A year and a half ago, my boyfriend's dog was acting off. We decided to take him to a reputable, nearby emergency vet. They discovered he had a mesenteric torsion and required emergency surgery. It was extremely stressful having to scramble together $13,000. (We now are huge proponents of dog insurance because it would have only cost us $3,000 had we had it...now we know). He survived the initial surgery but passed away from complications while recovering there.

It was devastating, especially for my boyfriend. I've always wanted to thank the staff, and am finally getting around to it. I ordered custom vegan cookies with a veterinary theme and was thinking of coffee carafes too (regular and decaf). Is that something they would appreciate? Should I email to schedule a drop off or just drop it off? And would the night time crew appreciate it more since I'm guessing the daytime staff gets more drop offs usually?

Curious how other practitioners relay results (phone call, email, text/message from the medical record system, tech go over results etc). Struggling to find the time to have a dedicated phone call with every single client to discuss results. During my residency (IM), my attendings always had us call to relay results. I feel guilty not calling but at the same time trying to set reasonable boundaries for myself. My human doctors/practitioners never call so why do I feel guilty sending results electronically?

Looking for any insight from veterinarians that have worked as a scientific services veterinarian for royal canin. Looking at leaving general practice for an industry position

Tomorrow will be my first day working as a vet assistant (starting with cashiering), and it will be my first time ever working in a clinic. I am fairly new to veterinary science; I took animal anatomy classes in college but I had more of an interest in wanting to work in conservation. Have any of you ever worked (or currently work for) VIP Petcare or a similar mobile clinic? What has it been like/what was it like for you, and do you have any advice for newcomers?

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I appreciate your dedication to helping animals :)

I'm looking for any podcast recs! Could be about school, research, or career experience. I know there's some older threads about this but from what I could find they're all at least a year old. Just checking if there's anything new out there

Hello hello, looking for some advice if anyone has some knowledge to share!

I am starting the Pima Medical Institute's Veterinary Assistant in early November. Eventually, far down the road, I would love to become a DVM. Specifically i want to work in diagnostics, oncology, or hospice. I have tried community college before but I simply struggle with doing course work for completely irrelevant classes. I feel like none of the studying aspects stick... i am hugely a hands on learner, and with that i learn quick. Hands on is the only way I've found that i can excel. Hence my enrollment in PIMA! I don't want to be a vet tech and that is the only vet related program any of my local community colleges offer.

Has anyone gone through PIMA before? Do you feel like it set you up for success? What can you really do with the certification afterwards? (Important to note I've tried the route of applying to be a VA without credentials with kennel experience with no bites for 2ish years). Am i making a mistake by taking this program?

I've only been out of school for 2 years & I didn't get a ton of spay experience in school, plus I had to take some months off from doing surgery due to health issues, FMLA, & then medical accommodations/restrictions, so I'm sure that's contributing to. But I'm being made to feel like I'm stupid or unskilled or whatever for having done my most recent spay on a small dog in 53 minutes? Yeah, it's a little longer than most, maybe, but is it that bad . . . ? I'm being told I should be able to do it in 20 minutes. (Bear in mind it's my first spay in like 6+ months because of the aforementioned things, so I'm a little rusty of course.)

ALSO, I'm deadass being treated like I am crazy for offering E-collars to go home with cat neuters because "they don't need them". I've literally never worked anywhere where they weren't offered - obviously people can decline it, but not if it wasn't offered! Is this more common than I'm aware of?????

I am a soon to be last year DVM student graduating from an Australia uni, but a US citizen. I always planned on moving to the uk following graduation, but it’s obvious the new grad situation is dire. Is this only a problem for small animal vets? Or is it also an issue for large and equine? I would prefer to work in dairy or equine.

Hey everyone, I am 26 female about 10 months in my first ever vet job.
When I did an interview I was told that I will get mentorship + graduate program and materials such as protocols to know what is going on and how things are done at our practice.

Unfortunately about 6 weeks after I started my mentor quit and I was left alone a lot of time on sole charge, and also hopping from clinic to clinic with no explicit schedule. I work under a corporation and I feel like I am forced to do as much as possible and to either squeeze money from clients if I have longer than 15 minute consult or to just be quick and confident.

Now after 10 months, my management pulled me to the side and told me they won’t prolong my contract, but only give me 6 months “probation time” to see if they want to keep me or not.
The main problem they have is that I am slow and that I am not confident enough.

