Beyond the DVM: Masters of Business Administration

It’s time for a new series! Many people think that once you go through vet school, pass your boards, and receive your Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) that the only option is to go into private practice and see patients. Fortunately, a DVM opens far more doors than just treating dogs, cats, horses, and cows. Over the next several posts, I’ll talk about some of the opportunities out there for graduate veterinarians beyond private practice.

Expectations vs Reality: Clubs and Extracurriculars

Sorry for the hiatus! I had wrist surgery over spring break and was not able to do a lot of fine-motor tasks (like typing). I’m returning back to my series of Expectations vs Reality of vet school with a discussion on clubs and extracurricular activities. I knew that I wanted to be involved with several clubs, mainly Christian Veterinary Fellowship (CVF) and the Student Chapter of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (SCAAEP), but I was interested in seeing what other ideas my peers came up with.

Expectation vs Reality: Studying

Last time, I talked about my expectations and the reality of the course load and curriculum at LMU-CVM. Another expectation I had about vet school was the amount of time I would spend studying. Even after talking with several medical students and my parents (who are physicians), all of whom told me “you’ll be studying ALL THE TIME”, I still wasn’t prepared for the vast amounts of information I would be receiving and the amount of time outside of class that I would have to spend reviewing the day’s lectures, preparing for the next day’s lectures, and compiling resources in outlines, study guides, and flashcard sets in anticipation of our next test. 

Expectations vs Reality: Course Load and Curriculum

I’m starting a new posting series about my expectations of vet school and the reality that I’ve experienced one and half semesters in. As a pre-vet student, I had an idealized version of vet school; I was finished with “extraneous” subjects, like English and macroeconomics, and on to learning about what I loved: veterinary medicine. I would get to spend more time hands-on with animals, learning what I really needed to know to go out and be a veterinarian, not just a student who can regurgitate information.

Reflections

I’ve finished my first semester of vet school, and I feel like orientation was just yesterday! I can’t believe how quickly the past four months flew by. I’ve learned all about microscopic anatomy of animals (aka: histology), different types of parasites and the diseases they can cause, how to correctly apply a “kitty burrito“, the differences between dog and cat anatomy, and some of the basic principles of One Health. Outside of the classroom, I was elected as the Student Government Association Information Services (IS) Representative, built a website for SGA, elected as Wet Lab Coordinator for our Student Chapter of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (SCAAEP), and Events Coordinator for our chapter of Christian Veterinary Fellowship (CVF). Needless to say, I’ve been really busy! Now that I’ve had time to slow down (i.e. sleep for days) and look back on the past semester, I had a few thoughts to share.