Q. What inspired you to become a veterinarian?
A. I decided to become a veterinarian in the seventh grade.
Although I have always been a small-animal practitioner, I grew up on a dairy
farm where I helped care for our cows and calves. I helped with milking the cows
morning and night. We also raised sheep, and always had dogs and cats on the
farm. I participated in 4-H and FFA, and exhibited my cattle and sheep at the
county and state fairs.
I was impressed with the skill of the veterinarians who came to our farm to
treat our animals. Sometimes we would have a cow that was down and could not get
up. The veterinarian would give a bottle of intravenous fluids and almost
immediately the cow would rise to her feet. Another cow may be having difficulty
giving birth to a calf. With a little help from the veterinarian the cow would
soon deliver a newborn calf.
I remember the veterinarian coming when needed, no matter what time of day or
night. I was also impressed with how much care and concern they had for the
animals.
Q. Could you briefly describe a day in the life of a
veterinarian?
A. The life of a veterinarian varies depending on the area
of veterinary medicine in which he or she works. The work may be in an animal
hospital where the owners bring their pets, such as dogs, cats, or birds, for
examinations and treatment. If the veterinarian works with large animals, such
as cattle or horses, the veterinarian may need to travel to the farm or
stable.
For every veterinarian the day is never routine, and no two days are ever
alike. It requires caring for both healthy and sick animals. This includes
examinations and vaccinations, diagnosing diseases and injuries, and treating
animals with medicine or surgery.
The workday will be quite different as well for veterinarians who work in
meat- and milk-processing plants, making sure that our food is safe to eat.
There are veterinarians who do research in laboratories, working to discover new
treatments, procedures and medicines for both animals and people. Some
veterinarians care for animals in zoos or circuses, while others teach students
in colleges of veterinary medicine to become future veterinarians. So it's a
profession that offers a lot of different work environments.
Q. What do you think is the most important quality a person must
possess in order to become a veterinarian?
A. You first must be a good student and particularly enjoy
the study of science. You must care about both animals and people, and enjoy
working with both. It is important to be able to communicate well with people.
Veterinarians must communicate well with the owners of their patients as well as
the people with whom they work.
Q. What was the hardest thing for you to learn about veterinary
medicine?
A. There is so much knowledge to learn in veterinary
medicine. For me the most difficult part was learning the structure, or anatomy,
and the function, or physiology, of the animal's body at the tissue cell level.
In order to learn this, the veterinary student must learn well how to use the
microscope and other laboratory equipment.
Q. How do you communicate with the animals? What are your
techniques?
A. When an animal is presented for an examination, first,
the veterinarian must talk with the owner. This is very similar to what a
medical doctor pediatrician must do in examining a baby. Many questions are
asked of the owner to determine what the owner has observed in the animal's
actions or habits, and what care has been given to the animal, including food,
water, and housing.
In approaching an animal for examination I will talk to the animal in a quiet
and calming manner. With dogs, I will use the common words associated with
obedience training such as "sit" or "stay." Depending on the nature of the dog,
I will vary the tone of my voice in order to maintain control.
Because an animal cannot talk back to me, I must use all of my senses,
including sight, touch, hearing and smell, to determine what is normal and
abnormal. I must carefully observe an animal's behavior or response, and look
for signs that indicate pain or discomfort.
Q. What has been your saddest case?
A. No matter the reason, the hardest thing for me is
performing euthanasia of a pet to end its life. It is very sad even though
euthanasia is done to end a pet's suffering. For pet owners this is always the
most difficult decision that they may have to make concerning their pet.
Q. What has been your funniest case?
A. I have always been amused when some of my dog patients
eagerly, and with a great deal of excitement, come into the examination room and
promptly jump right up on the examination table.
Q. What is the greatest challenge of being a
veterinarian?
A. Communicating effectively with the owner of an animal is
the greatest challenge for a veterinarian. It is particularly difficult when the
animal has a life-threatening disease or injury. It is important for the owner
to understand what is going on with the condition and what the various options
are for treatment. It becomes even more challenging when there is no effective
treatment option available.
Q. What is the biggest reward of being a veterinarian?
A. The greatest reward for me as a veterinarian is being
able to help both animals and people. It has been particularly meaningful when I
have been able to save the life of a pet, not only for the sake of the animal,
but also for the sake of the owner. My actions may save and extend the
human-animal relationship, which means so much to both.
I vividly recall Sarge, a brown and black German shepherd, whose severely
fractured leg I surgically repaired, or the turtle whose broken shell I wired
back together. The owners of both of these animals were extremely happy that
their pets were saved.
Q. If you could give one piece of advice to someone considering
becoming a veterinarian, what would it be?
A. It is important to experience veterinary medicine
firsthand by working and observing with veterinarians in a veterinary practice.
This will provide a valuable opportunity to determine if becoming a veterinarian
is what you really want to do.
Q. Is there anything else you'd like to share?
A. There are many rewarding career opportunities available
in veterinary medicine. Veterinarians work to improve both animal and human
health in many ways. When considering the possibility of becoming a
veterinarian, I would encourage exploring those various opportunities. More
veterinarians are needed in food supply veterinary medicine, public health,
biomedical research, and teaching veterinary medicine.
Veterinarians are needed to help assure that safe, high-quality food is
available for the world population; contagious diseases that are transmitted
from animals to people, such as avian influenza, are controlled and prevented;
and new treatments for diseases affecting both animals and people are developed
through animal research.
No other profession does more for the health of both animals and
people.
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