<p>I was looking at the recent statistics for those students who have been admitted to the UC Davis School of Veterinarian Medicine, and it states that the mean number of hours of veterinarian experience for each applicant is around 3,025 hours.
Are these hours solely the time spent under the direct supervision, working side by side, with a veterinarian? If so, what does that actually mean?</p>
<p>How is a high school/undergraduate student supposed to get a job that allows them to obtain all these hours/experience if they don't have a degree in medicine yet?</p>
<p>From the OSU Vet website (the program I am most familiar with): A minimum of 80 hours of veterinary experience are required to have your application considered for admission; however, admitted applicants have more than a 1,000 hours of quality “hands-on” experience in the veterinary field. You are expected to have a realistic and appropriate perspective of the responsibilities of the veterinary profession. Your experience may come from a job or volunteer service. You may acquire experience by working with veterinarians in private practice, farms, ranches, animal shelters, zoos, aquaria, laboratories, etc.</p>
<p>Visit UC Davis site and look it up! Every school is different. Keep in mind most vets are not going to pay you to shadow. We are further ahead to hire someone who is available 20-40 hours a week year round. Also, liability issues come into play with volunteers. In addition, you will see more of what you want to see if you are volunteering vs a paid position because you have the flexibility to float to see what you want within a clinic. However, it is tough to get in with a clinic to shadow. We have tons of kids ask every year and can only take so many on. We tend to take them on by seniority…current vet students get first dibs then on down the line. You can also get experience by pet sitting, volunteering at the humane society, working at a pet store, working at a groomers as well as the suggestions above. Join FFA or 4-H!</p>
<p>Also, if you if get the ok to shadow…be smart about it. Dress appropriately (no jeans with holes or that leave body parts stick out, cover the tattoos, no low cut tops, easy on the make up, pull out the piercings. Leave the gum at home. Stay off the cell phone while there. Be quiet in the exam room…it is the clients time. Remember you are representing the clinic. Be on time. Don’t touch the animals unless told it is ok (think liability). It is ok to ask some questions but remember I am there to work and not just to entertain you! As you earn my trust and confidence, I will let you do more. Some kids have been so disruptive to the flow of the clinic, we don’t ask them back. Oh, and remember, we can’t save every pet. And if you do ultimately get into vet school…pay it forward when someone else asks! Sometimes having someone hot on your heels all day really slows you down and it is not the most convenient thing to do but do it anyhow for someone else someday!!!</p>
<p>I was curious about this too. How does a high school or college student document the shadow hours? Are there forms for the supervising veterinarian to sign off on the hours?How do the vet schools monitor accountability as the student could claim any number of hours.</p>
<p>Also between high school and college one would lose track, so I assume at minimum the student should keep a journal?</p>
<p>You need to record your hours yourself. A Veterinarian came in our Pre-Vet class, and she said that the intern needs to record all the appropriate information themselves. For example, record hours, what the Veterinarian is doing, what you saw and etc. You’re almost taking notes on your experience. Also make sure you keep all this information when applying for Vet School to make your application stronger.</p>
<p>I go to UC Davis and I was told by a Pre-Vet peer adviser that you don’t necessarily need to get vet experience from an actual veterinarian–you can also work with animals under those with a Ph.D. So if you get involved in research with a professor in the Animal Science department, that counts as vet experience.</p>