(Just for fun) Superficial reasons for wanting to be a Vet?

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
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DVMorBust

DVMorBust

UW SVM Class of 2013
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OK. I'm applying this fall, and currently in the throes of trying to cram the poignant and serious reasons for wanting to be a vet into the tiny amount of words we get for personal statements. My friend's in the same boat with her Med school applications. We found it helpful to clear our heads to just talk about those reasons that aren't going to make a big statement. I thought it could be a good thread here to keep things less stressful for those applying this year, as well as maybe remind those who are on edge/waiting/etc. the reasons they're doing this to themselves!

So what are your most superficial reasons for wanting to be a vet? What just makes you grin when you think about having it be a part of your life?

My most superficial reason:

I like the uniform! I want to be able to wear boots, jeans, and a Carhartts to work in the winter, and comfy clothes in the summer. And I LIKE getting dirty.
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So that I can start a band with my colleagues and call it the Cryptorchids.
 
One word: puppies.
 
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the most superficial reason I can think of: meeting guys who love animals.

I haven't met a single guy my age in all the hours of volunteering, working at clinics, etc. I think it'd be cool to find a guy that volunteers with animals and works in clinics. Because I've never met one so far (unless you're counting the guy doctors).... just us women folk doing the volunteering! And I've been at 3 shelters, several events, and all that other animal experience.

Now before you start judging me, ; ) you have to notice that was the most superficial reason I could think of!
 
Hobiecat1642 said:
So that I can start a band with my colleagues and call it the Cryptorchids.
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LOL I love that... My friends and I said if we ever made a band we would call it muscles of inspiration
 
Durh, the "Dr."

Also, playing with ponies.
 
Fluffy Cuddly Cute Things (FCCT). :D
 
I have to agree with mistifical----PUPPIES!
 
I need an excuse to accumulate more kitty scrubs.;)
 
So I can play with the teeny tiny kittens- everytime I get a tiny kitten it always grows up! Go figure... At least this way I would have a pretty good supply of kittens- and I won't have to feed them or clean their litterboxes. :p
 
Kitties, I like kitties.
 
So I can be the one saying "Excuse me assistant or tech, but this animal just vomited/urinated/had the most vile diarrhea known to man...could you please clean it up?" :smuggrin:
 
So when I meet the other parents at my future kids' school functions I can watch their faces melt with jealousy when I say "Oh, me? I'm a vet for the Smithsonian/Sea World/Zoo/Enter coolest vet job here"

Purely hypothetical and superficial, of course!
 
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'Cause I look hot in scrubs. ;)

Seriously, though, who wouldn't want to wear what are basically like pajamas to work and play with puppies and kitties and fun exotics all day? Also, I agree that meeting an animal-loving guy would be pretty great, although the only guy I currently work with is the (married) doctor, who is my father's age.

That's the most superficial I can think of. :)
 
I like squeezing out anal sacks
 
Rebeki said:
So I can be the one saying "Excuse me assistant or tech, but this animal just vomited/urinated/had the most vile diarrhea known to man...could you please clean it up?" :smuggrin:
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hahaha that cracked me up :laugh:
 
narg99z said:
I like squeezing out anal sacks
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Hey, that's not superficial. That's deep, man. What greater cause could a person have in life?
 
Rebeki said:
So I can be the one saying "Excuse me assistant or tech, but this animal just vomited/urinated/had the most vile diarrhea known to man...could you please clean it up?" :smuggrin:
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That is too funny! Being an animal caretake, I completely agree!

Back to the point:

I could have the title of EDUCATED crazy bird lady!
 
CHESKA!!!!!!!!!! I think the monkey in your avatar bit me the other day, her name is Elvis (for obvious reasons!) I love her anyway :)

Back to the important stuff, the absolute best/most superficial reason I have to become a vet is so that I can see the faces of people in disbelief everyday when I say, "No really, I am the doctor" (I happen to be very short and look pretty young. In fact, one time I was working at a SA clinic, it was bring your child to work day. One of the regular clients commented on how cute it was that one of the Drs had brought his daughter in to work that day. Ha! Of course, I was new! But this is all beside the point.)
 
The money! Oh wait no, that doesn't make any sense.....

Honestly, the "I told you I could do it" factor makes me smile. That and kittens!
 
