Vet Experience: Shadow vs paid role

[K9DANE]

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So, I've put out my first feeler on gaining actual vet experience. Several of the docs, and other employees, know me and my background so I figured it was a good place to start. In addition, one of the vets is a graduate of the school I really hope to gain entrance to.

In talking with the office manager, we're trying to come up with what would be the best role for me. Should I strictly shadow the docs or should she hire me as an assistant so I can actually get some hands on experience as well as gain a small monetary benefit as well? (Not sneezing at that as I'll be dropping my current job hours to part time in August.)

I'd love the hands on experience but I also don't want to get wrapped up in tasky things where shadowing would be more of a benefit to my career goals.

My next step is to draft an email off to her explaining what my goals are so that she can present it to their lead tech and the docs and see what we can work out that would benefit everyone.

Thoughts? Comments?

 

[lareinesoleil]

So, I've put out my first feeler out on gaining actual vet. Several of the docs, and other employees, know me and my background so I figured it was a good place to start. In addition, one of the vets is a graduate of the school I really hope to gain entrance to.

In talking with the office manager, we're trying to come up with what would be the best role for me. Should I strictly shadow the docs or should she hire me as an assistant so I can actually get some hands on experience as well as gain a small monetary benefit as well? (Not sneezing at that as I'll be dropping my current job hours to part time in August.)

I'd love the hands on experience but I also don't want to get wrapped up in tasky things where shadowing would be more of a benefit to my career goals.

My next step is to draft an email off to her explaining what my goals are so that she can present it to their lead tech and the docs and see what we can work out that would benefit everyone.

Thoughts? Comments?

Maybe a little bit of both? Have you gotten any hands-on experience before? Knowing how to draw up vaccines, restrain animals, deal with clients, etc might be helpful. If you've already had some experience with all that stuff, then the shadowing would maybe be more helpful because it would be beyond the basics.

 

[K9DANE]

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[LetItSnow]

Should I strictly shadow the docs or should she hire me as an assistant so I can actually get some hands on experience as well as gain a small monetary benefit as well? (Not sneezing at that as I'll be dropping my current job hours to part time in August.)

I think you're going to win either way. That said, my gut says "hands on" is slightly better. And hey, a little pocket change is always nice.

That said, one of the very big benefits I've had from shadowing is that when it's appointment day (I cycle through one day each of dentistry, surgery, and appointments) I'm in the appointments with the doctor whereas if I were working I would not be.

I've managed to learn a LOT about how to communicate with clients about diet, about euthanasia, about money, about ... you name it. It's near the top of my list of things I've found useful from shadowing.

Is there a reason you can't also get hands-on while shadowing with them (liability is the first obvious thing that leaps to mind, but it sounds like your clinic is pretty flexible)?

 

[lostbunny]

You've got lots of medical experience which is great and will obviously help you to better understand everything thats going on at the hospital.

In my experience as an assistant, because of the experience I'd gained in the past, I was able to assist in surgery, appointments, etc. And thats basically 1 on 1 with the doc where you can go crazy asking questions about everything.

But, I also found while volunteer/shadowing, I still got to assist in sx, appts, etc. The benefit of volunteering is you're with the vet all the time, so when Fluffy comes back for a nail trim, you won't be the first one to be asked to hold/clip.

Buuut, with work, you'll become 'part of the team' and sort of play a role in the hospital which is also really important besides watching surgeries- you'll be more then just a shadow basically.

I think either way is beneficial. I'd personally get the paid job, and come in on my days off to volunteer if I felt I wasn't getting enough "Vet time".

 

[SocialStigma]

You should do both if possible. I was never paid for my vet experience but as a volunteer I sat in on exams, restrained animals, observed/prepped for/aided in surgeries, monitored patients, drew up vaccs etc as well as did inventory, checked expiry dates, cleaned, and other clinic duties. Priority always went to whatever the vet was doing/needed help with though.

 

[StartingoverVet]

I recall a lot of people entering my class were concerned about the lack of hands-on experience (myself included). Everyone told us it wouldn't matter, but still we couldn't shake the feeling that it would matter in the end.

It wasn't until one of our physio lecturers made the point that I really bought into it. The vet's job is not necessarily to be the one who fixes things, but the one to figure what needs fixing and how to fix it. Vet school mostly teaches you how to think. And learning to draw blood, and administer meds, etc is not what is going to make you a good or great vet.

So my long-winded point is, don't sweat the tech skills. You will have plenty of time to practice those. If they were important, schools would require you to gain experience there. Learn what you can about the profession, make sure you can envision yourself doing what a vet does, and pay attention to process, not details.

 

[jrwinsto]

I recall a lot of people entering my class were concerned about the lack of hands-on experience (myself included). Everyone told us it wouldn't matter, but still we couldn't shake the feeling that it would matter in the end.

It wasn't until one of our physio lecturers made the point that I really bought into it. The vet's job is not necessarily to be the one who fixes things, but the one to figure what needs fixing and how to fix it. Vet school mostly teaches you how to think. And learning to draw blood, and administer meds, etc is not what is going to make you a good or great vet.

So my long-winded point is, don't sweat the tech skills. You will have plenty of time to practice those. If they were important, schools would require you to gain experience there. Learn what you can about the profession, make sure you can envision yourself doing what a vet does, and pay attention to process, not details.

That is a really good point! Putting it in that perspective really makes sense!

 

[jrwinsto]

I recall a lot of people entering my class were concerned about the lack of hands-on experience (myself included). Everyone told us it wouldn't matter, but still we couldn't shake the feeling that it would matter in the end.

It wasn't until one of our physio lecturers made the point that I really bought into it. The vet's job is not necessarily to be the one who fixes things, but the one to figure what needs fixing and how to fix it. Vet school mostly teaches you how to think. And learning to draw blood, and administer meds, etc is not what is going to make you a good or great vet.

So my long-winded point is, don't sweat the tech skills. You will have plenty of time to practice those. If they were important, schools would require you to gain experience there. Learn what you can about the profession, make sure you can envision yourself doing what a vet does, and pay attention to process, not details.

That is a really good point! Putting it in that perspective makes a lot of sense.

 

[K9DANE]

Thanks for the suggestions/opinions. I sent my email to the office manager yesterday detailing my goals and received a quick reply back. She's going to brainstorm with their lead technician and the docs and come up with a plan. I know this is but a small step on my pathway, but I'm super excited about it. 🙂

 

[alwayslistening]

I recall a lot of people entering my class were concerned about the lack of hands-on experience (myself included). Everyone told us it wouldn't matter, but still we couldn't shake the feeling that it would matter in the end.

It wasn't until one of our physio lecturers made the point that I really bought into it. The vet's job is not necessarily to be the one who fixes things, but the one to figure what needs fixing and how to fix it. Vet school mostly teaches you how to think. And learning to draw blood, and administer meds, etc is not what is going to make you a good or great vet.

So my long-winded point is, don't sweat the tech skills. You will have plenty of time to practice those. If they were important, schools would require you to gain experience there. Learn what you can about the profession, make sure you can envision yourself doing what a vet does, and pay attention to process, not details.

This makes me happy. Working on my technical skills has helped me to understand what goes into veterinary medicine, but I do feel that sometimes, I get lost in the forest. Thank you for this, so very much 😀