Shekinah's Thoughts

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.

http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/e-vets/interns/become-vet/become-vet.html

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Shekinah's Thoughts

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