I gotta keep up with my little sister who is a PhD and be called "doctor" too :D
 
rexosaurus said:
CHESKA!!!!!!!!!! I think the monkey in your avatar bit me the other day, her name is Elvis (for obvious reasons!) I love her anyway :)

Back to the important stuff, the absolute best/most superficial reason I have to become a vet is so that I can see the faces of people in disbelief everyday when I say, "No really, I am the doctor" (I happen to be very short and look pretty young. In fact, one time I was working at a SA clinic, it was bring your child to work day. One of the regular clients commented on how cute it was that one of the Drs had brought his daughter in to work that day. Ha! Of course, I was new! But this is all beside the point.)
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One of the interns at the SA specialty clinic where I work, who happens to be pretty short and look young, walked into an exam room only to have the client bury her hands in her face and start laughing. Confused, Dr. ___ allowedthe client to explain herself, "When you walked in I thought you were giong to say it was 'Bring your daughter to work Day' and Daddy had given you his stethoscope and white coat!"

I am relatively young but am tall and apparently look older than I am. So, I've always had the opposite problems (people not believing me when I claim to be under a certain age or not old enough to qualify for something).

Most superficial reason for becoming a vet? As mentioned by others, definitely the fact that I get to wear scrubs and a white coat :)
 
PAThbrd said:
you should specify a straight guy, makes it even more challenging :)


for the money!:laugh:
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hehe

There really aren't as many gay (male) vet students as I thought there would be...I'm the only gay guy in my class, out of ~25.

YOUR class on the other hand, I can see your concern...especially since those numbers keep turning :rolleyes:

That's ok though, I didn't come to vet school to meet gay guys..I came to meet all the hot flame dames ;)
 
Five words:

I'll get to neuter stuff!

Well, that and I really want to wear a white coat.

And it will be fun to be able to ask the support staff to clean up the assorted vile messes. And it will also be fun to deal with smart aleck staff such as myself who can't help but say "Geez, couldn't you make it to the restroom? Gross!"
 
Mine would be that it pays more than any of the other positions in the clinic :p
 
I get drugs and supplies for my own animals at wholesale prices and get free stuff from pharm. companies.

Besides, what other reason can there be for being a vet than to get that midnight call and go do a c-section on a prize dairy cow at 4 a.m.? In an open field using headlights from the truck and trying to keep a semi-sterile field?

And you get to drive a truck with a big vet caduceus on the back or side!
 
For all the white coat and "Doctor" fans ....

All lab techs wear white coats. Lots of professions wear white coats these days, even the "Pipe Doctors" dude that show up wearing one with his name "Dr. Pipes" stitched on it. I think "Lawn Doctors" are going to start wearing white coats when thy show up, too.

Ever see the "Tree Doctor" ones? SOme show up in scrubs and a white coat. And stick a 'scope on the tree to listen to it. OK .. not really, but it is an amusing visual image.

Any PhD is "Doctor", even the EdD yahoos that got their degree on-line. Any PhD shrink is "Doctor".

If anything, there is that little smug internal knowledge and the little devil sitting on your shoulder that says "sheesh, what friggin *****S!" when you hear Aunt Mary and Gladys in the next booth at the local diner discussing poodle diets and BARF. You know the diner ... the one you stopped at for coffee and a quick bite to eat at 7a.m. after that early morning c-section.
 
One word: Abscesses. It is soooooo very satisfying to see what comes out. Instant gratification. Anyone with me...or am I just really really weird?
 
winkle1983 said:
One word: Abscesses. It is soooooo very satisfying to see what comes out. Instant gratification. Anyone with me...or am I just really really weird?
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It's true, abscesses are fun. I'm always slightly disappointed when all the gross stuff its out and nothing else comes out. Maybe that makes me a bad person. ;)
 
Yup, love those abcesses. I used to live near one vet I worked with in high school, we would go get ice cream after work and try to copy whatever the abcess looked like. Bloody and serous = strawberry topping, purulent discharge = butterscotch!

Now I am curious- does anyone here hate wearing scrubs? After years of having scrubs be mandatory uniform at a majority of the clinics I have worked for, I hate wearing them-- mostly the scrub pants, they never fit right on me. I don't mind wearing khaki pants or jeans with a scrub top, but those darn scrub pants, I hate them!

OOOOH! a dancing monkey- sweet! :zip:
 
winkle1983 said:
One word: Abscesses. It is soooooo very satisfying to see what comes out. Instant gratification. Anyone with me...or am I just really really weird?
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Yes! Abscesses! I thought I was really really sick for a long time before I realized I wasn't the only one.:D
 
I can probably think of a lot of these... but the one that keeps sticking out in my head is...

I really want that DVM after my name. Ohh, I really do.

