Who wants to be a general practitioner?

[CalliopeDVM]

Do all vet students want to become board certified, or are there some who actually want to be GPs? Lately I've been getting the feeling that general practice has a bad rep and isn't anything that anyone should aspire to do. That anyone who has any interest in having an enjoyable, meaningful, and financially stable career must desire to be a specialist -- not that everyone will try or everyone will gain board certification, but that not wanting to go there is somehow "less" or only for those who aren't motivated or talented.

I've been a general practitioner for over 15 years, and I think it's a terrific place to be (in the profession). It's not "less" and it's not easy, at least not if you're doing it right. And financially it can be good, if not better than good (location and specifics dependent).

Are there any vet students who want and respect general practice?

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[Caia]

I really enjoy the variety with a 24 hr GP with emergency services, but that's all I've really had experience with in regards to general practices.

It seemed like the masses that wanted to specialize dwindled approaching 4th year when real decisions needed to be made.

But I think it will be great and I'm excited to get out there and be a real adult with a real job (I definitely feel too old not having one) and start life.

 

[cowgirla]

Not only did I go GP, I went mixed animal GP like a true crazy person Thoughts of residency never even crossed my mind, and I had quite a few classmates who felt the same way. Almost three years out, still in my first job and love it.

 

[KCgophervet]

Plenty of my classmates (the majority) want to go into GP, so I don't think it's becoming rare by any means.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Maybe a bit out of date, but easily 80-90% of my graduating class of 2010 went general practice. Only me and a handful of other people went into specialty (mostly onco and lab animal).

To be fair, I *do* think specializing in general is becoming more common. Probably due to a combination of 1) the field continually getting more complex and b) people worrying about getting a job straight out of school (I believe this is especially true for the large upticks we have seen in students pursuing internships after school - I think it is up to almost a third of graduates).

 

[Rainheart]

I just accepted a small animal GP job post graduation. I had zero intentions of doing an internship or residency. I just don't want that life for myself. I find GP work rewarding, at least at this present time. Maybe I will need to re-evaluate myself in 5 years but for now that is my career plan.


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[DVMDream]

I went into vet school wanting to do GP, had a few moments in vet school when I thought about specializing, decided I really didn't want to and GP is where I should be. So I'm working small animal GP.... occasionally I will have a case that sparks my wanting to specialize, usually a complicated internal medicine case, I love them. Or if I've seen too many eye balls or ears or ruptured cruciates then I'll think about how I should have done internal med, but overall I'd miss the variety of GP.

 

[DVMDream]

This is actually a good article that touches upon this topic:

http://www.drandyroark.com/six-percent-can-let-go/

 

[battie]

On the flip side, I don't want to do GP because of my poor experiences in GP. Did not enjoy working in the hospitals I did and, in hind sight, wish I had left them sooner.

 

[epivetlove]

Never had any dreams of doing GP work, but given the lifestyle of interns/residents and the fact that the only area I'd specialize in would leave me making about the same (or possibly less) than a GP, I can't justify pursuing it, especially with the debt I'm carrying. Maybe I'll fall into my dream job somewhere along the line, but I think if I found the right place, I'd be very happy doing GP work, so long as I got to see my fill of exotic and wildlife cases. I believe most of my class intends to go into GP work of some kind after graduation.

 

[jmo1012]

Interesting, because it seems like a vast majority of the students I work with want to go into GP. Also, although many many of my classmates did internships, less than 10% are doing either a residency or specialty internship.

Also, thank goodness for GPs so I can refer all of my non-critical, non-specialty needing emergency clients back for treatment and follow up!

 

[CalliopeDVM]

Also, although many many of my classmates did internships, less than 10% are doing either a residency or specialty internship.

I find this really interesting too. Maybe because most vet students are younger than I was when I was a vet student, but the thought of being overworked and poorly treated for another year as a student never occurred to me.

I think Caia has an interesting point - that lots of early vet students (and those wanting to be vet students) say they want to specialize, but the number that actually feel that way by their final year is much smaller (and smaller still are the number that actually pursue it).

 

[RadRadTerp]

I find this really interesting too. Maybe because most vet students are younger than I was when I was a vet student, but the thought of being overworked and poorly treated for another year as a student never occurred to me.

I think Caia has an interesting point - that lots of early vet students (and those wanting to be vet students) say they want to specialize, but the number that actually feel that way by their final year is much smaller (and smaller still are the number that actually pursue it).

I was really interested in pathology for the first two years of vet school, and then I was interested in cardiology, and then I realized that I was graduating vet school at the age of 31 and needed to get working on my career because I didn't want to spend another 4-6 years in preparation for a career. I may have been less impatient had I gone to vet school straight from undergrad.

 

[twelvetigers]

I wanted to do path but did not because 1: my grades sucked enough that I think it would have been a losing battle, and 2: I hated vet school and would have ha-a-a-a-aaaaa-ated internship. May or may not have hated residency, I think it would have been okay. Most path residencies don't require internships, but after my first year, I would have needed one to stand a chance.