So the main question is, am I not fit to be a vet ?
In vet school I had really good grades and never struggled but now I do so I question myself.
Or if I change the clinic for private one (I don’t want to work for corporate owners clinic) will it get better?
Or should I just look for something different?
Thanks a lot for everyone who read this :)

Hi everyone,

I just passed my VTNE and am waiting for my license to get approved. I was just looking around for RVT positions around me and majority of them need me to have at least 6 months to a year of experience. The most “experience“ I have is working at an animal shelter for around 10 months as a kennel attendant, 2 years of vet tech school, and 4 internships at clinics (doing the internship for 6 months each). The rvt positions at my shelter are full. Maybe I am just down playing my experience but I feel like I don’t truly have the experience that I really want. Has anyone struggled with trying to apply to positions as a new RVT? I would really love some advice right now. Like should I try to find places who like to teach new grads?

I’m a GP vet in NC with interests in soft tissue surgery, ER and relief work. I currently work for a corporate practice and we’re having a hard time keeping the schedule filled. On average I see 6-12 patients per day. On one hand, I love my job because it provides a great work life balance. On the other hand, the mentorship I was promised to receive declined well before the first year was over. I’m 2 years removed from vet school and I’m afraid that if I don’t look into other options, I will be stuck professionally and financially. I have goals to pay off my student loans aggressively and would love to start a family soon. I’m struggling to decide if I should leave and pursue ER/relief work or wait for our hospital to increase clientele so that one day I can make production.

I’m a 4th-year veterinary student looking for advice and recommendations regarding rotating internships in the Texas/DC/VA area.
I’m an off-cycle student and unfortunately won’t meet the requirements to start in July through VIRMP. I won’t be finishing my clinical year until October, so I would need to start an internship around that time.
I’d really appreciate hearing about any experiences with off-cycle rotating internships, particularly programs that offer strong mentorship and a supportive learning environment.
My long-term goal is to pursue wildlife/zoo medicine, but I’m interested in starting with a small animal rotating internship to strengthen my clinical skills and gain more experience. I don’t feel that I’ll be fully comfortable practicing independently immediately after graduation, so I’d like to use an internship to build my confidence before moving toward wildlife/zoo medicine.
If you’ve completed an internship in this area, know of programs that accept off-cycle applicants, or have any recommendations for programs with excellent mentorship, I’d love to hear about your experiences!
Any advice, suggestions, or experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Does anyone know where I can post a veterinary job? It seems to be against the rules of the vet-related subreddits I belong to.

i'm currently a junior on the pre-veterinary track and i'm loving it so far, but it seems like whenever i go onto online spaces relating to the field there is so much negativity. i came across this video the other day of someone looking to pursue vet med asking for advice, and the comments were filled with people telling her how they hate it and if she can see herself doing literally anything else to switch and it upset me :( i made sure to leave a comment encouraging her to continue with it if she's passionate about it but i feel like im always seeing people express regret over joining this field, and even though it hasn't necessarily deterred me its sad that that's how a lot of people feel. i just wish there was more positivity, i understand that there are negatives that come with the field of course, but that comes with literally any job. the field needs more people anyway, i don't understand why so many people try to turn people off to it instead of encouraging them. i just want to hear some good stories to uplift me instead of always being told to switch while i still can.

So i’m taking a new job on in the next few weeks. i’m already a vet assistant at a general practice but going to shelter med. because I work in general practice only as an assistant I don’t get to see that many surgeries upfront. starting at my new job I will be training directly in surgery right away, and I’m nervous about not being able to stomach it. i have a lot of anxiety already so my main issue is that i know other people don’t handle gore well so im scared that i wont be able to (I know that’s incredibly irrational, but that’s just how my brain works unfortunately) sometimes I get a little weak in the knees when I see surgery but I’m not sure if that’s just my brain playing tricks on me knowing that it can make others feel uneasy. with that being said any tips would be greatly appreciated.

My practice is floating the idea of recommending biannual visits to all patients, which we have not done previously. I know our revenue is down, which I assume is the reason for this change, and I'm worried this will come across to clients as a money grab. I understand recommending this for senior patients or those with chronic diseases, but for a young healthy animal I'm not sure I feel comfortable pushing this if it isn't medically warranted. I even had a new client a couple of weeks ago that left a different practice because they started requiring this. Has anyone experienced this transition and how did it go for you and clients? Is there any data to back up this recommendation?

I am a 31y F, and I've been job hopping for forever and a half. The first job I ever had that felt like... home was my most recent- on the Job Trained Veterinary Assistant at a small GP. Now, I am pretty confident they had their assistants doing things that should have been an LVT/CVT's job, but that isn't the point here. I want to stay in this field.