But on a more serious note, and note to hijack the thread, but when you're at interviews, this is obviously a commonly asked question. So, what do you say? They get so tired of hearing, "I want to help animals!" or "I've just always loved animals!" and all the other cliches. Seriously, what do you really say to impress them and get yourself into vet school?
 
I cant remember exactly what i said but i think the words 'passion,' and 'human-animal bond,' were in there somewhere. I also said that i like the medical/scientific aspects (I remember that)...
 
I've always wanted to whip the stethoscope over my shoulders and around my neck and then spit out some fancy diagnosis...hahaha.

And of course, I looooove CATS!!!!
 
Cheska said:
Yup, love those abcesses. I used to live near one vet I worked with in high school, we would go get ice cream after work and try to copy whatever the abcess looked like. Bloody and serous = strawberry topping, purulent discharge = butterscotch!
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What do you eat when a botfly larva comes out?

Cheska said:
Now I am curious- does anyone here hate wearing scrubs? After years of having scrubs be mandatory uniform at a majority of the clinics I have worked for, I hate wearing them-- mostly the scrub pants, they never fit right on me. I don't mind wearing khaki pants or jeans with a scrub top, but those darn scrub pants, I hate them!
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I think scrubs are great in the OR, but there are better uniforms for other purposes. I work in lab animal and I would prefer a long-sleeve uniform without having to wear two shirts.
 
Cheska said:
Now I am curious- does anyone here hate wearing scrubs? After years of having scrubs be mandatory uniform at a majority of the clinics I have worked for, I hate wearing them-- mostly the scrub pants, they never fit right on me. I don't mind wearing khaki pants or jeans with a scrub top, but those darn scrub pants, I hate them!

OOOOH! a dancing monkey- sweet! :zip:
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Completely agree about scrub pants! I can never find ones that are long enough and I refuse to have my butt show like a lot of the ACTs that I've worked with, just to make them that much closer to being long enough!:boom: When did they add this one and the monkey?!
 
projekt said:
What do you eat when a botfly larva comes out?
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:barf:


horse with a jugular abscess, very very cool, bloody, chunky, caseous, yum.


a license to cut things open and use power tools on bones!

There really aren't as many gay (male) vet students as I thought there would be...I'm the only gay guy in my class, out of ~25.

YOUR class on the other hand, I can see your concern...especially since those numbers keep turning
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Even 1 puts a big dent in the availability pool...
 
lenadeb said:
Any PhD is "Doctor", even the EdD yahoos that got their degree on-line. Any PhD shrink is "Doctor".
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My father actually has the EdD and I personally think he completely abuses the Dr title that goes with it. So the totally superficial reason is so I can be the real doctor in the family.

DVM is the ultimate martyr of the doctor fields though. Maximum schooling which results in minimum pay. No one can ever claim you did it for the money.
 
Catch91 said:
I can probably think of a lot of these... but the one that keeps sticking out in my head is...

I really want that DVM after my name. Ohh, I really do.

But on a more serious note, and note to hijack the thread, but when you're at interviews, this is obviously a commonly asked question. So, what do you say? They get so tired of hearing, "I want to help animals!" or "I've just always loved animals!" and all the other cliches. Seriously, what do you really say to impress them and get yourself into vet school?
Click to expand...

In my essay and in my only interview so far I talked about how I like working with animals in order to ultimately help people. It seemed to have worked :)
 
david594 said:
My father actually has the EdD and I personally think he completely abuses the Dr title that goes with it.
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In elementary school my music teacher (yeah, the lady you saw maybe twice a week) was a Dr. and I just could not wrap my pea-sized brain around that!
 
So I can say humongous, fun-sounding words (and know what they mean) like

Polioencephalomalacia
Hemangiosarcoma
Bilirubinemia
Hypertrophic osteodystrophy

Current favorite:

Inappropriate metarubricytosis (those naughty metarubricytes!!! floating all around with no concurrent polychromasia, how dare they!) :eek::laugh:

EDIT: Wow, I think I win the Nerd of the Week title for that one....
 
Definitely. The vet that I work for wrote in my LOR that she loved how excited I got over gross stuff. I can't wait for the AdComs to read that.
 
Because I look DAMN hot in shi! covered one-armed Dickies while I'm up to my shoulders pulling calves. Plus, I enjoy rolling around in the 3' of frozen snow we have at 3 AM wrangling first calf heifers and chipping calves off the ice while it's TWENTY BELOW (F) outside.

Did I mention the wind is blowing?
 
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