As with anything in life, all beginnings have to start somewhere. For me and my career in vet med, I feel like that beginning finally started for me last week when I started clinics. It's a huge difference from sitting in the classroom for sure. You get real patients and real cases... it's AWESOME. I know the graduating seniors are tired and exhausted beyond belief, and I'm sure we too as a class will come to that point as well. But right now, I'm excited. Excited to be doing something - absorbing and learning as much as possible. The docs at the emergency clinic have been really amazing. I especially liked working with Dr. Starks and Dr. Buhr. They care about the students and are also pro-active about letting you do things. They both have a very relaxed attitude, which I think is important in not intimidating students, because trust me, most of us are intimidated already to begin with! And it's not like they are relaxed in a lazy, let you do anything sort of way. Not at all. They hold their standards of care high and expect students to do the same. But they would never yell or frighten the students in a mean way you know? What they are, is encouraging. And that can be a rarity these days to find in a teacher. I had a really great time with both of them!
Tomorrow I start at the actual MWV hospital. My hours will shift back over to day hours, which will be kind of nice. I was starting to feel really off from being awake until 3 or 4 am. Last week it was also very stormy, rainy and just plain nasty. Today the sun is finally shining down on the city of Omaha. That's no guarantee that it will stay though. This is the midwest afterall! Weather is kind of bipolar here.
One thing that I have to promise myself never to do, is to never become apathetic at what I do. After meeting all the vets that I have (both as a tech and as a student), I realize from observation, what kind of vet that I don't want to be. I don't want ever stop caring about my patients. I don't ever want to despise students. I never want to become an apathetic, cold, heartless blob of a vet that just exists and works through the motions like a robot. I don't think I could ever be that, but I want to make that promise to myself now so that when things are at their worst, I can remind myself of what kind of vet that I always wanted to be. Maybe it sounds cheesy, but being a vet has always been my dream. I honestly do feel privileged to be a vet student and that soon I will be doing what I have always dreamed of. I'm not sure that many people can say that about their careers. Even though my senior year is going to be full of ups and downs, I want to stay passionate as a student in terms of learning. I might have to remind myself of the end goal every once in a while (or more), but I do believe that I am capable of becoming great at what I do, and it doesn't hurt that I will love doing it!
I know I still have a million and one things left to learn, but I know with time, I will learn it. There will be good days and there will be bad days, and then there will be even worse days! But I know I'll get through it and someday become the vet that I always wanted to be.
