Please post your questions about vet school, vet tech/nursing school, how to get in etc in this monthly thread.

Hey everyone, I’m just taking a quick poll of what’s going on in the world. I have been back-and-forth with my employer about getting rid of negative accrual. We are large emergency hospital (20+ DVMs) and all of us feel that negative accrual is at best unfair and at worst punishment for taking much needed time off. Our jobs are incredibly demanding (mentally and physically) and so much stress is added to that mix when we know our vacation is considered billable hours.

I am just wondering how many of you out there, emergency or general practice, still have negative accrual in your contracts?? There has to be a way that we can take time off without it affecting our production numbers…

Also feel free to educate me if I’m seeing this too simplistically!!

I unfortunately did not pass the navle by only 4 points and I am struggling to figure out how to reapproach this exam. I 100% completed the zuku practice questions and testing questions before the exam and my other prep included reviewing the notes on zuku and I watched a good chunk of the lectures on zuku as well. I spent the last 5 weeks of my prep time doing hundreds of zuku questions and making note of things I consistently didn't remember. My test day wasn't a smooth one and I had a very hard time with staring at the screen for so long and I had issues with time management for a lot of the test where I had to speed through 5-10 questions at the end of a few of the blocks. My current plan is to focus on the areas I feel weaker in and just study as much as I can. I signed up for the vin prep course but other than that I feel lost. I have my last few rotations back to back before this exam in April starting soon so I expect to have very limited time to study during the week which I feel is an issue for me since I prefer to fully immerse myself in studying instead of doing small amounts here and there. I was considering signing up for vet prep but it's too expensive for me right now. I did qualify for a free zuku re subscription for 3 months so I will be using it like a flash card tool just to do some questions sometimes. I feel like completing zuku a second time isn't the best use of my time and I should focus on studying. Has anyone been in a similar situation and if so any advice would be appreciated.

Hi everyone! I am a small animal DVM currently practicing in a private GP clinic in the states, and I am also 6.5 months pregnant with my first child.

At this point, I am still working my normal schedule (four 12’s/week) with minimal restrictions. This has been working well for me up until this week - I am really starting to feel the pain of being on my feet almost constantly the entire day when I get home at night, and now my husband is suggesting I take a step back at work. He is not pushy, just concerned I am overdoing it for this stage of pregnancy. I love my job and my hospital so it is hard for me to want to take a step back.

Currently, I am doing an average of two surgeries every day, as well as seeing 10-12 appointments (pretty even mix of sick/diagnostic and wellness). Some days I see a few more cases than this due to my hospital accepting a lot of emergencies/urgent care cases. I do not have a scheduled lunch break and eat/sit down when I have time.

Just looking for other people’s experiences working in vetmed while pregnant (techs and docs!) I was planning on working until my due date as long as no issues arise, but was curious about other people’s work schedules/hours, any restrictions you personally implemented for your practice, how long you took off for maternity leave, when you decided to start your leave, etc.

Hey, I hope everyone’s doing good, january is almost over lol

So.. I’ve been a veterinarian for 3 years, started doing emergencies and now being a GP (with on call rotation 1 night/week and 1wk/month) in Belgium. And I’ve come to realize that I don’t like my job.. I go to work without any motivation. I even go to work with a knot in my stomach sometimes.. I have grown increasingly disillusioned with the work. To be honest, i feel awful. I feel awful because i spent 6 years to become a doctor and now that I am one just wtf it doesn’t feel good as I thought it would.

The demands, the stress, and the emotional toll it takes on me have made me reconsider my career choice. I no longer feel the passion or satisfaction I once had, and the constant pressure has led to a sense of burnout. It has become clear to me that this is not the right path for my personal happiness and well-being.

I feel stuck as I feel i can’t do anything else with this diploma. Even going in the research field feels difficult because I wasn’t the performing, type A student but more like the going out student who should care more about her grades (oops). Jobs in the public sector or the pharmaceutical industry seem unattainable because every time I apply, I get rejected with the same response: that I don’t have the right experience or profile.

At the same time, I am a creative person, but this job leaves me feeling drained, both mentally and emotionally. Getting out of bed every morning is hard and I'm known for being quite resilient to fatigue, but for almost a year now, I've been feeling exhausted.

