Becoming a veterinarian?

[cjsmith]

"Veterinarian" is one of those "maybe-somedays" I've had in the back of my head for a long time -- probably ever since I've considered changing careers out of high tech, and that's been well over a decade.

It will take an awful lot of work to get there. Students admitted to the veterinary medicine program in Fort Collins have at least 1000 hours of working with animals in a veterinary setting and at least 1000 more hours of working with animals in some other setting (humane society, perhaps?). That adds up to a full-time year of work right there. They've got excellent foundations in chemistry and biology; I'd probably be looking at two years to beef up my science background (and not so incidentally my GPA). Then the vet program itself is four years and not exactly a cakewalk.

It's now or never. The oldest student ever admitted there was 45. If we don't move from here for at least a year I'll be a minimum of 44 when I attempt to apply. Admission to these programs is very competitive and schools would be completely reasonable to want to give the slot to someone who will likely be in practice for longer. In fact, after those three years of prep, it's quite possible I won't get admitted at all, and I don't have years to re-apply.

Am I trading one high-stress job for another? At least for the first seven years, probably I am. The academic workload will be a lot of buckling down and not much time to relax or goof off. Is it worth that much time spent, now that I'm middle-aged and a little spoiled? What about afterward? How stressful IS the job? Will I be able to go home and forget, or will I pour too much of my heart into it? Will I constantly want to stay late because it might make the difference for THIS one? Will there always be another THIS one?

Could I handle all of it emotionally? Would it rip me up to perform euthanasia when the options are running out? (Actually, probably not; I'd dislike it, but I've been there with my own and I do believe in quality of life.) How often will I face giving only the care a family can afford to an animal they honestly don't have the money to keep healthy?

Would I just start to hate neglectful pet owners? Just as some teachers will say the worst thing about their job is the parents, some veterinarians out there must be saying the worst thing about the job is the owners. Can I patch up some dog or cat One More Time and let him go home with the family that will only let him get hurt again or eat chocolate again? Would it rip me up to perform euthanasia when the family just doesn't feel like keeping the pet any more? Can I, God forgive me, do a declawing operation -- even the one I'd maybe need to do in my third year in surgery class just so I'd seen one?

Am I doing it for the right reasons? The first thing that always, always, always comes to mind is the number of animals at shelters who can't get good care because it's costly. I could volunteer for low-cost spay and neuter programs. I could work with animals the shelter feels could be adoptable with just a little bit of medical attention. These are great motives. (But, tellingly, I haven't been down there to volunteer in years. I've been insanely busy and haven't made time for it. What IS my motivation level here?) I've also always been fascinated by medical schtuff. That's a fine thing and a great indicator that maybe this is a good fit for me. But am I also doing it for approval? Do I fear losing whatever social status or family approval comes with my current salary? Does my ego want to hear someone say "Doctor CJ"? Am I scared of being the receptionist in a family of lawyers... or even in a clinic where everyone else outranks me? Am I doing this because when I was in high school I thought I wanted to be a doctor (for humans) and got intimidated and turned away from the idea?

Lots to think about.

I think it's time to take a local vet to lunch.

Comments

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Will I be able to go home and forget, or will I pour too much of my heart into it?

I do that with anything I'm passionate about. That's why I chose something that I have never gotten sick of and can do that with without driving myself (or others) crazy.

Does my ego want to hear someone say "Doctor CJ"?

Heh heh. I admitted to myself early on in my recareering process that was a part of getting my PhD. :-)

I think you're addressing all of the right aspects of this. And I think taking a local vet out for a lunch chat is a wonderful idea.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

ladysprite might be willing to chat with you. She's not local, but there's email or IM, I imagine.

She's a good vet, from what tikva says. She's "Dr. Becky" for them.

I'd have a hard time with the coursework, if it involved work on animals just for the sake of it -- like declawing.

My vet almost compulsively does animal rescue. I'm not sure he euthanizes unwanted animals, he might just take them.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, a wise person told me earlier today that it's not necessarily a deal-breaker if there's some ego involved. It's okay to want to be called Doctor -- as long as that's not all I'm doing it for. It's not worth it if that's all I get; it won't make me feel happy and fulfilled if that's all I get.

If I said "hey I want to be a lawyer" it would be obvious I'd be doing it for status. I don't love the law. I'm not fascinated by cases or jury duty or precedent. I don't read police procedurals. But here, there's enough on both sides of the fence to muddy the waters.