Six years in GP should pay off my loans, and then I'm gonna do whatever I want.

 

[Balesofhay]

Mine is not from experience but from the equine practice my barn uses. Equine vets that do barn calls are becoming harder to come by around here apparently. When they found out I was applying to vet school, the vets were pushing me to become an equine GP. Apparently more and more equine vets are specializing and not doing barn calls anymore.


Edit: spelling

 

[Caia]

Mine is not from experience but from the equine practice my barn uses. Equine vets that do barn calls are becoming harder to come by around here apparently. When they found out I was applying to vet school, the vets were pushing me to become an equine GP. Apparently more and more equine vets are specializing and not doing barn calls anymore.


Edit: spelling

Probably because the lifestyle of an equine GP is less than ideal...

 

[raf2769]

I came to school wanting to be a small animal GP and that hasn't changed at all so far, but I feel like there is a huge push here at Penn to specialize. I've hear people all the time saying "Oh you just want to be a GP" and I'm like YEAH, I do. But when did earning my degree and getting my dream job become me "just being a GP?" I've actually expressed it as a concern here, that the environment almost seems like its telling us that its the norm to specialize and that's what our goal should be.

 

[DVMDream]

I came to school wanting to be a small animal GP and that hasn't changed at all so far, but I feel like there is a huge push here at Penn to specialize. I've hear people all the time saying "Oh you just want to be a GP" and I'm like YEAH, I do. But when did earning my degree and getting my dream job become me "just being a GP?" I've actually expressed it as a concern here, that the environment almost seems like its telling us that its the norm to specialize and that's what our goal should be.

As "just a GP" today only I saw a GDV, vaccines, vomiting dog, dog with metastatic hemangiosarcoma, likely naproxen toxicity, dog with unilateral hind limb edema likely due to lymphatic obstruction, vestibular cat, cruciate rupture, more vaccines, helped with a dental procedure, did a euthanasia and saw a dog in severe respiratory distress likely secondary to rodenticide toxicity. As a GP, you are the front line to most things and you provide the referrals to the specialist. You have to have the most broad based knowledge. Yes, I had to refer or recommend referral to quite a few of these, but sometimes referral isn't an option so then you do have to manage these cases. Being a GP is not easy, neither is being a specialist. They are just different.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

As "just a GP" today only I saw a GDV, vaccines, vomiting dog, dog with metastatic hemangiosarcoma, likely naproxen toxicity, dog with unilateral hind limb edema likely due to lymphatic obstruction, vestibular cat, cruciate rupture, more vaccines, helped with a dental procedure, did a euthanasia and saw a dog in severe respiratory distress likely secondary to rodenticide toxicity. As a GP, you are the front line to most things and you provide the referrals to the specialist. You have to have the most broad based knowledge. Yes, I had to refer or recommend referral to quite a few of these, but sometimes referral isn't an option so then you do have to manage these cases. Being a GP is not easy, neither is being a specialist. They are just different.

Hear hear.

 

[raf2769]

As "just a GP" today only I saw a GDV, vaccines, vomiting dog, dog with metastatic hemangiosarcoma, likely naproxen toxicity, dog with unilateral hind limb edema likely due to lymphatic obstruction, vestibular cat, cruciate rupture, more vaccines, helped with a dental procedure, did a euthanasia and saw a dog in severe respiratory distress likely secondary to rodenticide toxicity. As a GP, you are the front line to most things and you provide the referrals to the specialist. You have to have the most broad based knowledge. Yes, I had to refer or recommend referral to quite a few of these, but sometimes referral isn't an option so then you do have to manage these cases. Being a GP is not easy, neither is being a specialist. They are just different.

I can't wait to be able to do this. I completely agree that they're quite different, and I know exactly which one fits my personality and work style the best.

 

[nyanko]

I am in awe of good GP vets. I don't know how they do it, having to have such a broad knowledge base with sufficient depth to diagnose and treat every single aspect of health.

I know my limitations and know that I don't really have it in me to be a good GP vet.

 

[LetItSnow]

I wouldn't get too bent out of shape over the phrase "just a GP". Any more than "just a bachelor's degree." It just reflects that the person stopped their formal education at that point. I don't read it as meaning less capable or competent.

And pretty much every specialist I know - and I work directly with them all day - agrees that GPs have to span an incredible diversity of knowledge and skills.

 

[Folkvang]

Well, everyone starts as a GP. I try clinical intership whenever i can. tho seeking for exotic animals especialization guess what?
is GP for another kind of animals.

 

[vet-in-progress]

I was one of those who always had my heart on specializing, I found general practices in my pre-vet years kind of boring (which I'm now starting to realize had more to do with the hours I worked and the jobs that I was doing then it actually being boring). As a vet student with less days of vet school in front of than behind me I'm leaning more and more towards GP for a variety of reasons. A lot of this has to do with the fact that recently I've spent more time in GP and the experience was 100% different as a vet student than a pre-vet.

