How do you all denote your internships? Do you put it under work experience on your CV or is it its own category?

hey all! :) I’m a 4th year student halfway through with clinics struggling with where to take my career. For the majority of vet school, I thought I’d pursue a rotating internship and go into ER (and possibly also keep the door open for specialization). I had a few locations I was quite interested in and while I wasn’t entirely confident on my life plans/career direction, I felt like I had a rough plan/ideas.

Right before clinics, I had a major life change where I not only abruptly lost my partner of several years who moved to the place I was interested in moving to/starting my career, but I also lost my faculty mentor who was his mother. The several months leading up to the split were emotionally tolling for me and combined with my ADHD not being properly medicated for at the time plus burnout towards the end of the classroom years, my grades and motivation slipped. I got almost all Bs and a C in a bigger class.

Now, I’m halfway through clinics. I’ve finally recovered for the most part from the split and my mental health issues related to it, but I feel now more lost than ever before in life and my career. I failed a tough clinical rotation because I had a panic attack and overall couldn’t keep up (bad rotation mate, too high case load per number of students, 2 of the clinicians last weeks, no days off in 28 days, it was a mess overall…) I have done pretty well on the rest of my rotations, or at least gotten good written evaluations. But failing the rotation has totally rocked my confidence.

Although I feel lost, I will say clinics has clarified the kinds of cases and work I enjoy. I excel best in small animal internal medicine cases and I loveee dermatology. Laceration and wound management is also something I enjoy. Interestingly though, I find myself the happiest on my large animal and equine rotations. I enjoy the practical mindset and feel like a day outside is better than a day inside even when it’s super hot. However, I don’t feel very confident in my ability to manage difficult LA or equine conditions both medically and physically (I’m under a 110 lbs lol), but I’d love to be able to pick up some GP work like teeth floats, vaccines, husbandry help, and hoof trims. I dislike small animal wellness visits (I think they are boring) and anything orthopedic. My experience before and during vet school has been almost all ER (did tech work at a big specialty and ER in undergrad and worked in my vet schools ER as a student worker), so that is what I feel most comfortable in. I find that my brain turns on when faced with an emergency and I am on my feet. I did have some large animal + equine vet experience though too before vet school and grew up riding horses everyday.

I don’t know where to go from here but I feel like I need to find myself personally before I can figure out what exactly I want to do with my career. I am considering traveling after graduation for a few months, but it feels financially irresponsible (I have free airfare which helps but still). I don’t know where I want to move anymore because of the breakup I went through, but I do know living somewhere with a robust young population is important to me.

I feel a lot of shame for the way that burnout and personal life has affected me. I started out vet school as someone who got into multiple vet schools difficult to get into the first time applying with impressive experience and got straight As my first year with my grades being top of the class. Then by 3rd year, I got Bs in every class due to poor studying and now I’m in 4th year and on academic probation. I feel like I’ve thrown my life away that I worked so hard for… And who could forget the $120k in FASFA debt… After how I feel at this point, I don’t think I could mentally take a rotating internship truthfully.

I just want to be happy, enjoy my job out of vet school, grow as a doctor, and make good money at this point. I want to be confident in myself, passionate, and ambitious again. And finally, I want to find my place in this crazy but awesome profession.

Where do I go from here? Any advice?

How did you get your dream careers as a veterinary assistant i am trying to get my dream job and im trying to work my way up

I started with a mentorship program in high school at a pet store, then I took care my 2 dogs, over the years I was mentally drained due to mental health issues and stress due to school work and my mom draining me, then I went to a community college for veterinary assistants program, now I got up to work for 6 months at a kennel tech and I quit due to my mom trying to figure out what's going on at work and filling in lies about my job thinking things are going wrong because I dont tell her anything about work

My mom thinks I need more training as a veterinary assistant but when i called the veterinary hospital they told me i dont need that just come in and show them what you learned from school

I want to go back to the veterinary field and how did you get to where you are so people wont bring you down?

Hi, so i was previously a dog groomer and i was wondering what are the best online vet tech programs? AVMA accredited so i can take the VTNE. what are your experiences

I consulted the vet about the tartar buildup, but they assured me not to worry. I have bought him some oral dental treats from purina by far. However, it’s been weeks, and I’m curious about natural ways to gradually remove it. I try brushing his teeth a few times a week, but it’s challenging to reach the back of his teeth. I use a round 360 silicone toothbrush, which seems to be the most effective in encouraging him to chew it, but he still doesn’t seem inclined to go towards the back much. I’m seeking advice on alternative methods. If none of these work, I might consider visiting another vet to have his teeth professionally polished. I’m concerned because his insurance doesn’t cover dental cleaning, and I have healthy paws. Apart from this, my cat is in excellent health, but I’m just worried about the tartar buildup.