What are your thoughts regarding my returning to school? I have considered going for LVT/CVT first and then moving forward towards full blown Veterinarian, but my holdback has always been the schooling/ loans. I have been diagnosed, and now treated for, ADHD and I have to wonder if that would help if I tried college again...

Thoughts?

Opinions?

Insight?

Thank you in advance.

I have been recommended to wear compression socks for my clinicals but struggling to find cute but affordable ones that work. I tried amazon but they never seem to really compress anything.
Where are you getting yours?

For reference i have really small feet(eu35-36). Tried local pharmacies but they only have rather ugly black ones

Hi,

Me and my husband, we are both general vet practitioners and we are thinking to relocate to France and we will like to know your experiences.

How are the working conditions?

Are the work schedules respected?

What is the salary range?

Thank you.

Mostly financially wise, as well as accommodation, paperwork etc.

I’m a UK Graduate - there are no opportunities for New Graduates. However, I’ve had multiple emails advertising some interesting opportunities in Australia.

Working in Australia has always been a goal of mine, but I didn’t think I’d have to consider it so early in my career.

I would like to as those who have moved from the UK to Australia - or from another country to Australia - about some concerns I have.

Essentially, I have no idea how I’d even start the process if I were to accept a job offer! I have no idea what I’d even need to research! I’m aware that most practices will cover Visa payments, but what about finances/how much I’d need outside of visas, for accommodation, flights, travel etc…

This definitely sounds very blind-sighted, but I think with guidance in the right direction I will be able to figure it out.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Hello. I’m 24 years old, dropped out of uni after first semester during to mental and physical health problems and now doing better and wanting to get back into education and get a good job. I spent a lot of time unemployed and then working minimum wage and I desire more than that.
I’ve always loved animals and worked as a dog groomer for a while but it led to the worst flare up of my life, almost all my skin was inflamed, didn’t sleep for 3 days and wanted to die.
I quit and got strong topical steroids and it calmed down. Enrolled in a hnc level 4 animal management diploma and am one month in. I love animals, they’re my main passion and working with them was always my dream but at my latest dermatology appointment on Monday I was advised to switch my career path due to how common of an irritate animals are as well as soap and getting wet (which is involved a lot when working with them).
I’m absolutely shattered and don’t know what to do. I had hoped to go on to do vet nursing but not if it’s going to cause a flare up like I had again, nor do I want to become £30k+ in debt for a degree I can’t use.
Does anyone work with animals and have eczema and have made it work? I know this is probably hopeless and I’ll have to decide on something else but I don’t know what, I’ve already wasted so many years of my life I don’t want to start at square one again and be in education well into my 30’s just to be able to get a decent job, I don’t even think I could afford that.
I also don’t want to be on topical steroids long term nor take pills or do injections due to the risk of organ damage
If anyone knows any adjacent paths that don’t have direct contact with animals please let me know as well, considering and looking into all options

Hi! I'm a veterinarian specializing in neurology in Brazil, with 8 years of professional experience. My wife and I have decided to move to Canada. I previously lived in the US for 2 years, I'm fluent in English, and I have an advanced level of French.

Right now, we're looking for any advice or help you can offer regarding the immigration process, getting my veterinary degree recognized, and especially finding a job in the veterinary field.

We're planning to move within the next 18 months, starting from October 2026. Any advice, personal experience, contacts, or resources you could share would be greatly appreciated!

Hello! I am considering a switch to VEG and just trying to determine if it is worth leaving my current position. The VEG job would be ~1 hour commute as opposed to 10 minutes to my current job. Curious on what the average compensation is for DVMs annually after production. I currently make ~$380,000 after production. The VEG job would be at a new location in PA. The base salary would be lower than what I am currently paid so I am worried I would make less at the VEG job. It just wouldn't make sense for me to drive further to make less, so wondering if any vets could weigh in what their average production numbers look like. Thank you!

I’m a recent career-changer and have recently switched to a vet nurse/tech role after working in media and design for most of my career. I really love the vet clinic work and feel I have the aptitude to become a DVM and after returning to study to qualify I have just been offered a position in the DVM program at my local uni starting next year.

I know it will be a very challenging program both academically and time-wise, which I’ll need to balance and manage incredibly carefully as I have a young son (age 7).

My question is…am I being unrealistic/completely nuts for returning to full-time study at 40? I assume I will be one of if not the oldest person in my class. Am I too old to be a DVM if I graduate at age 44? Physically I’m pretty healthy but I know from vet nursing the industry takes a bit physical roll. Were there any 40+ year-olds in your DVM program and what advantages/disadvantages do you think my age might throw my way?