you can always ask us again later (as you are entering the information) if you are unsure.

 

[DVMorBust]

Don't worry, it makes more sense once you see everything in context,

and you can always ask us again later (as you are entering the information) if you are unsure.

SDN will be your best friend in terms of figuring out what they're talking about. Of course, when in doubt call VMCAS, but there's a lot of information from people who contacted them about the twisted application system that is VMCAS in the past. At the very least, we'll be able to tell you if it's something that's changed since last cycle.

 

[twelvetigers]

Oh, sorry, I wasn't trying to make it sound like VMCAS was easy to use. My bad. 😀

 

[DVMorBust]

Oh, sorry, I wasn't trying to make it sound like VMCAS was easy to use. My bad. 😀

Seriously - the application is such a weeding out process. You can't fill it out? You don't get in.

Reminds me of my job - it's in this square brick hardly-labeled building down by the harbor, and the inside is twisty corridors and stairs that skip floors or go to other floors. I'm convinced that anyone interviewing people there has a big 'can they find it without calling for directions?' section on the eval form...

 

[aspiringDVM]

I'm currently involved with an undergrad research project in which we're attempting to extract and sequence DNA from a museum specimen in order to place an extinct bird on the phylogenetic tree. Would this still be "vet experience" even though it has nothing to do with live animals?
I posted a few months ago about work I did at an equine rehab facility, where I worked with various vets who came in to examine their patients, but where there was no staff vet. The consensus from most SDNers at the time was that this was animal experience, not vet experience. But now I see that the VMCAS just wants you to work with a "professional." Do you think my internship at the rehab facility, supervised by an Australian vet tech and several other people with degrees in animal/ equine science, could count as vet experience? It was very medicine-intensive, not just grooming/ mucking/ feeding, but medicating/bandaging/special treatments/ etc. as well.
Also, what can you put under "work experience" if you've only ever worked in vet clinics?
ALSO, is there a separate section for community service/ volunteer experience? What if the activities are also animal/ vet experiences?
I'm already so confused!!!!!

 

[twelvetigers]

Here's the hierarchy of importance (as I understand it):

Vet experience
Animal experience
Employment experience
Extracurricular and community activities

(Honor & awards isn't really relevant, but it's the other section, fyi.)

Fit whatever experience you have into the highest possible category. If you have no non-vet work experience, leave it blank.

As you can see, community implies volunteer, but if its animal related volunteering, then it goes under animal experience.

And, if your research project is under the direction of a phD or DVM, you can count it as vet experience. At least that's my understanding.

Rules, rules. 😉