Volunteering at VET SOS in San Francisco

The morning began early for the VET SOS crew. They loaded up their medical supplies and appeared at the Plaza behind the San Francisco City Hall wedged between the Bill Gram Civic center and the Asian Art Museum. I met them at 9AM and helped put the tents up to shelter the volunteers and animals that would be coming through the clinic that day. As soon as the tents were up and the medical supplies unloaded, we brought patients in to be seen by the veterinarian.

The organization, VET SOS is an organization offering veterinary services to pets of the homeless in San Francisco.  It was a great opportunity to see a similar program to the Mercer Veterinary Clinic for the Homeless in Sacramento. I learned a lot about their clinic and how they run their show. They have several clinics each month in different areas of San Francisco and offer veterinary services to the homeless pet population.

http://markrogersphotography.com/pets/links/

I got paired up with Dr. Durfee who has been a long-standing volunteer at VET SOS. We made a great team tackling many different cases. We saw both cats and dogs and were even handed a SNAKE to examine! I enjoyed working with Dr. Durfee very much and he had a lot of knowledge to share having been in practice for over 50 years as a veterinarian. 

A Rainbow Boa Snake that came in for a health certificate

This particular VET SOS clinic was paired with Project Homeless Connect, offering a variety of other free services to the homeless of San Francisco (Eye, Dental, Medical care, food, etc.).

For more information or if you would like to donate: VET SOS Website

Advice for High School Students pursuing a career in Veterinary Medicine

"I am 17 and a junior in high school in Knoxville, TN. I have always had a love for animals and I've dreamed of becoming a veterinarian since I was in elementary school! I have shadowed at my local veterinary hospital and volunteered with animal rescue groups. What advice do you have for a high school student wanting to pursue a career in this field? I know that I still have another year before starting my undergrad in pre-vet, but what can I be doing now to ensure I have the best chance possible to get accepted into veterinary school? Also, any idea what jobs are typically offered at animal hospitals for my age group? Any advice would be much appreciated! This is my dream and I am so motivated to do anything possible to make it happen." 

First off, way to go on getting started early! That is the first thing you can do right! The second is figuring out what part of vet med you like the most, do you like working with dogs and cats or horses or farm animals, or even lab animals. And keep in mind those are not your only options, just the most common. There are many other choices out there.  Keep your options open, try a little bit of everything!

I think you should focus on looking at colleges to go to. Keep in mind, junior colleges are much less expensive to go to than state schools and harbor a much more "personal" learning environment. Visiting colleges both undergraduate and veterinary is a great idea right now. Consider that veterinary school is very expensive, so if you can save any money on your road there, I would take that opportunity! 


As far as a job in a veterinary hospital right now, I would suggest applying to clean kennels and walk dogs. I know it doesn't sound that pretty, but we all have to start somewhere. I started mucking stalls (that horses lived in) when I was 11 years old in exchange for board for my horse and riding lessons. Eventually your experience pays off and you can move on to more advanced things, like maybe learning some technician skills. 


Also, think about volunteering with local Shelters and rescue groups, they have a wealth of animal experience that you can gain. In addition, you are also helping animals!

UC Davis Vet Aid Club Blog! A place for prevets to get information!

Before applying to veterinary school, I was part of the vet aides club at UC Davis. It was a club designed to get pre-vets experience and information about veterinary school. I heard they recently started a blog and wanted to share the link with any pre-vets that might read my blog and be interested. 

Blog:

http://vetaideclub.weebly.com/blog.html

Their website: 

http://iccweb.ucdavis.edu/aes/vetaides/index.htm

You Look Like an Equine Vet

 

Since I started riding and first met the ranch equine veterinarian, I've wanted to be one. I can remember begging my parents to let me stay out at the barn if a horse had any medical issue such as colic, injury, giving birth, etc. 

During our doctoring course, we did a practice client-veterinarian interaction. I of course picked the horse scenario. I had a client actor pretend that she was presenting her horse to me for a persistent lameness. I handled the interaction very well and my course/session leader was flabbergasted by my performance. She said, "You look like you're an equine vet." It just felt so natural to me, the terminology just flowed and you could really see my compassion. 

