Veterinary experience abroad

[ebrewha]

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Does anyone have any veterinary experience abroad? I am seriously considering doing one of the 2-3 week conservation volunteer programs/courses in Africa this summer and was wondering if anyone had any experience with something similar. There are several different volunteer organizations that have 2-3 week opportunities in Africa but it is hard to tell which ones would actually be worthwhile or would actually allow hands-on work with the animals.

I am still waiting to hear from a few schools but I am thinking I'm going to have to do something to strengthen my application for next year (if they come back as rejections)...do schools value this type of veterinary experience?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[laurafinn]

Does anyone have any veterinary experience abroad? I am seriously considering doing one of the 2-3 week conservation volunteer programs/courses in Africa this summer and was wondering if anyone had any experience with something similar. ...do schools value this type of veterinary experience?

I don't know about African programs specifically, but another, probably cheaper, option is to go WWOOFing (Willing Workers on Organic Farms). There are a lot of places you can go in New Zealand and Australia, other countries too. Its just room and board in exchange for 4 hours a work each day. No fees or anything. You just pay for your airfare and arrange your own gigs with individual WWOOF hosts.

Don't know how it's regarded in admissions circles, but WWOOFing would give you something to talk about during your interviews. Just make sure you visit big farms rather than lifestyle blocks (aka hobby farms), and specify up front that you'd like to work with animals at least some of the time.

 

[CookieBear]

Does anyone have any veterinary experience abroad? I am seriously considering doing one of the 2-3 week conservation volunteer programs/courses in Africa this summer and was wondering if anyone had any experience with something similar. There are several different volunteer organizations that have 2-3 week opportunities in Africa but it is hard to tell which ones would actually be worthwhile or would actually allow hands-on work with the animals.

I am still waiting to hear from a few schools but I am thinking I'm going to have to do something to strengthen my application for next year (if they come back as rejections)...do schools value this type of veterinary experience?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Some completely anecdotal and second-hand information:

Two vets I know, who graduated about 5 years ago, told me that it was their feeling that doing one of those programs in Africa is a great thing on your application.

They both knew classmates who had done it, and those classmates had been accepted to Penn and Georgia on their first application attempts.

Whether it was Africa or, more likely, their entire application package, that did it... shall remain a mystery to us!

IMO, it certainly shows you are motivated and interested and aren't afraid to take on new adventures to learn more. If I had the money and time I would've loved to have done it myself. That's for another future life-time, err, incarnation, I think for me. 😉

 

[anc84]

I'm sure every experience that is out of the ordinary would be looked upon highly because it shows you aren't afraid to venture out and do things and be hands on. I have lots and lots of diverse experience here in the states, but I'm sure the fact that I've had abroad experience helped alot. I did an intership at a small animal vet for a year in Germany and also had the opportuniy to do a wildlife course in Africa. I say go for it- every animal experience will give you more points and I'm sure abroad stuff will be regarded even higher.

 

[ebrewha]

Thanks everyone for the great advice...I'm guessing any type of experience will help and not hurt....

 

[Vet2be2012]

I talked to Colorado about whether getting a recc. letter from an overseas vet would be accepted, and they said yet, but they would prefer it to be from a vet in the US. More importantly, they just want a letter from your most recent experience! They didn't seem to care about any of my overseas experiences. I was trying to do some volunteer projects in Africa too, but can't afford the cost over the ticket and expenses there, and even the programs there have expenses! But most importantly, do what you want to do! That is how I have been living my life since I got my B.S. in Chemistry! I always felt if the admissions committee doesn't like it, than tough! We have a right to live our lives too! We don't need to spend our lives living to get into a professional school! I have been doing many volunteer projects with animals and teaching kids English in France for the past year, mainly building shelters, sterilizing, foster care, collecting food, etc. I was told this doesn't really matter. Oh well. However, I love doing it! And I feel you will have a great time in Africa too! It is a once in a life time experience! It can't hurt! If you can afford it and want to do it, go for it! Good luck!🙂

 

[BostonLvr]

I am participating in a study abroad program this summer through a company called Global Learning Semesters. It is an Animal Science Program in Belize. It lasts 4 weeks and you get a 3 credit hour course about large animals with a lot of hands on experience as well as a 3 credit hour course in exotics with many hours of observation and trips to the Belize City Zoo. I plan to apply to vet school this summer/fall so we'll see how this all pans out. 🙂

 

[hoodle]

I don't know about African programs specifically, but another, probably cheaper, option is to go WWOOFing (Willing Workers on Organic Farms). ...Its just room and board in exchange for 4 hours a work each day. ...specify up front that you'd like to work with animals at least some of the time.

I was WWOOfing in NZ for 3 months with my significant other... and it wasn't at all a uniformly great experience. We didn't plan ahead enough, and so there were limited options for 2 people working together (often there was room for one, but not two) - we didn't reserve our schedule, but thought we'd happily float from farm to farm. Perhaps if you plan more ahead and don't have to worry about planning for two, it'd be worth it!

