Thursday, April 4, 2013

New Blog Alert- Veterinary Brainstorm


I have been on blog hiatus since graduating veterinary school in 2011. My hiatus has been due to a number of factors including a veterinary internship in small animal emergency and internal medicine, relocating to Phoenix, AZ and starting a career as a small animal emergency clinician, and writers bloc. As I began to settle into my career and make my way up the learning curve, I found myself closing 2012 wanting more from my career and thinking, "is this it?" Before my previous fans get too upset let me explain.

I enjoy small animal emergency medicine and become more confident each day.  There are frustrations, however, and after 4 months in practice, I started to revisit my long-term career goals. I realized that I missed my connection to the broader veterinary community, as well as veterinary students. I signed up to be a mentor through the AZ VMA and joined their Young Leaders Advisory Council and PR task force committees. These groups have been invigorating and enabled me to network with veterinarians in the local community and have an impact on the community outside of my practice.

While hiking with my husband, I was mentioning how I'd like to compose another blog, but I had nothing to write about. Writing a blog in vet school was easy, there was always something new and exciting happening or an exam to stress on. Daily practice, even emergency, is not always that exciting once it becomes a job.  He came up with many ideas such as discussing transitioning from school to my internship into practice, inspiring cases, and the list kept going. The foundation for Veterinary Brainstorm was forming.

The excitement to start another blog occurred on a trip visiting Mississippi State veterinary school as a representative in training for Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI). This position will be discussed in a future blog entry, but it made me realize that a new blog would further my connection to prospective veterinarians, students, and others in the profession beyond the local level.  My prior blog (lifeofaveterinarystudent.blogspot.com) inspired many people who reached out to me via email, telephone, and even spawned some in-person meetings. I hope this blog will inspire similar connections and discussions about relevant topics in veterinary medicine and my new career as it takes shape. 

32 comments:

Unknown said...

Great blog! I love animals and have been thinking about working for a veterinary in Barrie. I'm not sure really to expect though. If it's just cleaning up poop all day I don't know if I would be much of a fan, I really want to interact with the animals.

Ac-smooth said...

He came up with many concepts such as talking about shifting from university to my internship into exercise, motivating situations, These categories have been stimulating and allowed me to system with vets in the neighborhood and have an effect on the group outside of my exercise.

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Unknown said...

Great post! Thanks for sharing this information. I gained quite a lot of knowledge after reading your blog thank you.

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Unknown said...

I am a practicing veterinarian myself, and I have the same goal of wanting to be more involved in the community. I also want to help young adults and children who dream of one day becoming vets. I am excited to continue to read about your adventures in your career. Isn't it amazing all the places on degree can take you?

Unknown said...

I have put my efforts to be an active part of my community into my website; www.IWantToBecomeAVet.com
Let em know your thoughts!

Unknown said...

I have been looking to become a veterinarian in Ottawa and I just finished schooling to do so. I was wondering if you had any tips to fulfill my dreams.

Unknown said...

Well said, Stacey Beck! I agree, playing and teaching the animals would be much more fun than cleaning up after them! What can you tell me about the Vancouver animal emergency centers?

Unknown said...

Hi there,

My name is Kelly Xia. I stumbled upon your blog today and have been reading for the past 3 hours. I have a masters in Accounting and I'm currently working at an accounting firm. However I've always known this is not my calling and I've been considering vet school. In order to do that, I will need to quit in November, go back to school in the Spring to take the science pre-reqs and apply to vet school in a year or so. I know the path I've chosen is difficult and my family strongly objects to my decision, but I'm 90% sure this is my true passion and I won't be happy till I pursue it.

I've done some research and was hoping you could take a little time out of your busy day to shed some light. I'd greatly appreciate it! I have a few questions on how to get in, what experiences to focus on, any specific classes I should take before I apply to strengthen my case and etc. Actually just any advice you care to give in general would be great.

Thank you so much in advance for your help! My email is kellyxinxia@gmail.com. I tried emailing you with the address shown in the blog but that didn't work.

Kind Regards,
Kelly

Unknown said...
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Jenny Oak said...
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Jenny Oak said...
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Jenny Oak said...

Hi Kelly, your blog is really inspirational! It wouldn’t be wrong to say that you’ve made veterinarians proud for your decision to become a vet! Even after working in the financial industry for 6 years! Long time… With this enthusiasm you’ll achieve all your goals! Great work!
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Unknown said...

I think that my dog has a kidney infection of some sort. Where can I find a Veterinarian in Johnson City TN? Would any places be open on Saturdays?

Unknown said...