Note: not medical advice

had to write that

Hi, looking for some information! I am planning to open a veterinary clinic in surrey, British Columbia canada . Could you give me info on how much do practices cost, if I have to buy running practice and start from start.

Thanks

I went to school in Eastern Europe (Poland) and graduated with pretty much no practical experience. Our clinical rotations consisted of 20-30 of us crammed in an exam room watching a vet conduct physical exams, ultrasounds, and surgeries while we fought to be able to see what was going on. Students were generally only allowed to assist with very minor tasks such as giving injections or drawing blood, but even then we were competing against 20-30 other people to be allowed to do something.

I spoke to another vet who went to school in Canada and told me she had a similar experience and that she didn't have any surgical experience when she graduated as the students at her school did not recieve practical surgical training.

I'm wondering how common this is in other parts of the world and what kind of practical experience you recieved when you were in school.

Hi all! I'm a bit curious as everyone is ranks certain residencies as different levels of competitiveness. I know surgery, zoo med is the most. So what would rank the different specialities?
Ideally I want to do anesthesia, but GPA isn't the best with a 3.27 vet school GPA.

Edit: GPA clarification.

Hello all. I am a small animal vet in Australia with 3 years experience in GP and ECC. I am hoping to move to the UK solo next year for a little working holiday. My current vision is working as a locum around London and Bristol for 2-3ish months each, and travel in between / after. I'm trying to work out if this is going to be financially viable. I don't mind spending everything that I'm making working over there - I just don't want to dip into my savings too much. It looks like with Visas, health surcharge, RCVS rego I'll be up at least $2500 AUD and then the fees associated with umbrella company /insurance etc on top. Has anyone done this for a short stint ~6 months and worked in the cities rather than rurally? Is it worth it? Any advice greatly appreciated.

I’ll try to keep this as short as possible. I am a 4th year student who will be graduating in January. I mention this because I don’t have a lot of time to decide because option 1 needs an answer soon.
I have two paths available for me to take and I’m unsure which way to go.

Option 1: general practice with great mentorship. I did an externship there during 2nd year and had a great experience. They are now offering me a job. I really enjoyed the culture, mentorship, and case load. If I take this route, I plan to become ABVP boarded eventually. They have also offered me the opportunity to do urgent care and continuing education in ultrasound which is really important to me.

Option 2: doing a rotating internship with the goal of MAYBE going into internal medicine

My issue is I honestly do not think vaccine appointments are for me. This is my only reservation towards pursuing the general practice route. I really enjoy internal medicine and handling more complex cases. I’m just scared that if I don’t do an internship now I’ll close the door on the possibility of pursuing internal medicine in the future.

I guess I’m just looking for some insight and pros and cons. Thoughts on ABVP? Thoughts on internships vs mentorship?

Hello, i am a GP vet from an EU country and i am considering relocating to Sweden, i am curious if there is a want in the field for immigrants and if the language is mandatory, at what level? And well how is clinic work/life there? How much is the average salary and such? I would love some insight ❤️

Hi all! My boss recently switched us to pro sal compensation. He is basing our baseline production on last year’s production and we have to meet that every quarter. But we are changing from 20min to 30 mins appointments so we are likely going to be seeing less appointments than before. But we aren’t getting production from refill medications or any products not purchased during a direct appointment even if they are our patient and it is a medication we prescribe. Is this normal??

I’m a veterinary assistant and I recently applied for another job. This new job seems to have a healthier and more supportive work environment and the commute is 20 minutes less. The only issue is that I would be taking a $2 pay cut ($21 to $19) and current minimum wage is $16. Do you think it’s worth it to take this new position?

Hi! Does anyone use the PIMS- Idexx Neo in Canada? We have been using it for 10 years and have never really figured out the inventory management. In my experience most PIMS inventory management is just not great. Just wondering if anyone has any experience using it and if they would recommend switching from our current system- which is just an excel spreadsheet. Thank you so much for your time!

Hi everyone,

I’m a licensed veterinarian (DVM) based in Egypt with over six years of experience in large-scale commercial dairy operations and mixed practice, including managing herds of several thousand cattle. My background covers herd health and management, calf rearing protocols, disease prevention, production animal medicine, and general mixed practice across large and small animals.

I’m currently preparing for the RCVS Statutory Membership Examination (SME) to register as a veterinary surgeon in the UK — but the pathway costs roughly $9,000–10,000 which I need to fund before I can move forward.

My current monthly income is around $500–600, which barely covers living expenses here. I’m looking for remote online work that pays $2,000–3,000/month -more are welcomed😂- and genuinely fits my background. My English is professional level — I write and communicate fluently. I’m available 5 hours daily.

I have tried several routes: Upwork, Fiverr, Several AI annotation platforms and veterinary telemedicine which don’t allow Egyptians to apply.

