r/veterinaryprofession

Just got hired as a tech assistant part time and I’m onboarding, and my employer sent me some forms to fill out and they’re asking me about my primary care doctor, blood type, and medical history for emergencies…

I understand the importance behind it but I’m a little uncomfortable providing my medical history as I’m neurodivergent and get worried about discrimination. The medical history is required for me to submit this, would it be wrong to omit certain parts of my health history?

I am a new graduate DVM. I am licensed in my state and have my DEA license, but I do not start work until July. I examined a family member’s dog at home and want to call in an antibiotic to Walgreens. Is this something I am able to do at this point even tho my physical exam is not associated with any clinic?

Hi! I wanted people's opinions of my chances of getting into, like, NC State (Cornell, cause I'm funny like that). I have over 4,000 clinical hours in GP and emergency medicine (ICU technician currently), with a license in wildlife rehabbing (currently accepting intakes and in my second year). My concern is not really clinical, but my schooling. My GPA currently sits at a 3.0, with hopes that the rest of my science classes push it closer to a 3.5. I am a non-traditional student and have had a tough time with grades due to... life. Even if my GPA isn't amazing, would my clinical background be strong enough to demonstrate my commitment to and love for this career?

I've been practicing for 11 years now. I think I'm mainly just burnt out and maybe beyond repair, but anymore I just hate being a veterinarian and wish I would have done something else with my life. I'm tired of having to fix every problem in 30 minutes or less no matter how long it's been going on and often with no diagnostics. And when they decline every treatment option I recommend I'm tired of the receptionists telling me the owner called 7-10 days later because the patient isn't better and what should they do. I'm tired of "squeezing in" non-clients who don't just have a tight budget, they have literally no money to treat anything with but still want me to fix what's wrong with their pet (for reference I practice in a fairly low cost of living area of the country comparatively). I'm tired of having to be my own technician 80% of the time so management can cut hours to increase profit. I'm tired of watching patients leave and knowing they'll continue to suffer because the owners are "just going to watch and see if it gets worse." I'm tired of being the only full-time doctor in the hospital so everything falls on me. I love my patients and some of my clients, but I dread waking up in the morning. I know there are other ways to practice, but it's just me and I can't afford to take a major pay cut. I hate my life right now.

I’m an assistant at what’s currently a single vet small animal private practice. We operate in a gorgeous valley of north central Washington state that is an interesting anomaly of rural living - tons of outdoor recreation year round, and something to do any time one feels social. I moved here specifically for the cool community and beautiful land. A large chunk of the clinic clients have money and/or are part-timers from Seattle, the rest are low to medium income locals. I think overall people really respect the clinic. The alternative is at least an hour drive, and unfortunately most emergencies have to drive between one and three hours away.

Our vet is in her sixties and has been trying to hire another vet to join the practice and eventually take over for years. The clinic used to also serve large animals and still has the facilities. She’s paying a recruiter tens of thousands of dollars and so far no luck. What else can we do to get another vet out here? Is it hopeless? This also affects my interest in pursuing tech education.

Hello!

Over the past few months, I have not been able to get the thought of going to vet school and becoming a veterinarian out of my head.

Some background context: I have always loved animals and healthcare so it seemed only natural that i would gravitate towards veterinary medicine as a career. However, after my first semester of undergrad with a very mediocre performance, I pretty much lost all hope for vet school since it is INSANELY competitive up here in Canada. After this, I set my sights on something more attainable and something I still had a passion for; Pharmacy. So I spent the rest of my undergrad gaining experience to apply for pharmacy school which I did and am now waiting on admission decisions to come out which will be within the next 3 weeks or so. However, I recently started volunteering at my local pet shelter doing cat socialization and i absolutely love it. Starting this has had me thinking if giving up on vet school so early was a mistake. I ended up graduating my undergrad with a GPA of 3.72 which is definitely competitive for pharmacy, but still not very competitive for the Ontario vet school.

Sorry, I feel like that was a lot of rambling. I guess what I have been debating is if I should drop what I have been working towards the past 4ish years (pharmacy) and start building up more veterinary experience to eventually apply to vet school. Or should I just cut my losses and continue going the pharmacy route since vet is just that competitive here in Canada.