I've never been set on one specialty, every new thing I see I just think to myself how awesome it would be to specialize in that. I really enjoy a lot of different and I wonder if putting myself in a niche may be a disservice to myself. Perhaps it would be better for me to put in as much effort as possible into being the best and most knowledgable GP I can be. I'm still not sure and having 2 years left in my program there's lots of time to make a decision but @DVMDream the description of your day really just made me think just as being a DVM student vs a pre-vet in GP is 100% better, I imagine actually being a GP vs a DVM student is even better.

 

[Coquette22]

I didn't want to be a GP and honestly, I do feel like I've "settled" to a certain extent. Please don't flame me for that statement; it's less that I think GPs are lesser and more that I don't think it always plays to my strengths. I'm good at internal medicine and pharmacology. I love cardiology, endocrinology, diagnostics, anesthesia, clin path... I hate eyes. I hate surgery. I can take or leave dermatology (mostly because I feel like 90% of it is client compliance and it drives me up the wall). I don't mind dentistry. Unfortunately, a massive amount of my day ends up being eyes, ears, and skin.

As far as species, I'm happiest with dogs, horses and exotics. I tolerate cats. Birds can **** right off. We have an agreement, I don't touch them and they don't try to murder me.

To sum up: the variety of being a GP is a double edged sword for me. I'd specialize if I thought I could, but I don't want to take a pay cut and move away from my family for another 4 years minimum, and probably longer because there's no where around here for a specialist to work. I have been toying with doing the DAVBP thing to sate some of my interest in specializing.

 

[DVMDream]

We are almost the same person... minus a few things.

I'm good at internal medicine and pharmacology.

Same, minus the pharmacology. I have to look up a lot of the pharmacology stuff.

I love cardiology, endocrinology, diagnostics, anesthesia, clin path... I hate eyes. I hate surgery. I can take or leave dermatology (mostly because I feel like 90% of it is client compliance and it drives me up the wall). I don't mind dentistry. Unfortunately, a massive amount of my day ends up being eyes, ears, and skin.

Cardiology isn't my favorite, love endocrinology, love diagnostics, hate anesthesia (but love analgesia and multi-modal therapy), love clin path. Hate eyes, hate, hate, hate eyes. Pulled a cactus thorn out of a kitten cornea recently. Skin is meh... most people don't listen to my skin spiel and half ass attempt fixing things. The dermatologist where I went to school would not be happy with how I have to treat skin simply because I can't get 99% of people to even consider diagnostics and in the last year I have had a total of zero agree to even attempt a food trial.

As far as species, I'm happiest with dogs, horses and exotics. I tolerate cats. Birds can **** right off. We have an agreement, I don't touch them and they don't try to murder me.

I love cats. Love cats. Dogs are cool, I could do without parvo. I am a bit breedist against German Shepherds and Dobermans, just the two that I have noticed can go from "fine" to "going to eat your face" without warning, at least the chihuahuas are trying to launch at my face from the start. I 100% agree on the birds. Eff them. And both horses and exotics are a no go for me. Thought about doing guinea pigs and ferrets for a bit, decided that I do not want.

But, yeah, I agree, being able to specialize would be cool, but not because it involves a significant pay cut and way too much time.

 

[Coquette22]

I am a bit breedist against German Shepherds and Dobermans, just the two that I have noticed can go from "fine" to "going to eat your face" without warning, at least the chihuahuas are trying to launch at my face from the start.

I'm okay with Dobes. I'm very breedist again GSD. So many of the ones that I see are fear aggressive. And I hate hate hate Shih Tzus. Seriously. Maybe the Shih Tzu population is better at the new practice, I'm not sure yet, but there were so many of them at my last practice. All of them had horrific allergies that the owners weren't doing anything about, some level of KCS, horrible ears, horrible teeth, no face to muzzle, and sebaceous cysts for days. So they automatically fall into the category of "Small hateful smelly, greasy dog". Blergh.

I find cats the single hardest animal to restrain. I swear they can turn their bones to jello to turn escape restraint.

 

[DVMDream]

I'm okay with Dobes. I'm very breedist again GSD. So many of the ones that I see are fear aggressive. And I hate hate hate Shih Tzus. Seriously. Maybe the Shih Tzu population is better at the new practice, I'm not sure yet, but there were so many of them at my last practice. All of them had horrific allergies that the owners weren't doing anything about, some level of KCS, horrible ears, horrible teeth, no face to muzzle, and sebaceous cysts for days. So they automatically fall into the category of "Small hateful smelly, greasy dog". Blergh.

I find cats the single hardest animal to restrain. I swear they can turn their bones to jello to turn escape restraint.

I tend to be very hands off with cats, most of them respond better to less restraint. Obviously, the one that is going to kill everyone and then hide in the ceiling needs drugs and restraint. I also do a lot of "here's some gabapentin, give before your appointment with Mr. Angry Fuzzy Pants", works very well.

 

[Coquette22]

God I love gabapentin for angry cats.