A Student’s Guide: Pursuing Veterinary Medicine

The veterinary journey: starting, applying, and living for veterinary medicine.

I remember when I first decided I wanted to be a veterinarian. It was so exciting to have found my passion and finally have a dream career after searching for the first three years of college. But right after that exhilaration and excitement of the new and shiny dream wore off, I was left completely lost and the anxiety and uncertainty came crashing down on me. The questions flooded my mind, “What do I do now? Where do I start? What do I need to know? Who do I even ask?”

Peek-a-boo!

You, however, are not in this alone. I will walk you through a lot of the steps to prepare for veterinary school. I’ll walk you through the VMCAS system, discuss experiences that vet schools look for, talk about both the good and not-so-good things you should know about being in veterinary medicine, and teach you through some of my own experiences as I work and study veterinary medicine.

"What is this thing around my neck??"

VMCAS Application Process

VMCAS stands for Veterinary Medical College Application Service. The VMCAS system is an online broad application system that allows veterinary program applicants to fill out one central application that will be sent to all of the schools that they want to apply to. It has the advantage of tracking your application and only having to fill out one comprehensive application instead of one for each school you want to apply to.

The VMCAS system is organized into different sections that allow you to easily track your progress and see what you still need to do. I will write about each section and what you should expect to see in this application service. I will even write about some tips and the general processes that will follow the submission of your VMCAS application with individual schools.

Hard at work!

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Experiences Before Vet School

Before you apply to veterinary school, it is important to have experience. These experiences should not all be in veterinary medicine. Don’t get me wrong, it is great to have as much exposure to the veterinary profession as possible. In fact, many schools have a minimum requirement for how many hours of veterinary experience you have. I am saying that you had better get involved in places outside of a veterinary clinic if you want to be accepted into veterinary school.

The main reason you should have diverse experiences: veterinary programs want students who are very well-rounded. In this website, I will post more about different types of experiences that vet schools will look for.

Developing and Sharing Talents can offer experiences

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Reality Check

As you most likely know by now, there are so many amazing things about working in the field of veterinary medicine. There would have to be, or else no one would want to do it. There are so many great people involved in the field, caring owners, and even more adorable animals that you will get to work with every single day.

However, there are many things that no one warned me about before I decided to enter the field of veterinary medicine. There are some painful and discouraging things about this profession. There will even be times when you cry and question if it is even worth pursuing a career in this field.

I’ll discuss those things that make it very difficult to practice veterinary medicine, but I’ll also talk about the many things that, in my opinion, make it worth every second.

Practice makes perfect

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My Life in Veterinary Medicine

People always say that the best way to learn is from your own experiences.

I want to share my personal stories and experiences that I have gained through my few years of exposure to the veterinary field. I have learned from mistakes of my own and the guidance of others. These experiences have shaped and ultimately reinforced my desire to become a veterinarian and gave me that burning passion for wanting to help people and animals for the rest of my life in any way that I can. These experiences will range from when I first started volunteering at a veterinary clinic and will lead through my life in veterinary medicine.

This fall, you will come with me on my journey through veterinary school and, eventually, through my life as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.

The biggest thing that I can teach you, is to never stop asking questions.

*All images were provided from wix.com and unsplash.com