I have already done a ton of research about studying abroad since there are a lot of Canadian accredited vet schools worldwide, but the issue is that I cannot afford to pay the $200000-$400000 in tuition and living costs for these programs abroad.

I'm just so lost right now. Becoming a vet is something that I just can't stop thinking about and something I have such a strong passion for, but is it worth it to put in all of that time and effort since I have a very low chance of being accepted domestically?

Any input is greatly appreciated :)

This came up in conversation over the weekend, but it's something I've heard expressed in both real time, and online, lack of training.

Of course, we can justify the desire for experienced personnel being able to hit the ground running, saving time and money to train entry level staff. But there has to be a deeper reason.

However, I'm more concerned with why the trend itself is present. Wouldn't cycling through untrained staff place additional strain, and further exacerbate poor clinic staffing ratios?

Wouldn't investing in bringing a person up to speed be beneficial for everyone in the long run?

Is the fear that the person may come to supersede them,or that they no longer will have leverage in terms of skill set? Is this a holdover from the days of OTJ trained techs?

Not pointing fingers at anyone, but really hoping to understand.

Hello, I’ve been working at as a vet assistant at a GP clinic for about a year now. I don’t know if it’s just this clinic but we do so many euthanasias. Some days can be up to 7 and these can be a combination of scheduled visits for euth, QOL or they are calling that day. There are some days/weeks where it slows down but there’s at least one per day. I was just wondering what’s happening at other clinics since this is the first one i’ve worked at. We are at 4 doctor practice that’s been open since 1940.

Hello guys. I am need for advice, inspiration, or even a push maybe. I will be turning 24, and I graduated last fall semester in 2025 with a bachelors of biology, concentration in pre-health. Other than volunteering at my local humane society, I have limited animal experience. I’ve tried applying to different vet clinics but either they aren’t hiring, already filled the position, or I simply wasn’t selected. I knew I always wanted to work in the veterinary field, and I thought I wanted to become a veterinarian but something about going through the process is intimidating or I fear maybe having that much of responsibility. With this bachelors degree I know it would be best to go ahead and apply to vet schools after taking 5 years to complete it. I believe the only reason I didn’t apply is because either they required an interview or a veterinarians letter of recommendation.
I currently applied to an associate of veterinary technology program that qualifies to take the VTME. Of course, I was accepted into the school (but not just the vet tech program itself yet I believe) and waiting on making my academic plan with my advisor in June.

Some information about myself that I believe is blocking me is that I do have that bit of social anxiety, carrying on conversations, or getting that confidence to walk into a clinic and say “By any chance, is this clinic hiring?”. I have previously job shadowed at 2 vet clinics once and me being me staying in my bubble, I did not go again which I deeply regret. I am always telling myself I need to get out of my comfort zone or else I will not be getting anywhere in life.

I was wondering if I could hear maybe what your experience is like, what do you think about my situation, or even a reality check 🫩

Please and thank you if you have read this far, I appreciate it.

Good morning
During a particularly busy morning, one of the DVM’s in our practice was asked by a nurse if they could help shoot radiographs. Typically, DVM’s are not asked to help, but in this case there was limited staff, and very busy.
The response from DVM (who has historically never offered or helped to shoot radiographs) was “in school we are taught not to help with radiographs due to the risk of cancer. Because as DVMS we are in this for the long haul, whereas you all (techs?) may not be”
This could be interpreted in a few ways. Genuinely curious what my fellow assistants/nurses/techs think about this.

Next year I start university as a vet med mayor, and I have tons of doubts about it.

I have 0 motivation to do it. I think it is related to the fact that I don't see animals as valuable as humans, so I'll never feel rewarded, will never feel like I'm a real medic or that my work really matters because of it. This is probably related to the fact that veterinary medicine is WAY more unproffesional that human medicine, or at least thats what it feels like! Smaller buildings, less emergencies, less responsability and less money, "less taking care of the place" and less resources, which makes you feel like animals are less than humans and that a vet doctor is less than a human doctor. I've spent all my life not being recognised for anything, not feeling like anything I did was worth it, and I don't wanna keep feeling like that. Animals have been a big part of my life, I've always had pets and I love them, but I don't have a vocation that I don't even know if I ever had in the first place. I used to be exited but I'm not anymore, and it's killing me.

