Do you tell people you are a vet?

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Gillian Mostyn — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:19:33 GMT

I've moved hairdressers twice because I was cheesed off with the chatter about people's pets and what cute things they did yesterday - as well as the obligatory free consultations.

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Nixthevet — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:33:48 GMT

Been laughing at all of these posts...it's the same wherever you are isn't it.

I too only tell people i'm a vet when it isn't going to lead to a free consultation at a time when i'm actually not working. For instance would never tell a hairdresser as they hold you hostage for 3 hrs and the whole salon has time to ask you lots of advice. Not that I mind ...but i just want my bloody hair cut!!

Having gotten wise to this I now tell them i work in a supermarket.....usually shuts them up and they just hand you a magazine and ask if you'd like a cup of tea....bliss!

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

listhestar — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:12:38 GMT

[quote user="Gillian Mostyn"]t is harder to be a vet than a doctor "cos animals can't tell you what is wrong with them." [/quote]

My new response to this is that people lie anyway so it's better because animals can't. Anyone who watches House normally get the joke from that series and you can swiftly move on to favourite Tv shows!

lisa

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Martin Atkinson — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 17:49:38 GMT

Depends upon whether I will gain advantage from it or not, pretty selfish really. For example I didn't tell the woman who's dog I ran over on my bike a while ago but I make a point of letting doctors and dentists know so they have to work a bit harder and know they can't make mistakes and get away with it! And its a good babe magnet if you're young and eligible (even if you're not - but I wouldn't admit to that)!

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Fiona Hussey — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:37:18 GMT

[quote user="Malcolm Ness"]

why do very boring people think that the vet course is 7 years long???

[/quote]even my mum told me it was - after I'd qualified !?

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Emily Nightingale — Sun, 30 May 2010 22:28:57 GMT

I used to see practice when I was 14 at a small animal practice in the village twice a week.. One dark winters night there was a knock on the door and a small boy and his mum were standing outside holding a shoe box.

The boy was sobbing and it turned out that in the box was a very poorly guinea pig..which they asked me to examine.. (I repeat.. was 14 at the time)

Soooo I got my dads stethoscope (is GP) and listened to it's chest and was able to point out that it was dead. With such powers of deduction I wonder if I really needed those "7" years at vet school at all.

also.. if anyone ever says " I wanted to be a vet when I was younger but... xyz etc" I just say " it's never too late to start".. that usually puts a cork in it.

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Lucy K — Sun, 30 May 2010 22:14:29 GMT

I was bouncing around the place telling everyone who I thought might listen the day after I got my acceptance letter from vet school that I was finally going to start veterinary at the grand old age of 24. That night I got a panicked phone call from a friend of mine saying that her dog had been attacked and should she bring it to the emergency clinic to which I replied, "yes, if you are worried about it, you definitely should." She didn't. Doggy promptly shuffled off this mortal coil and she rings me in tears the next day saying, "you told me to only bring her to the emergency clinic if I was worried about her. I had a look at the bite marks and they just seemed like scratches so I wasn't worried about it any more............"sniff"sniff ".....then I came out this morning and she was".... sniff sniff....."DEAD".................. wail.....moan..........sob......... lament.

Needless to say, that's one person who hasn't tried to get vet advice from me since!

I do have friends with horses though and every single time I'm back home they have had some sort of ailing equine and they seem to think that I will definitely know as much as the local vet with 30 odd years of experience, and it'll be free! I hate it. I now have to walk onto the yard with my hands up saying "I don't know anything" I don't know anything!I just want a cup of tea and a nice hack!"

Having said all of this, I love when people ask me what I do and I can say I'm a vet student. That novelty definitely hasn't worn off!

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Edward Jones — Thu, 20 May 2010 15:25:38 GMT

A doctor and a lawyer were talking at a party. Their conversation was constantly interrupted by people describing their ailments and asking the doctor for free medical advice. After an hour of this, the exasperated doctor asked the lawyer, "What do you do to stop people from asking you for legal advice when you're out of the office?"

