Worth shadowing for just a few more hours?

[bluesails]

I'm currently on holiday in Asia (my school is on a quarter system) and my parents are expats that live here temporarily, so none of us speak the language in this country. My mom suggested that I shadow for a week (we're going home for Christmas next week) at her local SA clinic, where there is an Australian vet who can speak English, and I was like, hey, any shadowing is great, right?

Here's the thing - I've been here a few days now (a total of maybe 18-20 hrs) and while I've learned some really interesting things about vet med in this country and the dynamic of a clinic run by a foreigner, the language barrier and other dynamics make it really hard for me to not be bored and to get involved and learn. The Australian is the head vet but the other vets all have very little English and don't like to converse in it, so unless I am sticking to that one vet all the time I don't know much about what's going on. I stay with her for all her consults but a lot of the time she is doing paperwork and I go and watch the other vets do other procedures. They seem to feel awkward about this and don't ever talk to me first, though they do answer questions (but I feel bad asking because they struggle with the English!). Additionally, the clinic is a bit overstaffed (they have like 5 techs plus a guy who comes and cleans) and everyone hurries to do their work and seems reluctant to let me do anything.

Because of this I literally only shadow and can't really do much at all, plus most of my time is taken up watching procedures done by people who can't converse with me much. It's like watching some cool movie on TV but in a different language. The afternoon is the hardest because there are less appointments and most of it is caring for inpatients.


Here's my question - I only have 2 more days I planned to shadow and I was wondering if it was really worth it. If I stay the whole day both days I get 10 hours but it's unlikely I'll learn anything completely new about this practice and my total number of hours planned was small anyway. Should I take this as a short term cultural experience and stop coming? I haven't seen my family in a year so it would be nice to just hang with them if this isn't helping me much, but I feel guilty for being a "quitter" even if this experience has ceased to be educational for me.

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[ViaBea]

I would honestly have to say no, unless you really are having a hard time getting hours. It may be an interesting talking point during interviews and such, but if you don't feel like you are getting anything out of it and you haven't seen your family in a year, then I think you should go with family.

 

[PetPony]

I think it's something really cool to put on your application and I'd definitely try to get as many hours out of it as possible. But I also understand wanting to see your family. I had that problem when I was in Germany. I got 30 hours with a vet there and I think it was worth it (I also had the advantage of speaking the language), but I didn't try to get any more hours than that because I was there mainly to see family.

 

[equineconstant]

It sounds like you're not really able to get that much out of it right now. Is there any way you can learn more from this experience (maybe some of the techs are more comfortable with English)? If you're really not getting anything out of it except for the cultural experience, I'm not sure two more days is worth it, and spending time with family probably outweighs that.

 

[shortnsweet]

Do you have access to rads and ultrasounds and stuff? Maybe when the vet is doing paperwork you could sit down and work on those and ask your vet when she has a chance to explain something you don't understand? Or maybe read biochem results/charts or smears and such? Not all that exciting...but only two days...and that stuff is all really handy. I still do it when i'm on EMS and there is downtime.

But if you have the chance to spend more time with your family, do it

 

[Trematode]

By the way you were wording your post, it sounded like it you think it will be more beneficial if it were hands-on and that vet schools will like it better, which is not the case. Just because you are "shadowing" does not make it any less of a good experience. For instance, when I "volunteered" I got to clean more than I got to watch or help. I feel like I got more out of watching surgeries and exams compared to cleaning and restraining the odd patient.

Take whatever experience you can get, whether it be shadowing, volunteering or working.

I agree with everyone that it would be a great talking point during an interview.

I have worked with vets before that did not speak a lot of English. It does take a while to get used to asking someone questions who may not understand you very well. It can also be very nerve-wracking to have to repeat yourself if you are not used to communicating in that way. Be polite and thank them when they take the time to respond to you. Also, try asking them if they need a hand (if you are allowed). Helping them clean may be less boring for you.

Good luck.