I know these are just client simulations, but her statement really impacted me. I honestly believe her, I feel destined to become an equine vet because of my experience and passion for horses. 

 With the economy the way it is right now, I worry about my future entering into veterinary medicine as a starting equine veterinarian.  It is difficult to find work. My possibilities are much more limited. Most people can't afford to keep horses as they have turned into more of a luxury item rather than a necessity. 

The charts below show a dismal future for equine veterinary medicine. As a starting veterinarian, my salary is likely to be about $40,000. This isn't much when you factor in a $200,000+ education that cost me four years. 

I'm not regretting going to veterinary school at all, I know it's my destiny, but I am considering majoring in Small Animal/Equine to prepare myself adequately for my future in Vet Med. We will see where my path takes me. I love small animal medicine as well and quite honestly would be willing to help any animal on this planet I have the ability to help. I think the following data is just something to think about. 


2009 Earnings for Veterinarians (before income tax): 

http://www.avma.org/reference/marketstats/usvets.asp

Mean First-Year Salary for Starting Veterinarians: 

AVMA

LINKS:

http://veterinarybusiness.dvm360.com/vetec/Veterinary+business/Can-discounts-work-for-your-equine-practice/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/600457

http://news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx?articleId=18992

Article in DVM 360

LINK TO ARTICLE


I was contacted by a DVM 360 writer in response to a blog post I wrote earlier this year about graduating veterinary students entering a tight job market. Here is part of the article below:

"Krissy, who will be starting her second year of veterinary school this year at UC-Davis, is already taking a hard look at the job market and trying to prepare herself the best she can. While her passion is equine medicine, Krissy says she is so worried about finding a job after graduation, she is also taking courses in small-animal medicine. 

"I have to make a living somehow. The debt we're supposed to have is roughly $200,000 and how are you possibly going to pay that back?"

"I think there's a big disconnect between the students and the schools. I wish the universities would do more to help us out," she says. "They're investing more in the future generation, but they're not here now. Why not help the people who are struggling now?"
Krissy says she suggested UC-Davis institute mentorship programs between recent graduates and current veterinary students at the school, but nothing has taken shape yet. There are few resources in terms of job placement and career guidance—or at least that students know about and regularly use, she says. 

Students who want to round out their education may have to look beyond university borders to professional groups and student organizations" 

I'm just now thinking I should try to implement a mentorship program with our graduating seniors this year. Maybe I could have them fill out a google doc anonymously reguarding if they are employed, perusing an internship/externship or don't know what they are doing. More to come later on this hot topic!

Alternate Majors and the Road to Veterinary School

I recently received an email from a blog reader who posed some really great questions about applying to veterinary school. Since my blog is aimed at helping pre-vets, I thought I would share her questions since I'm sure she is not the only one out there who wants answers. 


"I did not major in the sciences (I majored in Sociology and Psychology). In my last year of college, I met a vet student and she encouraged me to carry out my life's dream of being a veterinarian. It's always been something that I wanted to do, but I never actively did anything about it because I was too scared of failure. I remember speaking to an Animal Science adviser my freshman year and she said that I had to get straight A's. My senior year, I joined the Vet Aide Club and got internships at the VMTH. Through these internships, I realized that I really do want a career in veterinary medicine! The internships introduced me to a world that I absolutely loved--it was challenging but really exciting. It was nothing like the experiences I received in my other non-veterinary internships! After graduating last year, I moved back home and I have been going to a local community college, getting my lower division prerequisites for veterinary school. I feel like I have no help here..the counselors don't know anything about grad schools, let alone vet schools! I know it's nearly impossible to get in, but it's my dream and I really hope to get in one day.. I'm doing the best I can, but it's hard because I don't know if I'm doing enough." 