Any advice or has anyone felt the same or transition out of the veterinary field?

Hey guys. I’m in my first year of college and doing my first shadowing internship. I overheard a convo about salaries and I was just wondering what a good practice to go into that has a solid salary coming out of college. I’m not in it for the money but I’d also like to live normally coming out of college lmao

Anybody done an internship with Vet-Ready? Looked on their website and can't find any good info on salary, actual time spent in clinic etc. I'm a third year vet student seeking mentorship/internship after graduation and saw that they provided housing and "competitive wage" and "Generous PTO" but I know those don't really mean anything without the actual numbers. Any insight or clarification would be helpful thanks!

Hi, so I'm a second year student in vet school and I'm ranked 125/152. I got straight B's and B+'s my first year and now I'm getting A-'s, A's, and A+'s. My rank used to be 139 during first year but now it's gone higher. I don't think I'm doing bad in school but I'm so worried about being considered for residency. My class in particular has very high averages on exams, usually ~93% give or take, so a lot of people in my class are doing really well and I think the entire top 1/3rd of the class is straight A students.

I want to do a radiology residency in particular, and I understand how competitive that can be, especially considering most residencies only look at top 1/3rd of the class. What are my chances of getting into residency, assuming I'm able to maintain getting A's and maybe a B+ here and there? Also, what can I do to improve my chances of getting into a residency? I'm just so worried since I feel like my first year totally screwed my chances into getting into any residency, even though my grades aren't even that bad.

Thank you in advance

if i pass preliminary exams from india than anyone from Australian clinic sponsor my vissa or how difficult to get job after passing mcq exam ?

I’m a vet student looking into rotating internships in California and would love to hear from those who have gone through the process. I’m particularly interested in:

• Your experiences – Where did you go? What was your rotation like? Did you feel like you got good mentorship and hands-on experience?
• Red flags – Any warning signs to watch out for when choosing a program? Things you wish you had known before accepting?
• Negotiation tips – Are there any aspects of a rotation that are negotiable? Anything I should advocate for to get the most out of the experience?
• Pay and benefits – If applicable, what’s standard in terms of compensation, housing, or stipends?

Would really appreciate any advice, good or bad. Thanks in advance!

Im about to get my associates degree to become a licensed vet tech but i want to further my education past that to work in zoos and with wildlife and everything like that but it just isnt clear to me which one would be more suited to that? I know i definitely dont want to work with like livestock and stuff like that haha i just need some help!

Hi I’m a 2024 graduate who’s completing a small animal rotating internship. I got great hands on experience on ER and passed through multiple services that allowed me to exercise my skills in anesthesia, dentistry, and surgery as well. I’m also familiar with primary and emergency care of exotics - that being my personal interest. With this info, what would be a reasonable starting salary moving into private practice in the Dallas Fort Worth area? Just want to be reasonable with respect to my negotiations.

Thanks!

Hello! I'm a second vet student and I am actually an American citizen as well however I decided to go to vet school in the dominican republic (where I am also a citizen) since it takes half the time and costs way less. Sonce i know the ecfvg process can tale a qhile for some people; my question is would it be best to start it during my clinical year or to wait until i graduate? Im not really leaning too much towards the pave but i want to keep my optioms open so smae thing, would it be best to start applying for pave before i graduate?

I'm currently a vet student and getting my way through school has been tough but I've found watching vet shows (even though some aren't the most accurate) a good way of testing my knowledge and maybe gaining a little more on more uncommon things. My biggest interests has been dairy cattle and horses ever since I shadowed a local vet who does mainly that but other than Dr Pol which I'd rather not watch I can't seem to find any shows or documentary style things that cover large animal vet med. It can be on streaming services or YT I've been obsessed with the Hoof GP lately with how satisfing the hood trimming can be and also just his knowledge of cattle health so I'm open to basically anything that is a somewhat realistic take on large animal medicine

Hello

I am contemplating either buying a SA GP or starting one from scratch. I am a couple of years out of school but I am not experienced in surgery. I am concerned on the feasibility of being profitable as a business owner without performing surgery and how that would play out if I did end up having a pet that does require surgery. I have imposter syndrome and go back and forth with this.