Good morning,
I have been reading your blog without a pause for the last few hours and I can attest to the spark of inspiration that your writing has caused me. I am currently on the path to following my dreams of becoming a Veterinarian as well. I come from a very poor family in Utah and in order to be able to follow my dreams and attend college, I joined the United States Navy and have been all over the world, working with incredible people and animals in every country that I could. I have served for 8 almost 9 years now, and I am ready to start the next chapter in my life. I know it will be a long one, but reading other's writing like yours about their journey keeps me motivated. So first of all, I wanted to thank you for writing about it. I am sure you were just excited about the adventure you were on and did not think of all the people you would inspire along the way, but you have. I hope that I will be able to gain contact with you and perhaps ask you questions from time to time.
I am currently in my first semester of my AA and intending on transferring to UF's Biology program, then apply to their Veterinary Medicine program. Crossing my fingers on it! I know the competition is tough, so I intend on making myself as versatile and competitive as possible. I am going to apply to other schools as well, and depending on where my husband gets stationed, will be where we are hoping to get accepted but I would go anywhere if they accepted me to be honest.
I am having issues with finding Veterinarians to shadow. Is this normal? I have been volunteering at Humane Society's clinics doing basic wellness exams and shots, etc and also at Animal Sanctuaries and organizations that let me be close to animals. I did happen to find one Animal Hospital to let me shadow their Veterinarians, and was able to witness my very first surgery. It was the most fascinating experience to watch! I cannot wait to heal animal's ailments myself. I have always had a love for animals and knew that it was my calling, now just to get there!

Hope your life is going well!
Just wanted to reach out and perhaps make a friend...but most importantly to let you know that you inspire others.

Very Respectfully,
Tabath Goughneour

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

A few years ago, my dog was suffering from fever. My dog was never eaten anything. I was met with veterinarian Shelnutt Sam Dvm. Shelnutt Sam Dvm is a Veterinarians facility at 307 Main Street in Roanoke, AL. After treatment, in a some days, my dog was good.

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Unknown said...

I would love to be a veterinarian to help out all of those animals and save lives. I think that would be the coolest thing to do. Plus, going to school to get certified sounds like a lot of fun.
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Unknown said...

Please check out my new blog on veterinary brainstorm.wordpress.com

Unknown said...

I have actually been thinking about becoming a veterinarian. Bringing animals back to health sounds like a wonderful career. Working with animals all day would just be a bonus!
Holly James | http://www.avah.on.ca/

Unknown said...

I know what you mean. Now that I am out of school, it seems like there's not much to write about anymore. It must be rewarding providing veterinary services, though, right? I'm sure your patients and their owners are very grateful for all you do.
http://www.belmontavevet.com.au

Unknown said...

It takes a lot of commitment to go through the schooling to become the vet. I enjoy animals, but I am not that committed. I thank you for choosing to become a veterinarian.
http://www.ivanhoevet.com.au/staff_profiles.html

Unknown said...

I've been thinking about becoming a veterinarian. I really respect what you guys do. I think it would be so much fun too. Veterinary school looks like quite a bit of work. The job is so rewarding.

Gerald Vonberger | http://www.villageanimalhospitalcincy.com/team

Unknown said...

i really appreciate what u guys have done

Unknown said...

My outside dog came home one day with a bad limp. I felt so bad for him and I had to take him to the vet to see what was wrong. It turned out to be a broken leg and he needed to have surgery. Poor Boots, he's recovering very well though.

http://www.andersonanimalhospital.ca

Unknown said...

hi,

first off, your blog is super helpful and great!

I am currently a business major and a freshman in college. much like you, I am wanting to follow my passion and go into vet medicine. I am considering becoming a vet tech and wanted to see if you could help me with a few questions.

please email me if you can! thanks so much

prreads23@gmail.com

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Unknown said...

My bunny is breathing funny and has some black goop around his eyes and nose. I'm guessing this means he has a cold but I am not sure. Is this something that will pass or does he need to go to a veterinarian? I just want him to be healthy and safe. http://westlakeanimalhospitalinc.net/services.html

Unknown said...

nice informative blog
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Unknown said...

My dream has always been to help animals that are sick or hurt. Now that I'm old enough to start making my dream become a reality, I've been trying to learn as much as I can about the field. This has some good insights on what it's like to actually be in veterinarian school. I'm way stoked to learn more and see if I have what it takes to become a veterinarian.
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Unknown said...

It is really cool that you have the opportunity to become a veterinarian like you have dreamed of doing. Now that is quite the accomplishment, especially since you landed an internship at a small animal emergency hospital like you did. That is not something that everyone can say that they have accomplished.
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