Why dd you choose veterinary medicine?

Started by Nena01
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Nena01

Nena01

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To be honest, whenever someone asks me why I want to be a vet, I find it difficult to give them a good answer. I love animals and I cannot see myself practicing human medicine. Yet, I really don't know what to say when people ask me!!

I haven't had much experience working with a vet or anything but I just think animals are so loyal and it's a really fulfilling career knowing you saved an animal's life. I also enjoy research so I want to look into veterinary pathology later on.

Why did you choose veterinary medicine?
 
I haven't had much experience working with a vet or anything but I just think animals are so loyal and it's a really fulfilling career knowing you saved an animal's life.
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While the two are (usually) not mutually exclusive, I think that there is a big difference between loving your pets/animals and wanting to be a veterinarian.

I would suggest: working for/shadowing with a veterinarian for a decent amount of time, begin taking the pre-req courses required, as well a little bit of thinking/soul searching...to be more certain that this is what you really want.
 
Any number of reasons really. For one, never a boring day. Two, more than just one species to deal with. Three, the challenge of working on patients who can't tell you where it hurts. Four, get to do surgeries. Five, the quirks of the profession. Six, earning money doing something I enjoy (they pay you to do this?!). Seven, the clients - both good and bad. Eight, the variety. Nine, the stories. Ten, satisfaction of the job.

That's ten to get you started; there's more though, that doesn't even scratch the surface. Just what came to mind out right.
 
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One of the vets that I work with told me that it's a very rewarding job. I mean like HopfulAg says, it's different every day, and it's never boring. You never know who's gonna pop up with what kinda problems. To me, I want to be able to do something different. I want to help animals when I can or when they are sick. Animals are tricky and they dont exactly tell you what's wrong with them, so you need to be extra observant and to be extremely patient to be able to help them fully.

I think it's a wonderful profession, and I believe everyone here will agree to that =)
 
I agree that this is one of the hardest questions for me to answer. It could take me a half hour to list all the reasons why I know this is what I want to do with my life. I think what I look forward to most is that an ill animal is like a puzzle and it's so exciting to put the pieces together to figure out what's going on. You have to incorporate research, science, medicine, and technology. And then in the end you get to interact with people with all kinds of backgrounds, a lot of times explaining difficult and complex diagnoses. I think this will be the best part when I'm a vet because it's when all the hard work will pay off. I also really like the fast paced environment and that the harder you work the more it pays off.
 
I too found this question hard to answer. My answer is also that I love a challenge. I like how they can't tell me what's wrong and I have to put together everything I know to figure out the problem. To me, I see it kind of like the scientific method. You have to observe, hypothesize, test/experiment, interpret results and possibly come up with another approach if the first didn't work.

I have always found myself trying to help people and animals my entire life. Everyone always asks me why I don't just do medicine instead, that it's easier, etc...(which I think is funny that we aren't considered "real" doctors, yet people know it's harder to get into vet school). ONE of my many reasons for choosing vet med instead of human med is actually a bit weird. But personally, I can't handle cutting open people or dealing with issues and illnesses that people get. But for some reason, I can be covered in animal blood and do whatever is necessary to help them and it doesn't bother me a bit. Now granted, that's a weird answer for my preference, but it's just how I feel. Although, I don't know if I should tell that reason if asked at an interview.

Another reason I chose vet med is because I have always been interested in marine biology. Marine mammals and reptiles have always fascinated me and my ultimate goal is to work with them medically. I know that it's extremely competitive, but I'm willing to work for it. To me, just being a marine biologist was not going to be enough. I want to be proactive in helping a species out beyond the research aspect.
 
TurtleLover said:
I have always found myself trying to help people and animals my entire life. Everyone always asks me why I don't just do medicine instead, that it's easier, etc...(which I think is funny that we aren't considered "real" doctors, yet people know it's harder to get into vet school). ONE of my many reasons for choosing vet med instead of human med is actually a bit weird. But personally, I can't handle cutting open people or dealing with issues and illnesses that people get. But for some reason, I can be covered in animal blood and do whatever is necessary to help them and it doesn't bother me a bit. Now granted, that's a weird answer for my preference, but it's just how I feel. Although, I don't know if I should tell that reason if asked at an interview.
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Haha, yeah i have similar reasons for not going into human medicine. I don't think i'd talk about it during an interview, I'd have to think of something more presentable to say if they ask me why vet and not human med. While I'm medically curious/interested with humans on paper, in real life I'm not so attracted to the field. I'm very bloodshy when it comes to people. I don't experience that at all with animals. I think part of it is because i was hospitalized a lot when i was really young and i've got this really strong semi-subconscious fear/aversion to hospitals, needles, and the like, when it comes to people.