Also would appreciate any insight or advice regarding owning a clinic. Thank youuuuu :)

I applied to VEG's NERD program back in December and I'm still waiting to hear back. Any one know what to expect? Either from people who have applied to VEG in the past or done the NERD program. Just curious if they send our offers/rejections by email and if they do give you an offer, what to expect it to look like... Merci in advance!

I 28F have always been into animals and welfare and environment. I have always wanted to be a vet but have settled as a therapist. I now have a qwack for learning again and pushing myself. I have said to myself I am not married or have no kids by 35 I will peruse this. My plan

Go back and do an access course to get science A levels and work some vet shadowing.

I would pretty much be self funding. By then I hope to have saved 30k . I would use 10k to live off for the 5 years and 20k to self fund. I would be living with parents so no pressure for bills etc.

I know the government can help with maintance loans. So I would use that to fund my tuition fee and then live of savings.

The only way i can do this if I get into the local university near me.

is veternary difficult?

Are there lots of exams?

What are your daily duties?

Do you have to perform surgeries as a vet?

What is the average wage?

is it worth it?

Husband looking for jobs in his own highly specialized field, and we are considering a European adventure opportunity. Can anyone comment on how feasible it is to transfer degree and work in EU? In particular: France, Switzerland, Sweden, other Scandinavian countries?

I am a Small animal DVM with ER and GP experience.

Thank you !

I am currently an undergraduate student in the field of conservation but my goal is to go to vet school. My professor is giving out good certifications that biologists could benefit from but, could veterinarians?

She has suggested certifications such as:

• Red card for wildland firefighters
• Wilderness first aid
• Leave no trace
• Environmental education
• Wildlife biologist certification

Just curious if there’s any odd certifications not directly related to vet med but could still be useful and even look good!

I’m going through VIRMP applications and have been selected for an interview for a surgery internship. I’m very excited about it but very stressed at the same time. Can anyone share a bit about their experiences with specialty internship interviews? Would they ask specific knowledge based questions? Thank you so much in advance.

A little background info about me: I’m applying from outside of the US, going through ECFVG and just passed the NAVLE. I know a few surgeons in the US who I’ve emailed for advice, but the surgeons I work most closely with are European boarded who aren’t super familiar with the whole VIRMP process (but are very supportive!). I honestly did not expect to get any interview offers and don’t expect to be matched. As a foreigner applying for such a competitive specialty, I know the odds are stacked against me, but I really want to do well in the interview. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Hi everyone, I’m currently looking for a job as a vet assistant while I go to college because I want to be a vet but I’m wondering how much experience they look for. I was wondering if I had enough experience and if someone can help me answer this that would be very helpful. I’ll list what I have below:

• Volunteered at a shelter for 9 months
• Competed on the FFA Vet Science Team and made it to nationals where my team placed 4th and I placed 26th as an individual

That’s all I have and I don’t really have any experience in basic stuff like customer service, and I know you have to talk to clients as the vet assistant sometimes and was wondering how they would look at that?

So I recently got acceptance to a zoo veterinary internship and they said they would sometimes allow you to learn things you want to learn. What should I ask to learn? I honestly do not have much vet experience so this is definitely a great start since I believe zoo internships that are vet med are few and far between.

Thank you!

edit: i’m a pre vet student in undergrad :)

I’ll start by saying I’m a new veterinarian in Canada. I went to vet school outside of Canada and got very limited experience with spays and neuters (1 dog spay, 2 dog neuters, 2 cat neuters). Unfortunately, by the time I started clinical year and realized that I no longer wanted to specialize, it was too late to change my schedule for the year and find a spay/neuter based externship that fit within my elective schedule, had openings, and still met the requirements of my school.

I’ve searched all over and the training programs available in the USA require applicants to already be shelter vets and reside in the USA. I’ve reached out to shelters and they don’t have the staffing resources to help a new grad develop surgical skills. They are only seeking volunteers already proficient in surgery. Do I have to go outside of North America to get more spay and neuter experience? My clinic has a small surgical caseload and I have only just started scrubbing into surgeries (these happen once or twice per month).