Thanks for your IM. You have soooo been here.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the pointer! I could ask. She was the "vet talks about designer breeds" author, and I remember thinking when I read that, "hey, should I comment?" Then I felt like it would be pushy and off-topic, so I didn't.

I too would have a hard time with work on the animals just for the sake of it. Particularly things I see as sidling toward the "mutilation" side of the fence. I'd eagerly go into the OR to observe an amputation that was needed by the animal on the table; I'd develop chicken pox the day of class if it weren't.

I'm not sure he euthanizes unwanted animals, he might just take them.

I could sooooo see myself doing that... especially if I lived on a few acres. Heh. Rob better get a vote pretty soon here, before it gets too late. ;-)

[platypus]

When I began college, it was as a pre-veterinary student. I was warned in advance that admission to veterinary school was extremely competitive and even students with farming backgrounds or extensive volunteer experience often failed to get in (all of which, of course, was on top of the requirements of GPA and coursework and such; it was about the extracurriculars that people would try to use to put themselves over the top). I didn't have either, and failure to get in would have left me with a Meat and Animal Science degree of uncertain usefulness. I'm easily discouraged, though, so what I did is not necessarily the right thing. I'd just suggest asking for information on admissions statistics, to see how big a hurdle it really is. Out of high school, I was solicited by a college with a vet school somewhere in Texas -- in a letter that went on to disclaim itself that it had actually filled all its available slots completely with Texas residents for the past n years. I never had a hope there. It's crazy. But that was fifteen years ago; I don't know what the landscape's like now.

More than that, though, I got discouraged during my first semester about the realities of the coursework. There's no way to get through vet school without causing the deaths of animals for study, or at least there wasn't at UW, and after one course in MAS I'd had enough of docking pigs' tails and castrating goats without anaesthesia and, well, treating animals like objects. The stress, the emotional realities, the likelihood of failure; I cut my losses. It's a hard field to break into, all around, but really good vets are a rare and amazing thing, and I don't want to discourage you from becoming one.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

He's got a pen alongside the building that often has chickens or rabbits in it -- and that is visible from the window seats, so DJ really likes those seats :) -- and often has a large cat cage with kittens in it in the lobby.

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

But he also doesn't prolong the life of an animal past the point of reasonableness. One of the reasons I was so very comfortable with Dr. B when Sir Samuel Andrew was sick. Among many other reasons, of course. We must have sat in that exam room, both of us scritching that sweet dog, as we talked about how the surgery went, what the prognosis was, and at what point we'd let him go.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Right, I feel like Dr. B is really all about the compassion for the animal. He really understands the human/animal bond, too. (Ask him to tell you, some day, about the old guy whom Dr. B said should get a puppy for his older dog. . . .)

But he wouldn't make an animal miserable just so that the owner could prolong the goodbye.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Wow. That's a lot of good information. Thank you!

I agree that I'd have to beef up my extracurriculars a bunch, to make up for all these years I've sat in my cubicle trying to work my way into early retirement. And I might never get in. I'm nearing too old to start as it is; I'll get one shot or MAYBE two. I'd need to be willing to put in a couple of years on chem and bio knowing that I might not be able to do anything with it.

The realities of the coursework are something I can accept intellectually. If there is no better way to learn how to prevent pain and death during years and years of practice than by causing some of it while learning, then maybe it is a good tradeoff. But accepting it emotionally is going to be tough, very very tough.

I too can be easy to discourage, at times. If I turn away from this am I doing it because of fear of rejection, or because I don't know if I can get over my squeamishness, or because it really isn't the right thing for me? Dangit, it's hard to figure this stuff out!

Thanks again for your response. Lots of good food for thought.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Awww! Yeah, that'd be kinda me. ("Kinda" = Understatement)

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Any time. :-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

That must be one of the tougher moments: animal becoming or already miserable, owner clinging to hope or just postponing the inevitable out of the sheer emotional pain. Honestly, the fact that I've been there myself might make me a little more able to handle it well. Or so I hope, anyway.

CSU Vet School

[spindle-rose.livejournal.com]

I've got an on-line fiber buddy who is in the middle of applying to vet school. She's an MIT alumn probably a few years older than you, has home-schooled her kids, and has been working as a vet tech for the past year or so. They rejected her once in a way that sent her home to study more and reapply. If you want me to put you in touch, let me know.