They should, though, rename the program Willing Weeders on Organic Farms. Most big farms who actually need help need consistent, knowledgeable help - so will hire someone. No-one will leave an important job in the care of transient, random, anonymous workers. This means that WWOOFers often do the jobs which can wait until it's convenient: repairs of various things, and WEEDING!

That said, I spent a wonderful month with a fabulous sporthorse breeder in the South Island, and I'll be getting a recommendation from her (animal experience - Cornell requires every listed experience to have a seperate eval. form filled out!)

 

[Quaggi]

I spent a month volunteering at the CARE baboon sanctuary in South Africa (some of you may have seen it on animal planet's "growing up baboon") But, I actually did it after I submitted applications, so I have no idea if it would have looked good or not had I done it beforehand. However, they loved hearing about it in interviews, especially at Tufts where one of my interviewers was the international vet med prof! haha. But, I got a TON of hands-on with the monkeys (every day, all day), and even some vet type stuff since they were pretty shorthanded. On top of working closely with an amazing species, it was incredible enough living in the African wilderness for a month...I have so many crazy stories to tell at parties now 😉 I would definitely recommend CARE to anyone interested in primates and who doesnt mind living amongst spitting cobras 🙂

-Bari

 

[ckgilabert]

How much would it cost to do something in another country for a few weeks? and is it worth it?

do you guys recommend any websites?

thank you!!

 

[laurafinn]

This summer I WWOOFed, staying on a sheep farm for a month. I did some weeding and thistle-grubbing, but also quite a bit of sheep work - drenching, weighing, rouseying, etc.

I contacted the hosts via email and talked to them on the phone before I arrived, so I felt like I knew what I was getting into and they knew what I was interested in. I didn't feel like I was some random person showing up.

Farm work can be pretty seasonal, especially in pasture-based systems like the ones NZ has, and there are a fair number of farms that almost-but-not-quite have need for another regular worker, so at some places you can do hands on animal stuff.

 

[Tiraka]

I had a great experience working with a sea turtle conservation group in Uruguay. I went for 3 weeks over winter break, and spent my time catching & tagging turtles, collecting data for research, and helping with necropsies. Rehabilitation is also part of it, but we only had one, low-maintenance turtle in while I was there. It was an inexpensive program, but airfare getting down there can be pretty steep. No veterinary exposure, but still good wildlife experience abraod

 

[Vet2be2012]

I think the overall cost of airfare, potential program cost/board/room/etc, can get more costly than I can afford at this point. I am looking into all types of abroad volunteer experiences now for my 38 worth of externships I must do for Glasgow. I found a good program in Florida, too, which might be less expensive than going overseas.

Quaggi,
I was looking into doing that program too! About how much does it cost for airfare, program fees, and everything else? I really wanted to do that about a year ago, and still will try for my required externships!

 

[Quaggi]

I think the overall cost of airfare, potential program cost/board/room/etc, can get more costly than I can afford at this point. I am looking into all types of abroad volunteer experiences now for my 38 worth of externships I must do for Glasgow. I found a good program in Florida, too, which might be less expensive than going overseas.

Quaggi,
I was looking into doing that program too! About how much does it cost for airfare, program fees, and everything else? I really wanted to do that about a year ago, and still will try for my required externships!

Hey vettobe

it was damn expensive. But, it was my graduation gift from my whole family. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for externship in vet school because there is no vet there, it was just an awesome, once in a lifetime experience that was worth every penny! if you want i can give you more exact #s on price, just PM me.

 

[ferral]

I am participating in a study abroad program this summer through a company called Global Learning Semesters. It is an Animal Science Program in Belize. It lasts 4 weeks and you get a 3 credit hour course about large animals with a lot of hands on experience as well as a 3 credit hour course in exotics with many hours of observation and trips to the Belize City Zoo. I plan to apply to vet school this summer/fall so we'll see how this all pans out. 🙂

Yay! BostonLvr, I'm going to the GLS Belize program too! 🙂 Are you going in June or July?
I'm super excited about the hands-on component 😀
Do you know anyone who has already done this program?

 

[BostonLvr]

I am going in June. How about you? I am very excited as well but kinda worried by some things I've read about crime in Belize. I don't know anyone who has already completed this program... I do have one friend from my school who is going too but that's it. Do you know anyone who has already been through this program?

 

[tiddlywinks]

I did do a two week program through Galen University in Belize - which sounds like the one you're talking about except it was crammed into a shorter program and worth 3 credits. Where will you be staying? We were in San Ignacio, and we also took a couple trips to the Belize zoo. This was a couple years back, but as far as crime, we never had a problem. We always went out in large groups. We went out a lot though, and we even got on their public buses one weekend to get to a really nice little island. It was awesome! I don't really remember them even emphasizing that we had to be super careful, except for some people who wanted to cross the border to Guatemala and that was not encouraged.

 

[BostonLvr]

I'm SO glad to hear that you didn't have a problem with crime. 😀 We are staying in San Ignacio at a place called Log Cab-Inn I believe.