PennVet Clinical Rotations (4th year of vet school) 24-25

[GabyC]

Hello guys! I am here today asking you for some insight and recommendations about the clinical rotations at PennVet as I am about to start in about a month.
The reason why I am here asking is because my process has not been the same as all students. I am a foreign Vet graduate that has worked hard to get to where I am today. The clinical rotations are part of my final step to finish my PAVE program (to be a fully licensed vet in the US). As I approach this step, a lot of emotions are getting to me. Imposter syndrome? Feeling incapable? I am unsure, but I am concerned about what I am going to experience considering that my Vet-school experience was completely different and that, despite working on a GP practice for all these past years, I may not be as prepared as I thought I would be. There are certain concepts I may have forgotten, certain skills that I used to have that I have not practiced in a long time.
So, If you have any recommendations, any suggestion on how to succeed this coming year, I would genuinely appreciate it. Any advised will be helpful because despite my excitement, I am feeling a little lost.
Thank you If you do read and reply.

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[sheepcowdoghorse23]

Hi @GabyC! I am a clinical year student (just starting my 4th year) at PennVet. I'm more than happy to answer any questions you have about PennVet, rotations, etc!

I think your feelings about having such a big life change are totally normal (and valid!). I can assure you that most, if not all, of my peers are feeling similarly in terms of imposter syndrome and self-doubt so you are in good company! One of the best parts of being in clinics is being able to rely on your rotation mates for moral support and for their help in solving cases (I love being able to bounce ideas off of my peers). I see vet med as a team sport, and it often takes a village to make a difference in our patient's lives. I think my best advice to succeed is to get to know and form camraderie with the other clinical year students. My class is very diverse and includes both traditional (went to vet school right after undergrad) and non-traditional (second careers, took some time off in between undergrad and vet school) students from all different places with different experiences and interests. I, for example, am a non-traditional student who had another career before making the jump to veterinary medicine.

For what it's worth, I think having your experience and knowledge from being in practice for several years will be really helpful because of the experiences you bring onto the clinic floor. You have developed skills that my peers are still building and so having you as a resource will only help them to be more successful (and maybe vice versa)! And even if there are skills you have forgotten, don't forget that everyone is learning and you can all learn together. I think you'll be surprised at how much you remember once you start!

Additionally, you sound highly motivated and driven to succeed - this will take you a long way. If you show the clinicians that you are willing to learn and fill in any gaps in knowledge, you will be successful. They don't expect you to know everything, even with your previous experiences (no one knows EVERYTHING). How you approach cases and intreractions with your peers, clinicians, clients, and nurses are determinants of success - not how perfect your knowledge is.

I hope this helps! If you want you can send me a PM or just ask questions here 😊 I look forward to seeing you around clinics!

 

[GabyC]

Hi @sheepcowdoghorse23
First, I want to deeply thank you for reading and replying to my post and I have to say, I am really happy that I may be crossing paths with someone so supportive and kind.
Second, I appreciate your words of wisdom, it kind of brings some relief into my thoughts that have been on my mind for these past couple of weeks. I do have to accept that because I did not receive my education in the US, I was always scared that they system may be so different that I may not be able to make it. But you are right, I guess we will all be there to learn and support each other in our process.
I am very enthusiastic about what's about to come, I guess I've been working to get into rotations for quite some time that a part of me is saying "finally" and I will make sure that this feeling of appreciation and growth is more evident that my feelings of nervousness and self-doubt.
Once again, thank you for the recommendations and I am looking forward to work together. 🐕

 

[sheepcowdoghorse23]

Of course! I'm glad I could help! I think you'll find while there are definitely differences between how people were trained, our core knowledge is really similar so you won't be at any disadvantage! There are many successful clinicians at PennVet that trained outside of the US (Europe, South and Central America, Asia). In fact, you may have learned certain concepts in a way that makes a lot more sense versus how we learn it here!

And even within the US, there's differences even among the different vet schools + higher trainer programs (internships, residencies). For example: I just finished up an anesthesia externship and the way their anesthesiologist approaches problems is slightly different than how our anesthesiologists at PennVet approach some problems. I think that's why they call it "practicing medicine" since in many cases there is no one truly "correct" way to solve problems.

If you have any more questions about Penn, life in Philly, etc. don't hesitate to reach out! 😊 There's also a few more of my clinical year classmates around on SDN so maybe they'll have some different words of wisdom!