Who wrote your vet LOR?

[sdlbk]

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I'm just curious where you guys got (or are planning to get) your vet rec letter from. Did you have a paid position with the vet? Did you volunteer under a vet? Did you just shadow the vet?

I'm having a really hard time getting to really know any vets well enough for them to write me a letter. I'm really starting to panic because I'd like to apply this fall but I've only managed to shadow 1 vet and she only lets me come in about once every other week! And when I'm there, she's always zooming around and I NEVER get a chance to sit down and get her to know me better. I'm also kind of shy, which doesn't really help matters at all.

I currently only have animal experience volunteering at a shelter (hardly ever see the vet there) and don't think I'll have enough experience any time soon to get a paid position under a vet. I know I need to find another vet to shadow, but do people really get rec letters out of shadowing? How is the vet supposed to get to know me if I'm not really even doing anything? 😕

 

[StartingoverVet]

I got letters from 2 of the vets at the clinic I volunteered at (At a 4 vet clinic. A 3rd was in reserve).

I volunteered at a clinic for 2 years before applying.

Even if you are quiet, over time she isgoing to interact with you, work with you or around you. It seems almost impossible for her not to take some notice of you. If, for some reason this isn't happening, then find out when there is a quiet time to talk to her, and let her know eventually you will need a LOR so she can take some notice of you.

Otherwise talk to someone else at the clinic (a tech or office manager or whatever) who seems to work well with her. Let him/her know your dilemma and they might be able to help you get more face time during the day. Maybe you can observe surgery. That is what I did; eventually she might say something to you while you are standing there.

Ultimately, making yourself useful will get you noticed. If you are not allowed to "work" you can still do non-animal related things to help. Pick up things that are dropped, wipe up spills, throw away garbage, get some coffee etc. Anything to be involved.

You still have over 4 months to make an impression this cycle! Good Luck.

 

[SocialStigma]

I'm planning on getting my 2 vet LORS from vets at the 2 clinics I'm volunteering at. I volunteer at each of them 2 days/week for 6 hours at a time. One of the clinics, I volunteered at last summer too while the other one, I just started this May. One of them is a 3 vet and the other is a 2 vet clinic, not sure which vets to ask yet.

I've had good chats with all of them, one of the vet's sons goes to the high school I graduated from so we had something to bond over haha. I ask a lot of questions too and try to make myself useful.

 

[rileyroo]

the vet who actually wrote my LOR, i had only ridden with once a week for 6 weeks.

 

[UM2014]

One was from a vet I started shadowing when I was eleven and the other was from a vet I worked for on an orthopedic research study. I do have friendships with both of them outside of work but that evolved from shadowing/working in the first place. There are several other vets I have shadowed that would have had no problem asking if I had been allowed to submit more then 4 rec letters!

Maybe I've just been really lucky (actually I know I have been!) but all the vets I know really enjoy mentoring and giving back to the profession since somewhere along the way a vet mentored them as a lowly pre vet! If they're allowing you to shadow them then they want you to learn and get something from the experience so don't be shy about asking questions and doing what you can to help so when letter writing time comes around they'll have something unique to say. Don't expect them to pull up a chair for a chat though. Vets are busy people and the best way to get to know them is to figure out how you can be most helpful!

 

[GellaBella]

I only shadowed one vet and he wrote me an amazing lor (he gave it to me after it had been submitted). At the hospital I shadow at I'm not actually allowed to touch the animals or do ANYTHING due to insurance reasons ... Seriously, once I tried to pick up a towel that dropped on the floor and the manager practically yelled at me.

I went in twice a week...on surgery days and out patient days. Any time there was a second I would discuss what the vet was doing. We had a lot of conversations about going into vet med and the profession as well as actual cases. Now when I go in we both take a look at the xrays together and we both look at lab results and discuss the cases together and come to a conclusion. He still does most of it but it's nice because I feel like I'm contributing in some way.

I had shadowed twice a week for about 8 months when he wrote my lor.

I'd say go ahead and ask your vet if she minds you asking her questions while she's working ... Not while she's on the room with a client, but during the other stuff. If she's cool with it then ask away. If not, then at the end if the day ask if you can spend a few min discussing what you saw. Since you are only shadowing you want the vet to be able to say "this person asks great questions, is truly dedicated. Their maturity has always impressed me etc etc"

so get in there and start talking!
Good luck

 

[twelvetigers]

Here's an interesting situation!

