This semester I’ve had the opportunity to learn from multiple clinicians while completing my Junior Surgery course, and something that I am really starting to learn is that there are a million ways to effectively practice veterinary medicine. For something as simple as a neuter, there are multiple possible surgical approaches, methods of ligation, and techniques for closure. To complicate all of this, the species and size of the patient should also factor into how you decide to do your procedure. Multiple correct methods do make it more challenging to learn at first, but I like that I am getting options so that I can find and choose what works best for me when I am out in practice.
I have also had the opportunity over the last few years to work with several different vet clinics that all have different ideas for how to best practice vet med. One veterinarian doesn’t actually schedule appointments and is walk-in only. His philosophy is that if appointments are all scheduled, he will spend his evenings going through cases and potential complications of everything he is supposed to see the next day. NOT scheduling appointments is his way of maintaining a balance between his career and his home life. In contrast, the other clinics I’ve worked at were fairly firm on scheduling appointments. This way they could have a more scheduled day in order to maintain a work-life balance. Both of these methods of practice were chosen in order to facilitate the same goal, but they are basically the exact opposite of each other. What works for each vet is specific to the individual.
While I don’t yet know how exactly I want to do things once I graduate, I do truly value being exposed to so many different ideas. The veterinary career covers such a broad aspect of jobs, from vets that inspect food animals, to helping rehabilitate wild animals, to caring for our best animal friends that there are MANY ways to be a successful veterinarian. The more opportunities I can take and people I can learn from, the more I can figure out how I want to practice as a vet one day.