[nosrednayduj]

My partner Valerie's son-in-law is a part-time vet. He does "relief work", so when other vets are on vacation, he works for them. This gives him unpredictable vacation times; usually he works full time in the summers and occasionally in the other seasons. It makes a high stress job much less stressful. He lives in Yakima WA, a low-cost-of-living kinna town, but big enough to support this lifestyle. Occasionally he'll work for a couple weeks in some further town and have to stay over with friends.

I don't recommend Yakima as a place to live, though. Totally hot in the summer. (We were just there.) Spokane has a huge contra dance scene. It's probably horrid in the summer too, tho. I was there in the late fall a few years ago.

Can't help you with the "should you do a huge investment training wise" thing, though. If it were me I wouldn't. But I already know I don't like to work too hard.

Re: CSU Vet School

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

That would be absolutely awesome. Thank you. (Wow, older than me? But already past the prep work... Maybe there's hope.)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Ooo, "relief work" sounds like an intriguing approach! It would go well with volunteering at spay/neuter clinics on my off times, too. Interesting!

I don't mind working hard if it's exciting and interesting and challenging, or if it's in the service of a good goal. That's one big change from my younger self -- college-age me couldn't stick to anything longer than a semester. But I know that in any period that long (seven YEARS? Minimum?) full of hard work, there will be times of boredom, times of frustration, and times of what-the-@#$-was-I-thinking. Now would be a really good time for me to come to terms with that reality or to decide "not this lifetime".

[abenn.livejournal.com]

I don't know a thing about vet school. But I do know about pursuing dreams. If it's this much of a passion for you, you've just got to go for it.

Maybe it won't work out, but you will know you tried. And, chances are very good that simply taking action towards this goal will lead you to a life that you'll enjoy a lot more.

Besides, the rest of us will find it fascinating to read about. :-)

[wooddragon.livejournal.com]

Or you could spend some time conversing with my dear friend, Dr. Alex, who just in the last two months became a vet. She was an aeronautical engineer for over 10 years, then quit it all and went to vet school.

She's in the Pasadena area. Or you could fly down and take her to lunch. I'm sure she'd share her experiences thus far with you.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

See, that's the thing: a friend asked me earlier "Do you have a PASSION for veterinary medicine?" and I couldn't answer the question. It would be so much easier if I knew whether I did or I didn't. I am excited by it, intrigued, fascinated; I feel a pull; I've loved animals since I was two and I've been intrigued by medical-ish stuff for a while; is that passion? Not sure. I can't claim I'm not this interested in other things either. I have either too many passions or too few.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

That would be wonderful! A veterinarian who got there as a second career would be someone I'd dearly love to talk to.

[allanh.livejournal.com]

Switching careers (and locations) is fine ... but I'm concerned that you're considering something that you haven't expressed a near-obsession with.

"Maybe-someday" is fine ... but it's not the same as "I've wanted to do this ALL MY LIFE."

I can't tell from your posting just how strong the yearning is within you to become a vet. And if you aren't *convinced* that this is the right career for you ... then it may well not be.

But you know I'll support you no matter what you want to do. :)

[eichin.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen her chime in here yet, but have you talked to ambar? she was taking lots of bio and what I thought were pre-vet courses, and I thought it was for more than just understanding what makes the horses tick :-)

[ambar.livejournal.com]

My question would be, how well can you deal with a career that is probably 80% on your feet and moving (unless you go into the research/lab side, which it didn't sound like above)?

I can put you in touch with someone who's currently in her 2nd or 3rd year at UC Davis vet school if you want. Her mother was also a DVM, and head of the Veterinary Genetics Lab at UCD before her untimely death.

[ambar.livejournal.com]

I was in fact setting up to apply to UC Davis vet school, but I hit this combination of circumstances:

1) The tech side picked up and I got a job I actually like, and
2) In order to spend 6 months or so assisting a vet full time, I would have to lease (or, more likely, sell) my horses and quite possibly my house.

Faced with a plunge of that depth, I backed off. But I still have everything I'd need to apply, given that six months of assist time and taking the GREs.

Ego? What ego?

[airporter.livejournal.com]

The person who told you that was brilliant, hon. If there's no ego involved where's the motivation to do a good job? Even a totally altrudocious individual would need some sort of stroke to maintain the energy and commitment. Part of that stroke comes from one's own ego, part from one's audience.

Be they square dancers or a pet. Hmm, pet dancers or a square?