Otherwise, I have a hard time answering "why vet" myself. My idealistic answer is that I feel its meant to be. I've wanted to be a vet as long as i can remember despite family urging me to do other things. I'm not sure where i got this animal obsession because no one in my family is an animal person. When I was growing up, my grandma (who sees no point in keeping an animal, her mentality is "all they do is eat and poop and then you get sad when they die") was the matriarch in the household and tried to convince me that there are far better options for delicate little me than dont involve so much physical and mental effort. I feel like not letting her get to me was the first hurdle I passed.

Then of course i started getting involved with animals hands-on a lot more. Working in a vet clinic hasn't deterred me yet (even though the first vet i worked for did make me think twice). Pre-vet course load hasn't done me in yet. and the premise of the workload in vet school is both scary and exciting at the same time. I feel like that means something.

Of course none of that are good rational reasons for why veterinary medicine. I need to ponder rationality more and actually articulate it. The aspect of helping those who can't speak is definitely a great part of it though.
 
Why vet medicine.. I could probably sit there all day and talk about this.

I'm one of the people who has considered real medicine, why don't I want to become a "real" doctor.. psh.. because those real doctors aren't hands on. And I'm not saying anything about medical doctors, because I think most of them are wonderful, but working all day in a hospital is not for me.

Because hard work is interesting and exciting to me. The variety yes is such an attractive feature, each animal has it's own personality, as do the owners. When the owners come in with their animals I believe this is not how would act with their own doctors. You can really tell the owners that really love their animals, and the one's that dont..

I don't think anything in human medicine can beat the feeling of a dog or any animal, coming back in after being put on a scrip, or after surgery, and they are wagging their tale. That movement I think is magical dogs can't lie. Cat's can not pretend to purr. And horses can not pretend to whinny in excitment.

Like HopefulAg said.. I can't believe people get paid to do this.

It's scary how happy I'm working in a vets office, even the nitty gritty of doing fecal samples. This is what I want to do. I wake up every morning breathing it, thinking about what will be happening today when I go to work.

I was going to finish this.. and I got distracted and went to ride...

but honestly I never thought I would be able to be paid for (if I ever get in) all the things I love science, medicine, animals...
 
When I first came back around to the idea of vet med (after nearly 10 years), it was because I thought I wanted to surround myself with dogs and cats all day long and do my best to help them out. I had such a shortsighted view of the profession. When I was younger and thinking about it, I never got past the dogs and cats part. I just always thought vet = dogs and cats.

Now that I'm older and started seriously reconsidering it, I actually did some research on the career and what the schools were offering. Reading about the need for vets in public health and food animal medicine actually interested me more than the private practice stuff did. I was surprised by where my interests went. I'm still open-minded about where I'd like to focus, but I seem to keep going back that way.

Half of my family has a farming background, but my dad was air force, so I was never exposed to food animals more than a few times a year when we visited the relatives at the farm.

It's odd how I've changed my mind so drastically, but I really like the idea of working to keep animals and people healthy. Even moreso, I like the idea of NOT running my own practice. So even though I'm not 100% on the idea, it seems to be right up my alley.

I'll have to find a more eloquent answer for that question, but that about sums it up.
 
So that I can work for the CDC and be on the front line when the zombie apocalypse gets here. Also, I can do research without necessarily needing a PhD (I'd rather face the zombie apocalypse than a PhD). Also, kittens AND PUPPIES!
 
Broaden your ideas:

- WHO does veterinary medicine truly serve?
- For what reason was modern veterinary medicine created? (Do some historical research. It will expand your thinking.)
- What/Who continues to fund veterinary schools? For what reason? (You don't get free money for nothing! You get money with the expectation that you will give back ****. What is this **** that prompts the government to fund vet schools?)
- Also consider: Aside from the West, how do other cultures approach veterinary medicine or animal care? What do these differences really indicate about the relationship between humans and animals?

Food for thought!
 
kakurubird said:
I definitely remember that there was a spam-type post here this morning that isn't here anymore that was the original thread-resurrecter... I think? now it's gone.
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Ok. I was just on another thread and knew something was awry. Now we have all these odd threads re-starting for no good reason Bleh. It is fun to see who is still around though!
 
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kakurubird said:
I definitely remember that there was a spam-type post here this morning that isn't here anymore that was the original thread-resurrecter... I think? now it's gone.
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I thought so too! When I looked at it again, I was like "Hmm, must have imagined it." But now that you say that, I'm sure it was there. Hahaha
 
PetPony said:
I thought so too! When I looked at it again, I was like "Hmm, must have imagined it." But now that you say that, I'm sure it was there. Hahaha
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There were like three or four posts on a few different threads this morning that all seem to be gone now--only reason I didn't think I was imagining it too.
 