I have a pen pal - if you can still call him that - that I've been talking to (via, letter, phone, or usually email) for something like 12 years now. His mom happens to be a vet. She knows me through him, and likes me quite a bit (she sent me an email once about how I helped him develop in to a nice, well-rounded young man with respect for women that was very, very positive). This July, I'm going to her clinic in Montana for two weeks and she's promised me 'boot camp' - blood draws, intubation, catheters, calculating fluids, the works. I'll be staying with her and everything.

Would these two weeks of actually knowing this woman warrant a LOR? I mean, would it raise any eyebrows, d'ya think?

 

[crittergal]

Here's an interesting situation!

I have a pen pal - if you can still call him that - that I've been talking to (via, letter, phone, or usually email) for something like 12 years now. His mom happens to be a vet. She knows me through him, and likes me quite a bit (she sent me an email once about how I helped him develop in to a nice, well-rounded young man with respect for women that was very, very positive). This July, I'm going to her clinic in Montana for two weeks and she's promised me 'boot camp' - blood draws, intubation, catheters, calculating fluids, the works. I'll be staying with her and everything.

Would these two weeks of actually knowing this woman warrant a LOR? I mean, would it raise any eyebrows, d'ya think?

I would think it is perfectly acceptable, especially considering she has known you for years outside of a clinical setting. Honestly I think it was that portion of my LORs that helped me to shine. My LOR DVMs who wrote mine had known me outside of a clinic for a very long time. She could easily work that into a great letter. She would be able to speak to your character, which is frequently overlooked as unimportant in a LOR by applicants.

 

[twelvetigers]

But, she knows me in letters/email. I have never MET this woman, and will not until July. I'm pretty sure she feels like she knows me, but... ya know. It's an odd situation.

 

[zeebra44]

1.) Head/owner veterinarian of the practice I worked at as an assistant (I worked there 2+ years)
2.) Undergraduate thesis advisor/professor I TAed a course for
3.) Academic advisor
4.) Academic counselor I was very close to in college

 

[VeganSoprano]

I think you should ask. She probably knows you well enough to be able to state why you would be an asset to the profession. And working with someone for a 2-week "boot camp" will definitely give plenty of insight into a person's abilities and character. I'd bet that she is very prepared to write a LOR for you and probably expects you to ask her.

 

[breenie]

Here is who I plan on getting them from for this cycle. Not all confirmed yet, though I don't anticipate any problems...

1) Veterinarian at the 2 vet practice I've worked for the past 1.5 years.
2) Veterinarian who is the PI at the lab I'm doing research at this summer.
3) Cheesemaker and goat farmer who was my mentor for an internship last summer and who I now work for a few nights a week.
4) My academic adviser who was also my professor

 

[racccjlm]

I don't have any real clinical experience, but I lucked out because one of my profs is a vet, so he kindly wrote one for me!

 

[scb44f]

I'm getting my LOR from the mixed animal vet I've been volunteering for twice a week since last August. The majority of my vet experience is through his clinic.

As far as the vet "zooming around", I agree with startingovervet that she is going to notice you. I was also pretty shy at first, but I found surgeries provided a good amount of time to ask questions. When he's not in with a client, or in surgery, he's in his office. I find it awkward to walk into his office uninvited, so I began talking to the techs, asking them some questions and befriending them. Now, it's like I'm one of them (a few specifically say they wish I worked there instead of someone who actually does) because I do a significant amount of what they do anyway, with their help of course. Anyway, my point is that even though I'm not spending 100% of the time in the clinic with the vet, I think he's comfortable writing me a letter because of the initiative I've taken to learn more through the techs while he's not with me.

 

[DVMDream]

This last time I got my LOR's from the 2 vets I have worked with for the past 5 years. (I got the 3rd from a prof.)

This year I will probably use those same 2 vets as well as a 3rd at that same clinic that I have worked with for about 3 years and then I may get a 4th from a vet that I worked with in a different town for a year (the other vet I worked with at that clinic just recently passed away. 🙁)

There are a couple other vets that I have worked with for the duration of a summer or two that I might also be able to contact and see if they would feel comfortable writing me a LOR, but for now I will probably stick with the four.