Concerns:

Many veterinary students did not major in Animal Science or a Biology related program, one of my classmates was an English major. You only have to complete the prerequisites for veterinary school. It is often appreciated by the application committee that you have a more unique background than other applicants, but the important thing is they want to know why you decided to pursue that. What inspired you about psychology and sociology in the first place and steered you that direction rather than Animal Science (and the reason can't be only because you feared the prerequisites for veterinary school). Then they want to know what steered you back towards veterinary medicine? You seem to have an excellent explanation for that! You realized your true passion and calling through internships. I went to Davis and still didn't feel like I had a lot of help from the advisers. I would recommend making your own game plan. Visit the UC Davis Veterinary School Website and really read through every part of it, use it as your encyclopedia!    

Questions:  

"How do I balance going to school and getting experience?"

This is a tough one, it can be difficult to work and go to school, but it is possible. I did it during my undergraduate career and from experience I know it takes persistence and a lot of your free time. I think in your situation, you need to focus first on your coursework, since you are heading back to school for additional courses (and I'm not sure what your GPA was when you graduated), but you should get at least A's and B's in the prerequisites for veterinary school since you are only taking those. I would pace yourself through those difficult courses, like don't take more than (3) a semester. Give yourself time to have a part time job or volunteer getting animal experience.

"What type of experience that I should be getting?" 

This website has an amazing breakdown of experience types that veterinary school admission committees typically look for: http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/prospectivestudents/experience.aspx


"I have a lot of small animal experience, but not a lot of horse experience, how can I get that?"


I would recommend volunteering at a therapeutic riding center near you. It's difficult to start getting horse experience if you don't know anything about horses, but you can volunteer at an animal sanctuary or any kind of farm really, but I feel if you get a diverse range of small animal experiences, you don't need the horse experience, although it would be nice. Putting only several weekends of experience with horses won't really make much of a difference especially if you want to enter into small animal practice anyway. http://vetschoolinfo.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-to-get-veterinary-expierence-and.html
  

Two weeks Back

As the second week of my second year in veterinary school comes to an end, I look back on all I have learned in my first year and have yet to learn in subsequent years. I have accomplished 1/4 of becoming a veterinarian. I remember when I was only excited to complete 1/12. I must realize that I still 75% of my education left to go, but the first year went by so very quickly! 

First year laid down the basics for what is to come in my veterinary career. Second year material is more clinically oriented, while third year is more hands-on clinical. 

I think one of the coolest things about this year is getting a "little sib", a first year veterinary student that can come to me with any questions/concerns and whom I get to pass my gigantic test file down too. (Trust me, I was more than ready to get rid of that thing). I met my little sib years ago in an undergraduate course when we were both still dreaming of going to veterinary school one day. She is really sweet, smart and will make an awesome veterinarian. When I was notified that she requested me, I was happy to see her again and find out she too had achieved her life-long dream of becoming a veterinarian.

I recently moved closer to school, very close in fact and am getting settled into my new place. Rent is not cheap for a one bedroom apartment so I have planned to off-set the costs by offering housing to externs that come to rotate through clinics at the VMTH. It's great, cause I live so close and they can easily walk or bike to the clinic or the grocery store. Also I am very excited to meet people from other veterinary schools inside and out of the US. 

I like how second year is starting off with the equine nursing courses (at least for me). I already got to put a catheter in a horse's jugular vein! 



Many of my friends, colleges, and family wonder how I balance my busy schedule...full time student, part time job at the horsie hospital, out of town boyfriend, MERCER coordinator, feral cat spay clinic coordinator, equestrian, equine medicine club secretary, etc, etc...and the list goes on. 

Truly, I don't know how it all seems to fit for me, but I do know that I really enjoy all of it. Somehow, my wheels just keep on turning round and I get through it all. 

I try to make the best use of my time when I do have it. For example, this summer, I took a lot of "me" time to relax. And school hasn't taken it's toll quite yet, I got to go wine tasting in Napa this weekend with my boyfriend and friends. I feel studying looming over my shoulders, but it hasn't quite become the reality yet. 


I look forward to making some awesome blog posts this year, so stay tuned and let me know what you would like to hear or have answered.