RE: What does "Being a Vet mean"

Seadna — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 01:28:05 GMT

[quote user="Iain Richards"]The nature of our training (and I believe that, class size apart, it's better now than when I qualified) gives vets a unique comparative perspective of many career opportunities.[/quote]

Spot on. I wanted to be an animal scientist when I was young. Went to uni to study Animal Science. Got an excellent education but the depth and breadth of my subsequent veterinary training was far superior to the Animal Science degree. While writing my final BSc thesis I struggled for so long and found it so difficult to understand physiological concepts that for a young vet would have come easily. For anyone wishing to take the path into research I would advocate the veterinary medicine course as a path to PhD every time. I got lured to the dark side (clinical practice) but veterinary surgeons make superior researchers without a doubt.

I didn't read the other thread because I had a feeling it was going to turn into one of those rage-inducing debates.

Anyway. To me, being a vet is about this feeling that i have always had, which is that I have a better understanding of animal welfare than your average person on the street. I've always though that I can empathise with suffering animals and that empathy gave me an insignt into the best way to ease it and also to decide when enough is enough (ie euthanise). I've always felt that I belong in the middle of the owner and the animal, almost as a translator for its welfare, and of course there is a little bit of love for the power that that gives me. It's egotistical for sure but I dont' think that if anyone met me they would think that I feel thus and I have literally never elaborated on those thoughts before in my life. Told them in uni interview that I wanted to be a vet because I loved bunnies :D.

Sorry. Long post. Not interested in being attacked for it's contents either if anyone is feeling like doing so :)

RE: What does "Being a Vet mean"

Martin Atkinson — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 19:13:22 GMT

Do we mean what does it mean to us or what it means to a teenager deciding his/her career path? The latter is almost certainly what I stated in the post you used to tangent, after all that is what they are fed from Yorkshire vet to Supervet - albeit he's a bit more esoteric!

For me its about the intellectual challenge, the fulfillment that comes from a successful challenging case, respect - both self, that of my peers and of my clients as well as the public at large, realising my lifelong loves of science and animals in one package just for starters. It also means a commitment to doing the right thing and realising that this is a vocation not a job and to some extent it is your life (albeit we've discussed that one elsewhere). And if I've earned a decent standard of living without ripping anyone off on the way, well that is just a bonus.

Sure things like your seminar can show that there are other ways than just being in practice but I certainly don't think anyone at 17 thinks, 'ooh I know, I'll become a vet so I can work in research or industry'. That only comes later when they realise that the rose tinted spectacles were perhaps a bit too tinted and they are maybe not cut out for the cut and thrust of general practice.