RESPONSE TO: I paid off my student loans in five years

I was at work when a colleague asked me if I had seen a new article that was floating around the internet about a newish veterinary grad who paid off her student loans in five years. I had not. The colleague who inquired had been out of vet school for over a decade and knew very Read More …

First Day (and Year) as a Vet Doing High Volume Spay & Neuter Surgery

Upon graduating from veterinary school I started working as a high volume spay & neuter (S/N) surgeon one day per week. This was probably one of the best (and yet scariest) first steps I could have made. When I graduated from veterinary school, I likely had more surgical experience than all of my classmates and Read More …

Public Sector Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Changes That Should Scare You

There are some proposed changes to the law as part of the new budget that have the potential to save many tax dollars while at the same time crippling students who have been counting on loan forgiveness through public service. While most articles that I’ve read do not address the direct impact on the veterinary Read More …

2013 California Veterinary Economic Issues Survey

The CVMA has published the 2013 Economic Issues Survey, a report compiling statistics that they gathered from veterinarians throughout California to provide a perspective of how much money veterinarians in California are earning, benefits received, and what factors seem to affect the amount of money veterinarians earn. You can see the report here: http://www.cvma.net/userfiles/uploads/CVMAEconomicIssuesSurveyReport.pdf Given that Read More …

A New Chapter Begins!

It’s official — I’m starting a new blog! Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean that Life In Vet School & Tips On Getting In will be forgotten about! It has served as too precious of a resource for thousands of pre-veterinary students throughout the world for me to even consider ending it. However, now that I Read More …

First Job Offer for New Vet Grads – Take It Or Leave It

It’s been over six months since I graduated from vet school and though I’ve been working ever since I received my license, some of my classmates have not worked a single day since graduating. It’s not that they’re not trying. It’s just that the market is so saturated — there are too few jobs and Read More …

Vet’s Response to ABC’s 20/20 Clip – Is Your Veterinarian Being Honest With You?

It’s no surprise that the veterinary community throughout the country is in an uproar after 20/20 unveiled a video that was intended to instill fear and doubt into the minds of pet owners throughout the world. Conflict and drama tend to attract viewers and since the purpose of the media is to gain viewers, there Read More …

My First Patient to Crash

On Friday, a patient crashed on me after surgery. Ever since I graduated I have been dreading the day when this would happen to me for the first time outside of UC Davis and all of the safety nets that the school provides for students. I had a resounding fear that I would freeze, not Read More …

You Can’t Get Experience Without Someone Giving You A Chance

It’s a problem in the veterinary field as well as many other fields – we need experience to get experience. Whether it is a job or simply time spent shadowing a veterinarian, people are reluctant to take a chance on people who haven’t proven themselves in that specific niche before. It’s understandable, after all, given Read More …

The Many Career Paths in Veterinary Medicine

There are many paths that you can take with a doctoral degree in Veterinary Medicine, though most people think of veterinarians as people who work as dog & cat vets in a hospital setting. While that is what a lot of veterinarians do, it is only one of many different paths that you can choose. Read More …