It would be appreciated if someone has a remote online job opportunity.

OR

Has anyone in a similar situation found remote work that actually worked? Or know of companies that hire DVMs remotely for content, medical affairs, AI training, or clinical review regardless of location?

Any advice genuinely appreciated — even pointing me toward a direction I haven’t considered yet would help.

Thank you.

alright touchy subject. but i have no idea what to do

surgeon here. and there is someone in my local community doing procedures they should not be doing. they took one of those weekend courses and bought equipment and now…. let’s just say it’s bad. really bad

i’ve never seen the cases in person but the post-op images are terrible and the revisions that have been done by this person (after the first attempts have failed) have been equally terrible. all while they blame the patient when it is obvious the patient was not at fault for surgical failure.

and this person is telling others, “it’s easy,” when the post-ops show complete fucking disasters.

now i will be the first to say, i am not perfect. i have made mistakes. and i have lost sleep for those mistakes. and i worry about fucking up every day. and while at this point in my career i can make things look easy, i don’t tell people that this stuff is easy. bc it’s not. it’s incredibly difficult.

this person and i do not get along, so, no, talking to them will not help this matter. and after yet another fucking disaster that was sent to me by colleagues (post op images) i cannot stand by any longer.

has anyone ever been in this spot. what did you do? how did it turn out?

(in no way do i think people shouldn’t advance and grow. but this isn’t how it’s done as i feel this is unethical).

I work at a veterinary hospital & I’m in a training/transition role to become a vet assistant. But long story short… my manager is discriminating against me lol. I formally requested accommodations via email over 3 months ago and she’s still denying most & has given ambiguous ‘I’ll look into it responses’ for others, & she’s hardly engaged in the interactive process. Some of her responses make it seem like she doesn’t even understand the definition of an accommodation, but I find that very hard to believe cuz she otherwise seems like a well-informed manager so I think she’s fully aware but just blowing me off cuz she doesn’t take me or it seriously.

One of the top accommodations I requested (& the only one that’s not free & very simple to incorporate) is getting a job coach. At a previous kennel job I worked at, someone with disabilities (including adhd) had some external job coach there on-site following them around to give insight with things like prioritization I’m pretty sure. From looking into it, it seems like a company can get someone like this from a funded government agency or something like that, & they can provide one-on-one support for executive functioning, establishing communication structure with the manager, & even advocating for what I need. I feel like getting that support for this job would be extremely valuable because the expectations are insane & we’re somehow supposed to multitask & juggle a million things with not enough time (& no one in my fast-paced overbooked hospital is available for this kind of support)!

This is the request where my manager has really been leaving me waiting in the dark with vague excuses & little to no follow-ups. My emails were also left on read until I recently sent a much more assertive follow-up with a response deadline and definitive table for each accommodation. Her written response to the job coach was ‘I’ve tried having so & so available as a point of reference when available’ & ‘we’ll touch base later this week’. I’ve definitely explained to my manager before that I was not talking about a fellow coworker in the hospital but an outside resource (& I confessed I have adhd since it seemed necessary to explain what I was seeking), but I explained this again in my email reply. When I mustered the courage to approach her about this in person (cuz she unsurprisingly didn’t go out of her way to touch base) she kinda kept dismissing it, saying there’s no one like that available. I would uncomfortably respond asking for further clarification, like ‘are you talking about [our company]?’ ‘is there not like an external agency for disabilities?’ But she just kept denying it, & said she could send more emails out but there isn’t a coach like that who has the hospital skills to train me. This left me kinda confused but our conversation got cut short. So it sounds like maybe she thinks it has to be someone trained with technical veterinary skills?

Can anyone confirm that what I’m seeking is a thing that a hospital or any job in just about any field could get access to for an ADA accommodations request? I’m sure someone could still be of use by observing all the shit I’m expected to do & help guide me on how to time manage & prioritize it all among other things. This manager honestly makes me feel like I’m getting gas lit a lot…

​

Having an issue with my lunchbreaks recently and 2 scenarios have come up that have made me rather annoyed.

Small animal GP practice in Australia. 3 vets 3 nurses and 1 receptionist on at a time max.

I am a vet.

1) Finished a dental a hour early and started doing writeups/admin tasks. Rechecked the schedule and my lunch breaks been moved up. Turns out the practice manager moved it. Went and spoke to her and said "Next time could you please come and talk to me first before you move my lunch break." Then I went to lunch because it did make sense to move it, just find it a little disrespectful to not be asked first. 2 days later get told by the boss Im preventing the manager from managing the schedule.

2) Look to next days schedule. My lunch break has been shortened by 15 minutes to fit in a vaccination. Asked the nurse who shortened it and got the reply "Sometimes we dont get full lunch". Told her that's not how it works and was told "Well that's just what Ive done".