"I give it to them," replied the lawyer, "and then I send them a bill."

The doctor was shocked, but agreed to give it a try. The next day, still feeling slightly guilty, the doctor prepared the bills.

When he went to place them in his mailbox, he found a bill from the lawyer.

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Gillian Mostyn — Sat, 15 May 2010 13:57:38 GMT

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Vikki Halliday LLB — Sat, 15 May 2010 00:11:37 GMT

[quote user="Adrienne McPartland"]Im not a vet yet (another year to go!) ...but this comment also drives me mad![/quote]

This one drives me mad,

" Yes well I wanted to be a vet but I wasn't clever enough".

Two possible answers to this;

1. I'm not clever I just worked hard,

and my all time favourite:

2. Probably just as well then

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Adrienne McPartland — Fri, 14 May 2010 22:54:38 GMT

[quote user="Jacquin Mitchell"]

[quote user="Hanna Bennett"] leads to the inevitable 'do you stick your hand up cow's bums?'[/quote]

My most hated comment is 'Oh, I wanted to be a vet but couldn't bear having to put animals to sleep'.

Jacq

[/quote]

Im not a vet yet (another year to go!) ...but this comment also drives me mad!

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Tim Cheyne — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:51:48 GMT

[quote user="Gillian Mostyn"]

I like to confuse them and ask how I compare to a paediatrician.

[/quote]

Be careful! One mob has already confused the term with 'paedophile'.

Tim.

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Gillian Mostyn — Fri, 14 May 2010 09:25:00 GMT

And why do people think they're the first people to laugh loudly and state that it is harder to be a vet than a doctor "cos animals can't tell you what is wrong with them." I like to confuse them and ask how I compare to a paediatrician.

I have accepted all the glib comments when people find out my job - and the hours of free advice. But I really try to avoid telling workmen. You can see their eyes go 'ker-ching' and just anticipate the doubling of the bill........

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Malcolm Ness — Fri, 14 May 2010 08:35:21 GMT

why do very boring people think that the vet course is 7 years long???

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Jacquin Mitchell — Thu, 13 May 2010 22:05:55 GMT

[quote user="Hanna Bennett"] leads to the inevitable 'do you stick your hand up cow's bums?'[/quote]

My most hated comment is 'Oh, I wanted to be a vet but couldn't bear having to put animals to sleep'.

Jacq

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Hanna Bennett — Thu, 13 May 2010 20:53:08 GMT

i loathe telling new people what i do - leads to the inevitable 'do you stick your hand up cow's bums?' or 'i have a dog/cat/rabbit and would like a free consultation'. Don't get me wrong, i love my job, just not so keen on other people's reactions to it.

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Sean Dunne — Thu, 13 May 2010 18:30:07 GMT

I tell people that I'm a vet unless they fall into any of the following catergories..

a) The " I hate professional people" group.

The kind of person who in a mere 5 minute conversation will have managed to moan about their dentist, solicitor and mechanic. Something like " Bloody Kwik Fit didn't sort my air conditioning properly so I was all sweaty when I got to my useless solictors office. Its been 2 days since I made my no win fee claim against my dentist for this dodgy filling and still no cash !! " You know you know someone like this.

b)The " Fur Kids" group.

Folks who see their pets as babies. They are usually very sweet people but if they even get a sniff of the fact that your a vet, out comes the iphone and your relaxing evening degenerates into viewing hundreds of pictures/videos of their dog sleeping, of their dog sleping on his left side, of their dog sleeping on his right side, of their dog sleeping on his back ( awww isn't he cute) and so on. You have to react enthusiastically to each pic as you would when shown a pic of a newborn child. To do anything else will break their slightly mental hearts.

I dislike iphones.

3) The " My vet said this , what do you think group?"

