Hey everyone! I’m a current hs senior & I had a few questions regarding veterinary experience hours. I was just wondering if fostering newborn kittens (bottle feeding, taking note of weight changes, possibly giving medication, etc.) would count towards an applicants veterinary experience hours. Also, since I’m gonna start looking for jobs in the summer, would being a caregiver for animals with special needs count towards these hours as well? Thanks for any help guys!
No both of those jobs are considered animal experience hours. Vet experience is where you work directly under the supervision of a vet. My son is pre-vet in college and we have verified this with several schools.
@momocarly thank you! if you don’t mind, could you share what kind of jobs your son has had that count for veterinary experience? i’d like to get a start on my hours as soon as possible & I don’t think I’d be able to become a veterinary assistant right off the bat.
He started by shadowing a vet. Then he spent 300 hours volunteering at a veterinary hospital. Those are really the things you can do undergrad. You might be lucky and find a vet program at a local zoo for high school students. If you can afford it there are some vet camps around the country also (we couldn’t do those). Some animal rescues will know vets and if you volunteer there will hook you up with vets that support there so you can shadow them. Vet hours are the hardest to get when you are starting. The best way to get them is to put together a resume, a cover letter explaining what you want to do and hit the streets for every veterinary clinic and hospital around you. Do it in person, dressed nicely. Ask if they allow shadowing and to talk to the office manager and offer to leave your resume. (Most vets won’t be able to talk to you right then but the fact you were nicely dressed will come back to them). Then follow up in a couple of weeks. Network! Do you have a vet? Best place to start. Anyone you know have a friend that is a vet who could put in a good word for you. My son’t best job came from a random post from a friend on Facebook about a vet looking to hire a vet tech. (He was not on and couldn’t work full-time). He got in touch with the guy who offered him a fantastic job for as many summers as he wanted one. He worked most of last summer (before college) for him and is working for him again this summer. Good luck!