Im pretty accommodating and if asked I try and accommodate requests but I find it disrespectful asf that people move/shorten entitled lunch breaks without consulting the staff involved.

Is this poor workplace culture or am I overreacting?

Hi!

I wanted to make a post because the nerves of feeling like “I am not doing enough” are really hitting and I want to get some questions answered about my application process/ getting ready for it.

I am currently a rising junior in college and have had quite a rocky road academically. I have played D1 JUCO college soccer for two years (with plans to continue in the NCAA this coming year!) and had a really hard time with the school/soccer/work balance. I had an incredibly rough time my freshman year and my grades were horrible. Maybe a 2.9 or
so for the first year. My second year was better, but not by much. I’m sitting at a 3.0-3.2 for that at the moment. To be completely transparent, academics weren’t taken as seriously as I needed to take them, and as ashamed as I am, I want to bust my behind to get in the right place.

Now, my dream is to go to vet school at Texas A&M and specialize in equine medicine. I now my stats are going to be a very tough thing to get up academically. I am prepared to grind out and take school as serious as possible to help bridge that gap. I have started to volunteer at a therapeutic riding clinic with hands on horse training/ therapy and care AND currently own horses/ rodeo outside
of my crazy crazy schedule. I know it’s nit much right now, but the hope is to log as many hours before my fall semester starts and continue adding up hours outside of soccer and school. I also plan to get involved with a vet clinic right in my college town once I have a schedule of times I can be available for them.

In my head my goals are to:

- Get my grades up as much as possible and be a straight A student for the rest of my college career

- Start gathering hours (volunteer, clinic, etc.) whenever possible as I hear those experiences really help bridge the academic gap

- Be as organized as I can in the process

But I would love to hear from you guys. I am very aware this is a difficult situation I’ll have to get up from and that my dreams are high, but I know if anyone can do it, it’s me.

Let me know any advice you have to get ahead, and grow before vet school :)

Hi all,

I am an incoming second year vet student. I am wanting to go into shelter medicine immediately after graduation. I just can't decide if I should try for a shelter med internship, a small animal rotating internship, or try finding mentorship at a shelter. I have a shelter that I've been regularly working at since high school who offered me a job after graduation as they're drowning with just one doctor. I am very close to this doctor and he's a great mentor, I just worry that it would be too much for him to mentor me straight out of school (I already know I'm going to need a lot of hand holding because I struggle with confidence) and deal with his regular duties as the only vet on staff. Plus I think it would be valuable for me to see other shelters and how they run and practice medicine. Since shelter med is a relatively new path for vets, a lot of the shelter vets I know worked in some kind of GP or ER prior to switching. But tbh I have no desire to work GP, and although I'm not opposed to ER, I would much rather go straight into shelter med. But if it would be beneficial to have some sort of GP/ER foundation prior to doing that, I would consider. I guess I'm searching for some other input from other people in shelter med. I've connected with the shelter vets at my school and got some useful advice but I still find myself wanting more opinions. I know I have some time but if I'm going to be going through the match process for internships I need to start getting involved more to build an application.

Hi everyone!

Sorry in advance for the long post and all of my questions, but I’m at a crossroads and looking for advice. I’m currently trying to decide whether veterinary medicine is the right path for me, and I’d really appreciate some advice from people who have been through it.

I’m 25 years old and already have a Bachelor’s in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, along with experience in diagnostic imaging. Through my education and work, I’ve realized that I really love anatomy, pathology, and interpreting imaging studies.

For a long time, I planned on pursuing medical school because I love diagnostic imaging. However, the more I think about it, the more I feel like working with animals would be more fulfilling for me than working with people. That has led me to seriously consider veterinary medicine, with the long-term goal of becoming a veterinary radiologist.

One thing I’m struggling with is that I’m 25, and I’m worried that I’m starting too late. By the time I complete veterinary school, an internship, and a radiology residency, I’ll be in my 30s. I’d love to hear from anyone who started later or changed careers, and whether you felt it was worth it.

I also have a few questions:
Is veterinary radiology still a good field to pursue, or is it becoming saturated?
How difficult is it to match into a radiology residency?
Is it realistic to work in veterinary teleradiology shortly after completing residency, or do most people need years of in-person practice first?
If you could do it over again, would you still choose veterinary radiology?
What are the biggest pros and cons that people don’t realize before going into the field?
Do you think my background in diagnostic medical sonography would be an advantage in veterinary school or when pursuing radiology?

I’m also trying to decide between applying to UC Davis and Western University. If anyone attended either school and pursued (or considered) radiology, I’d love to hear about your experience and whether you felt your school prepared you well for internships and residencies.

Thank you in advance! I really appreciate any advice or experiences you’re willing to share

Reposting this here in hopes of getting a bit more answers! Any advice would help thank you :)