I decided to commit myself to the veterinary field path by the time I was done with my junior year in high school. I didn’t want to feel unsure after I graduated and I wanted time to get my foot in the door. The burning question was, how do you get started?
It took me until the end of the summer to go for it, but I had had a lead since spring. I found the lead, simply by telling everyone that I knew, that I wanted to be a vet tech, and shadowing would be amazing. One of my friends happened to know a veterinarian who was happy to help me out. I knew that job shadowing would relieve my doubts about making it in the medical field, however, all of the unknowns still scared me.
I spent the summer watching The Vet Life, on Animal Planet’s YouTube channel. Believe it or not, I used to not be able to watch a dog get a splinter pulled, and now I enjoy watching surgeries done right in front of my face! If the veterinary field is truly your passion, you can overcome a lot. Just start slow.
I started by squinting and closing my eyes through about 70% of the surgery videos I watched. After a few months, I was able to watch all but the most gruesome ones. That is when I finally decided it was time to shadow a real veterinarian.