Also, in my country most veterinarians can't make it to the end of the month, though it's not a big deal for me because I plan on moving out of here asap.

I am definetly doing the career and getting my degree, I'm already signed up and because the system in my country it's extremly difficult to change path. I think that after I get my degree and move out (initially to USA) I'd like to get my ABSN and become a RN for ER or something like that. But I don't now hot to feel about this, It's genually killin gme inside and it makes me sob every time I think about it.

At my practice, we routinely perform exotic pet euthanasias. I’ve had a few clients pry about the final injection (when we take them back and use the ultrasound for intracardiac injection). I’ve explained to clients that unfortunately because they don’t have accessible veins like dogs and cats, the final injection goes intracardiac but it’s painless and peaceful and the patient is unconscious during this time. One of my good reviews from a client that was left came from a family letting go of their beloved hamster with a large tumor/cancer, who I also explained this process to because they asked about the final injection.

A new coworker of mine was asking questions about the process, and I explained sometimes if they ask questions about it, I’ll explain this process. My manager walked up during this conversation and was like “No, we don’t explain this to them. We tell them we have to use the ultrasound. We don’t tell them we are going to stab their pet in the heart.”

I’ve never had a bad experience explaining this process to clients and I believe in full transparency as if I were the client. Yes, it would be difficult to hear, but it’s informed consent. I don’t explain it to every client routinely, but sometimes they do ask why they cannot be present for the final injection.

Thoughts? Is it unethical to not mention it in conversation as a form of informed consent? Should I just explain we use the ultrasound? What does your practice do? Any advice appreciated.

Just finished my last round of vet assistant classes and about to start externship on Wednesday. As a 40-year-old man of dad bod status, the thing I'm most worried about is kneeling on hard floors. Would it be weird to wear knee pads to work? If this is something people do, can anyone recommend a good brand or place to shop?

Hi!

I start working as a veterinarian in about few weeks (insane), Any advice? Favorite resources, etc? How was your first few months?

(small animal GP/surgery some Urgent Care)

Thanks a ton 😊

hi! i am currently studying to become a vet tech. i have 5 piercings on my face alone. i am wondering if i will have to take them all out. id prefer not to but well, a must is a must. did any of yall had to take your piercings out in order to work in a clinic? or is it not a necessity and it depends on where im gonna be working?

I'm 4 years out of vet school and started working at this clinic in January. Initially I felt like I had the autonomy to practice medicine I'm proud of, and have had great patient outcomes. Recently, however, the owner (70s, M) has admonished me for not prescribing antibiotics and steroids when he would deem necessary. He has been combing through my records and has lectured me for a couple of situations that I am confident I handled correctly.

For example,

- not using convenia in a young cat with hematuria (signs resolved with pain medication and urinary diet)

- not prescribing clavamox in an old dog with mildly bleeding skin masses (they were not infected)

- not prescribing steroids and cefpodoxine in an old dog with chronic atopic dermatitis and a superficial pyoderma (I sent home topical medications and treated with cytopoint)

I have tried to explain that antimicrobial stewardship is important to me and I will prescribe systemic antibiotics when necessary, but he insists that AMR is not a concern. That they've always used these drugs and not seen any resistance. (That's not how AMR works though?) Lately he has been so frustrated and curt when he talks to me about these cases that I find myself prescribing antibiotics when I typically wouldn't, just to avoid being chewed out. I might be early into my practice, but these sorts of cases are not new to me and wish I had the ability to practice my own medicine, even if it differs from his.

Tl;Dr: old school medical director has scolded me multiple times for not using antibiotics/steroids as much as he'd like and it's wearing me down.

Hey everyone,
I’m a PGY-2 Internal medicine resident in Texas, and this may be a slightly unusual post, but I wanted to ask honestly.My dad is a veterinarian, and growing up around that world gave me a deep appreciation for veterinary medicine. Even now, I find myself naturally admiring people in the profession.So I’m curious: do veterinarians ever date or marry human doctors?
I’ve always felt like it could be a really meaningful pairing — two people in caring professions, both serious about their work, both understanding sacrifice, stress, and service.And yes, to be candid, I think finding a veterinarian wife would be a wonderful thing !