These people worry me the most. They tend to challenge you with vauge questions like "How many stitches would you put in a normal cat spay ?" " How long should a dog vomit for before someone takes an xray?". So I wonder what are they after here. Has their cat suffered a post op complication? Did their vet use glue? Why are they asking me about a vomiting dog? It tends to become a consultation then rather than a social interaction because you end up having to make sure you give correct balanced information without commenting on another vets work. Unpleasant and unpaid !

So if I come across anyone I think fits a) b) or c) I tend to make up a job. I've recently being a postman, landscaper and frustrated children's novelist.

I'm especially fond of the last one. I get to moan about the sucess of Harry Potter and how its ruined the market for people like me. I even get a lot of sympathy. Morally questionable I will grant you but fun nevertheless.

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Tim Cheyne — Thu, 13 May 2010 18:17:29 GMT

I don't volunteer the information and most in my limited circle know what I do but if I am asked I say "I am a vet" and quickly add ".....a veterinary pathologist." This usually elicits "Doh....er...you deal with dead things then?" "Yes"; not strictly true, but it stops them listing the ailments of their pet(s) in case I suggest a consultation in the autopsy room.

In the sort of situation described by Jacqui I try to get in early with "Oh, I agree, but when I was doing my veterinary medicine it was thought............" "Oh, you're a vet? Good. Perhaps i can just ask you......" then I do have to listen to the list of ailments/amusing stories/witchcraft cures, etc. but at least there is no embarrassment on either side.

Tim.

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Niall Taylor — Thu, 13 May 2010 07:16:54 GMT

[quote user="Jacquin Mitchell"]Last night I endured a 20 min lecture from someone at dog training intent on telling me all about growth plates, and at what age they close, how they work etc, etc. To her credit she had most of it right [/quote]

How do you know she wasn't a vet aswell? She's probably posting to another forum right now wondering if she should have told you!

Niall

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Michael Woodhouse — Thu, 13 May 2010 00:12:32 GMT

[quote user="Jacquin Mitchell"]At what point do you tell people what you do and how do you handle it if someone starts imparting knowledge you already know? It's even worse if they are spouting a load of crap :([/quote]

I won't sit and listen to a load of crap. I would quite happily chip in with "yes I know - I am a Vet" and await their reaction. Sometimes they can be quite taken aback. I think the most common response is "oh [pause], what do you think".

Every year I have great fun at the Dairy Event doing this. They start trying to tell me how their magic new mastitis detector kit works or how solar ulcers are caused. I don't get out much.

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Robert Whiteford — Wed, 12 May 2010 21:13:23 GMT

Renewed my car insurance over the phone and , of course, they wanted to know my occupation. When I told the young man he immediately started asking me questions about his newly acquired bitch and when should he get it spayed. I said that I have to charge him for advice and that nothing I said should be construed as giving direct advice about his specific animal but that it was general advice and what was the discount he was giving on the car insurance premiums? He couldn't give me a discount on the quote but would give me discount on some supplementary stuff he tried to sell me!!

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Emily Nightingale — Wed, 12 May 2010 21:03:11 GMT

Haha. This made me blush and adopt a sheepish grin. I still can't help myself. I will tell anyone who will listen.. Still really get a kick out of it and am so proud to be part of our profession. Literally.. I even told the butcher the other day (just moved into the village 1 month ago) that I was a vet and even told an appallingly bad joke about a vet and a butcher having a meal. The butcher carves a lovely bit of meat and serves it to the vet and says " bet you have never seen such a beautifully cut bit of meat in your life".. The vet says "It looks lovely.. now put it back together.. "

It was only afterwards that I realised the joke is more to do with vets being good surgeons, than the butcher being clever.. Cringe..

Re: Do you tell people you are a vet?

Vikki Halliday LLB — Wed, 12 May 2010 20:40:06 GMT

[quote user="Jacquin Mitchell"]At what point do you tell people what you do and how do you handle it if someone starts imparting knowledge you already know? [/quote]

Depends what they are trying to tell you and how well you think they will take it!

I usually let them ramble first, and then tell them, they are then surprised and pleased if you agree with them!