 

[Tiktaalik]

1) Owner/head of a practice I shadowed at for half a year.
2) PI of lab I worked in / Vet advisor
3) Prof I had for 2 labs.

 

[skkyy1329]

1. A professor I did undergraduate research with
2. A small animal vet that I worked with for 2+ years
3. A food animal vet who is my master's advisor

 

[Pigsfoot]

my vet eLOR was from a vet i worked with and assisted directly in the lab where i worked.

 

[Nechochwen]

1-2 Vets that I had shadowed with only briefly
3. Zoo director that I had known me since I was 14
4. Zoo vet tech that I had worked with since I was 14
5. Undergrad professor

Did they just change the maximum number of LOR's or did I submit too many?

 

[Tiktaalik]

I think the schools I applied to only wanted 3, so I only submitted 3.

 

[StartingoverVet]

1-2 Vets that I had shadowed with only briefly
3. Zoo director that I had known me since I was 14
4. Zoo vet tech that I had worked with since I was 14
5. Undergrad professor

Did they just change the maximum number of LOR's or did I submit too many?

3 is minimum. VMCAS allows up to 5. Some schools will only read 3. Some will read all of them. Some make you specify which 3 to read. Then there is Cornell and their letter for every vet experience. As usual, it all depends.

 

[skittles12]

I had 2 letters from the two vets I worked for during the summer at a spay and neuter clinic. My other letter came from the head of the herpetology department at the Knoxville Zoo, where I completed an internship.

My academic adviser offered to write one, but he said that he couldn't provide anything more than they would already see by looking at my grades on my transcript.

 

[Minnerbelle]

1-2 Vets that I had shadowed with only briefly
3. Zoo director that I had known me since I was 14
4. Zoo vet tech that I had worked with since I was 14
5. Undergrad professor

Did they just change the maximum number of LOR's or did I submit too many?

nope... i sent in 8 or so to any school that would take composite letters. i ended up deciding to go to CSU which only allows you to submit 3, so that was a huge waste of time + effort (esp of the LOR writers). it seriously took me 3 years to accumulate all of those.

 

[Veracosa]

All 3 of mine were from vets I have been working with at my job. I did, however seriously consider having my organic chem professor write one for me, since he not only was able to get to know me over a year but see how I worked in the orgo lab.

I think it is very reasonable to have non-vets write your LOR, as long as they are professionals "whose opinion means something," you know? Like college professors, shelter administrators, etc.

 

[akina]

I feel your pain. I had the same situation, too. The first vet I shadowed didn't interact with me that much, and I was also shy, too, so that didn't help the situation. Now when I think back about that experience, I really wish I would've asked questions like, "Can I help?" or "Can you teach me about holistic medicine, or why did you become a vet?" I didn't ask her for a letter of recommendation because I felt that she didn't know me that well.

Luckily, during the summer, I volunteered for 2 vets as a kennel technician-like position. They weren't with me all the time, but they taught me that I have to ask questions and they were willing to teach me. They both gave me wonderful recommendation letters.

My 3rd one was from my bio advisor.

 

[jpeterman13]

1) Vet (from a 4 Dr. practice) that I shadowed for about 6 months, the first vet I ever worked with basically
2) Vet that I worked with for about 6 months from a 3 vet practice. She was a board certified surgeon.
3) Research mentor whom I worked for for roughly 3 years
4) Professor that I had for 2 graduate courses that were taken while I was an undergrad.
5) Lecturer that I was a TA for for about 2 years.

I know it's a lot, but I figured that it wouldn't hurt...and it didn't 😀

 

[MIZMARLEY]

My LORs were from two veterinarians and one family friend. One of the vets was an employer and I worked with her for 2 years. I targeted her from the beginning to write my recommendation letter so I really did ANYTHING she asked and more. The second veterinarian was a professor I had in an equine class. He offered to write a letter before I even asked!! And the third was because another vet didn't come through. She said she would write it and then I could never get in touch with her again so I asked my mother's friend and they accepted it (thank goodness). Anyway, she is a published author and former professor of english (although not my professor). She is also the daughter of a retired veterinarian. So I guess it worked out in the end.