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What is the hardest part about being a veterinarian?
#veterinarian #animals
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Adrianna’s Answer
Hi Owen,
Michael is correct. Personally I am not a vet, however I worked as a veterinarian assistant and was able to see all the various hardships. Many people believe that the hardest part will be euthanasia's, but in reality it's the abuse that comes with the job. Not only is it hard to find a good clinic that is managed well and has the Doctors interests at heart, it's also the abuse that comes from clients.
In working with around 8 vets they all sang the same song. Finding a good clinic to work at is hard.
Many clinics have different agenda's then doctors, and don't always treat staff fairly. This means that your ideals and the way you want things done may not line up with the clinic you work at and you may jump around for several years before finding the right place for you.
Another is abuse from clients.
Though you are VMD clients will constantly questions your motives and capability as a doctor, you wont be treated with nearly as much respect as human doctors. Veterinary medicine has one of the highest suicide rates because of these factors as well as the stress from the job.
I don't intend to scare you but I think this is important and hidden information. I encourage you to call a clinic and try and set up a phone interview with several doctors to hear their journey. This sounds intimidating and it may take a couple tries, but learning this information first hand by a vet is the best way, any hearing it from multiple different points of views is important.
Best of Luck
Michael is correct. Personally I am not a vet, however I worked as a veterinarian assistant and was able to see all the various hardships. Many people believe that the hardest part will be euthanasia's, but in reality it's the abuse that comes with the job. Not only is it hard to find a good clinic that is managed well and has the Doctors interests at heart, it's also the abuse that comes from clients.
In working with around 8 vets they all sang the same song. Finding a good clinic to work at is hard.
Many clinics have different agenda's then doctors, and don't always treat staff fairly. This means that your ideals and the way you want things done may not line up with the clinic you work at and you may jump around for several years before finding the right place for you.
Another is abuse from clients.
Though you are VMD clients will constantly questions your motives and capability as a doctor, you wont be treated with nearly as much respect as human doctors. Veterinary medicine has one of the highest suicide rates because of these factors as well as the stress from the job.
I don't intend to scare you but I think this is important and hidden information. I encourage you to call a clinic and try and set up a phone interview with several doctors to hear their journey. This sounds intimidating and it may take a couple tries, but learning this information first hand by a vet is the best way, any hearing it from multiple different points of views is important.
Best of Luck
Updated
Pamela’s Answer
Hi there, I would STRONGLY recommend volunteering a local vet clinic and applying for a job at one before deciding to go into veterinary medicine.
My dream job through childhood was to be a veterinarian. Thank goodness I worked at a vet clinic though, because I learned that it was not something I could do for the rest of my life. There are a ton of really difficult circumstances that vets are faced with (ie families can't afford care, treating dog fighting victims, euthanizing healthy animals, animals passing away, animal suffering, etc. It takes more than just a love for animals to do this job. It takes the ability to compartmentalize your job and your home life. I am still haunted by the things I saw at a vet clinic when I was 17. So please try it out first before committing 8 years of your life to being a vet and then risk potentially determining that it's not right for you.
There are tons of wonderful alternatives to being a vet if you love animals. I went into business with the goal of earning good money to support animal causes financially. That has been a good decision. I'm able to help with funds and also volunteer my time for a number of wonderful animal causes.
Another idea that I wish I'd known at your age... Becoming a lawyer can have a huge impact to help animals. A lot of attorneys volunteer their time to help write legislation to support animal welfare. Example - animal cruelty must be made illegal before animal abusers can be charged and put into jail. It takes lawyers to write the bills and lobby for them to become law. Lots of states have good cruelty laws now, but there is still more to be done. We just outlawed chaining up your dog in a back yard in Texas, for example. We passed a law to require humane euthanasia methods at shelters. We passed a law to crack down on puppy mills as well. So you can make a massive impact for animals by studying animal law.
Good luck!
Pam
My dream job through childhood was to be a veterinarian. Thank goodness I worked at a vet clinic though, because I learned that it was not something I could do for the rest of my life. There are a ton of really difficult circumstances that vets are faced with (ie families can't afford care, treating dog fighting victims, euthanizing healthy animals, animals passing away, animal suffering, etc. It takes more than just a love for animals to do this job. It takes the ability to compartmentalize your job and your home life. I am still haunted by the things I saw at a vet clinic when I was 17. So please try it out first before committing 8 years of your life to being a vet and then risk potentially determining that it's not right for you.
There are tons of wonderful alternatives to being a vet if you love animals. I went into business with the goal of earning good money to support animal causes financially. That has been a good decision. I'm able to help with funds and also volunteer my time for a number of wonderful animal causes.
Another idea that I wish I'd known at your age... Becoming a lawyer can have a huge impact to help animals. A lot of attorneys volunteer their time to help write legislation to support animal welfare. Example - animal cruelty must be made illegal before animal abusers can be charged and put into jail. It takes lawyers to write the bills and lobby for them to become law. Lots of states have good cruelty laws now, but there is still more to be done. We just outlawed chaining up your dog in a back yard in Texas, for example. We passed a law to require humane euthanasia methods at shelters. We passed a law to crack down on puppy mills as well. So you can make a massive impact for animals by studying animal law.
Good luck!
Pam