AHHHH! I’m so awkward. It’s kind of hard to describe what kind of schooling I’m in, it’s 1 day in school and 4 days of internship and weekends off. Today was my first day at my internship and I’m so awkward! I don’t know what to do! I offered to clean their kennels but the assistant there was like “oh we do that when we take the dogs out” and I was like “oh ok, when is that?” And it was after I was scheduled to leave so I couldn’t do that! And then eventually I was tasked to clean cat kennels and I did with a girl who was showing me around and I forgot to wipe the front of the kennel in front of her!!!! Ahh!! And then I was tasked with restraining a dogs back legs while the vet checked her sutures and… I PASSED OUT. I told them I wasn’t feeling well, then woke up on the floor. They gave me a muffin to get my blood sugar up then all of them were like “it’s ok, it’s happened to all of us!” And all gave me their funny stories about them passing out.

TL;DR - I made a lot of dumb beginner mistakes and stood around a lot on my first day. What can I do differently tomorrow to be less awkward?!?

I know I want to be a vet and work with animals, but I can't find any resources that just explain clearly what the different options are

I know small animal vets work with small animals, equine is horses, large animals is... large animals

But what's the degree for working with wildlife? I'm super interested in all animals but wildlife and preventive care is super interesting, and working outside of an office on occasion sounds great for me

But I'm also unsure if that would make me enough money to live off of.

Any advice?

Thank you!

Hello, hope you all are doing great, and thank you for reading my post in advance.

Well, as you read in the title I want to become a vet, it has always been my dream job and it will always be, and just so before you mention it, yes I am aware that every job/profession has its own challenges and that it's not always a fun experience, that you have to work/study really hard and have the determination to finish whatever to start doing even when you don't feel like it.

I don't mean to sound like I know it all cause I definitely don't, that's why I am seeking your advice guys. The thing here is that I am not a US/CA resident yet, Im just starting to apply to some Universities in both countries, and wherever I get accepted with the best financial aid that's where I will start my studies. Here in Mexico in order to get into college you need to finish high school and this one needs to meet some requirements based on the criteria of the university you're applying to.

I think that in the US and Canada, it's kind of the same but I´ve been reading that for you to become a VET there you need to have first a bachelor's degree in a related science such as biology, zoology, medical assistance, etc. Unfortunately, I don't have a bachelor's degree yet, my partner and I are planning on moving together to the US or Canada so he can earn his Master´s degree and I can become a vet there, and I am very excited for that, but my main concern is how long it takes, here in Mexico it only takes 4 years and later on you can get a Masters degree if you want, but in the US and Canada it takes from what Ive been reading like 4 years between the bachelors and the VET degree.

My question is... If I decided to earn my degree here in Mexico could I get it certified in the US without having to go thru all those 8years there?

Hey, 8th grader here. I'm at the age where I'm starting to consider what I want to do with my life, and despite having previously said "I'd like my profession to involve something creative (i.e. arts)," that mentality changed at a moments notice when I started to consider this career choice. It just shot out at me, and filled me with this unforeseen passion - something I've never experienced before when considering career paths. I'd like to be a Veterinarian as I am compassionate for animals. I am fairy interested in science, and at times can find it very fascinating. I like how its not the same monotonous tasks everyday: you'll meet different animals (albeit mostly cats and dogs I'd assume), their owners, and will be on your feet moving around rather than in a cubicle eyes glued to your monitor. However, I want to explore other career paths that may suit me better. Perhaps I should find a higher paying job, and simply volunteer at a local shelter. Any advice is greatly appreciated, thank you.

Hi, new grad vet here. The other day I saw a dog who came in for primary complaint of “seizures”. On taking detailed history and from clinical examination I found an arrhythmia and weak pulse and sounded more like a syncope episode. I could not think straight during the consult while the client was there for the differentials and how to work up the case there and then. I told the clients that I would like to take a second opinion from senior colleagues and asked if it’s ok to take the dog back into the prep area. The owners were nice and was fine with it, but it made me feel bad and the imposter syndrome started to build up and made my head go blank. I cannot think straight when clients are in the same room on 15 min consults. I felt awkward and was overthinking what the clients maybe thinking about me like, will they trust me now or think that I don’t know what I’m doing?

Any tips on how I can deal with these situations in the future to excuse myself from the consult to go back and quickly go through my notes and think in a calm and quiet way?

I’m new to vet med, so I been wondering if clinics usually offer a raise if you are able to speak two or more languages? I feel like especially in a hospital setting it comes in handy when you are able to translate even medical terms into another language and it just facilitates the appointment overall.