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It is that time of year again, the selected applicants are completing their veterinary school interviews at UC Davis. I remember being in their shoes, anxious, excited, feeling under-prepared at all the same time. Well, things don't change much after you get into veterinary school, other than feeling excited. Exams sure make you anxious and leave feeling like you were under-prepared. After exams you often feel frustrated and confused. Just this quarter, I have had about 18 exams, most of which I left them feeling more discouraged.
There are a few things that keep me dragging my feet into class everyday....1) How well I do on exams will NOT be equivalent to the clinician I become when I graduate 2) I KNOW my patients will NOT come with multiple choice answers pasted on their foreheads 3) All the extracurricular activities I do really put things in perspective for me. Oh and I have a personal cheer squad of friends, family and boyfriend.
Everyday I feel I struggle just to do well on exams, but deep down I am plotting to be a practical clinician when I graduate. There is no one guide on how to be the most awesome clinician in the world, someone would make millions if they could make one. All I know is it takes a combination of things: knowledge, common sense, integrity, creativity, compassion, and people skills. That's right folks, most animals have a human appendage whether we like it or not.
I am constantly pleading with myself to just bite the dust on hopes of becoming an equine clinician. The days are long, hours are hard, the job is dangerous. Everyday you are working with patients over 1,000 pounds that could injure you on a whim. I know working with small animals has it's disadvantages too, but lets face it, I could work almost anywhere, I could have better hours, see more patients, etc. I guess it's just the part of my heart that made me want to go to veterinary school in the first place that I feel I am giving up on - My passion for horses. But that is just the thing, many equine veterinarians do not ride horses, let alone compete. I want the time and the money to have a horse of my own someday. I honestly feel that after working with horses all day, why would I want to come home and ride my own?
These are things that sometimes keep me up at night, but I try not to think so far ahead. I'm only finishing my second year of veterinary school...one more year of courses and a senior year in the clinics and I am on my way to becoming a vet - living my dream no matter what animal species I work with.