It was some person that kept on talking about the vet hospital he was working for I guess. And he gave biographies of other people there, which is what I think caused the deleting of his comments.
 
nuevaburra said:
So that I can work for the CDC and be on the front line when the zombie apocalypse gets here. Also, I can do research without necessarily needing a PhD (I'd rather face the zombie apocalypse than a PhD). Also, kittens AND PUPPIES!
Click to expand...

:laugh:

Despite the resurrection, people are getting ready to start their VMCAS and this is a good question to be asking.

So I'll answer!

I'm naturally an inquisitive human being, particularly as it applies to the natural world (I tried to start a Research club when I was in 1st grade), so going in to a science field was a no-brainer.
There's also nothing better to me than a challenge. I like puzzles, I like using my knowledge, applying it to solve real-world problems - and if I can apply this to a situation that saves the life of a patient, all the better.
Also - I love to learn. It doesn't really matter what it is, I just LOVE to learn. And in the medical field, this is a necessary thing, even once you're out of school and in the field; particularly these days, there's new information, new technologies, new procedures being developed constantly.

But the deciding factor between human versus animal medicine, for me, was a deep-seated belief that we owe these creatures something. Domesticated animals are as they exist today because of humans. It's up to us to care for them to the best of our ability. And I feel I'm equipped with the knowledge, skills, and drive to do this from a veterinary POV - so. Veterinary medicine. I chose it. =)
 
rachroo said:
While the two are (usually) not mutually exclusive, I think that there is a big difference between loving your pets/animals and wanting to be a veterinarian.
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I really agree with this--I can't imagine telling someone that likes babies or children that he or she should be a pediatrician. At least, definitely not based on that alone.
 
Why did you choose veterinary medicine?

there are MANY MANY things you can do with a vet degree. It really opens up a lot to you. There are people who specialise in diseases and the spreading of it, and then there's wild life vets.

There are vets working in africa trying to keep the local population from killing all the wild life, and vets working with the local people trying to keep rabies and the feral dog population under control. Plus there's always the vets who just work in research.

There is a lot you can do with a vet degree besides working in a clinic. For many of these things though you can get to them in other ways, but keep in mind that if you are getting a vet degree and start doing something and then decide you want to do something else, it's pretty easy to change what you're doing without having to study a lot of other things.
 
To save animals lives, hopefully stop species from becoming endangered and extinct...protect humans from a pandemic...gives pet owners happiness....

Sent from my PC36100 using SDN Mobile
 
That's a tough answer to articulate.

I love medicine, but I prefer the flexibility of a VMD as opposed to an MD. I can do surgery in the morning and appointments all afternoon. I initially liked that the degree allowed so much flexibility, but recently I've been leaning towards specializing. Specialization is really the only way to becoming the top expert in anything (an ultrasound specialist only reading equine leg ultrasounds all day will obviously be better at reading them than a mixed practice vet who only sees them once a month). I loved research in undergrad, but my favorite areas would only be enhanced by the addition of a VMD (animal phys, genetics, etc). I also hate sick people... love working with healthy people... but get grossed out when they puke or develop rashes. Somehow I don't mind anything with critters.
 
SnowyRox said:
I also hate sick people... love working with healthy people... but get grossed out when they puke or develop rashes. Somehow I don't mind anything with critters.
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👍 I agree!

I almost feel like critters can't help it whereas humans don't try to (which isn't at all fair to my own species, but there you have it...)
 
hopefulinva said:
👍 I agree!

I almost feel like critters can't help it whereas humans don't try to (which isn't at all fair to my own species, but there you have it...)
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Its not completely fair to say. However, I have a lot of friends currently in med school residency who will echo this same sentiment.
 
I love science/medicine in general but prefer vet med over human med for a couple of reasons. Main reason is that in vet med you get to do EVERYTHING! You're a GP, radiologist, anesthesiologist, surgeon, dentist, pharmacist, dermatologist etc all in one. I have a short attention span and love multi-tasking/switching between different tasks so this suits me. I'd be so bored if I did the exact same thing day after day. I want to specialize in surgery and I like that in vet med, specializing in surgery means you get to do all kinds of surgeries vs. being stuck as a cardiothoracic surgeon and only operating on the heart/lungs. Also, I just like solving puzzles/mysteries and there's nothing more puzzling than trying to diagnose a patient who can't give you their history and tell you where it hurts.
 
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