My Experience Working at a Vet Hospital- #neveragain

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From July 10th of 2019 to December of that same year, I had the privilege of landing a job at an animal hospital. At first, I really enjoyed it, but then I became miserable and realized that working at a vet hospital just isn’t for me.

Here’s the story:

Last summer I was taking classes on campus at OSU while participating in the SpringForward program. At the start of summer classes and the SF program, I was doing great financially because I still had money in my account from working at Sloopy’s diner, an on-campus hot-spot amongst OSU students. I was expecting to work at Sloopy’s during the summer as well, especially since I told the manager that I’d be available. But to my surprise, I basically got “laid off” from Sloopy’s; no one ever contacted me about working or not for the summer which really messed me up financially. So, I started applying for vet assistant positions around town. I was planning on doing this at the start of Fall 2019 semester anyway, so I figured why not apply early.

I had applied to at least 4 different animal hospitals/clinics and had no luck at first. Then I was offered an interview at VCA Mill Run, an animal hospital in Hilliard, OH. It was the perfect location, only 15 minutes away from campus! The interviewer really liked me and basically wanted to extend the position right after the interview. But,  she had concerns about me being overwhelmed since this would be my first time working as a vet assistant. So, instead of offering me the vet assistant position, she asked if I’d be okay with starting off as a front-desk receptionist and then cross-train and transition into a vet assistant role. I was perfectly okay with that, especially since I really needed money at the time.

Long story short, working at the hospital was overall ok. During the summer, it was a really good experience since I didn’t have many classes and was able to fully train. However, there was a miscommunication regarding my work schedule when returning to full-time classes for the fall. The manager at the hospital thought I’d still have the same availability that I had during the summer (which I told them several times my availability would change). As we got deeper into the semester, I became more and more overwhelmed at the hospital 1) Because they kept changing policies, procedures, etc 2) Because I was only there 1-2x a week so I felt behind and 3) Because my depression started kicking in as winter was approaching. I was frustrated with them…they were frustrated with me (b/c of availability) and since I felt miserable every time I stepped in that building, I decided it was in my best interest (and theirs) for me to resign.

Takeaway…?

Working at Mill Run made me realize that I never want to work at an animal hospital ever again, especially not with a national vet hospital organization such as VCA. Yes, I was a bit overwhelmed because of the constant changes at the hospital, but the main reason I didn’t not like it is that there was too much going on at that hospital. Too much going on..? What does that mean? Animal hospitals are more than just an animal clinic where the vet checks the pet and you leave. Animal hospitals perform surgeries as well. At Mill Run, there were regular appointments, surgeries, boarding, AND grooming. Making appointments for all of this- on top of doing the necessary paperwork and other tasks- was quite overwhelming. And to be blunt- I didn’t sign up for that originally. All I wanted was to be a vet assistant for pet appointments. Additionally, I didn’t feel like I could connect that much with anyone there since I was the youngest staff member. There were definitely a few people that I really liked and gravitated more toward, but overall I felt out of place. And since the hospital was so big with such a large staff, including vets, there were no opportunities for me to develop a close relationship with any of the vets there, which is one of the main things I really wanted.

But to this day, I believe resigning was one of the best decisions I have ever made and I don’t regret it one bit. #neveragain

In conclusion, my original plan was to get a vet assistant job my sophomore year and keep it until I graduated. Since that has changed, I’ll have to readjust my plan for vet hours of course. I still don’t mind being a vet assistant in the future, but as an undergraduate student, I realized that I don’t want that kind of responsibility right now. I think to work as a vet assistant while in vet school will be a lot less stressful and more fitting. To get the vet hours I need as I prepare for vet school applications, I am considering being a vet assistant- or simply just shadowing- at a small animal clinic only, NOT a hospital. I do not want to deal with being constantly surrounded by pets being boarded, groomed, and having surgery. Also, I believe working in a smaller facility will allow me to learn more about veterinary medicine and will allow me to develop a more personal, one-on-one relationship with a vet, which is what I want and need as I apply for vet school.

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