My February 16th entry discussed the state of veterinary medical education and student debt. I'm pleased to point out that the NYTimes had a great article about this topic on February 23. In addition to the comments section, there have been some letters to the editor.
There are a lot of opinions expressed by my colleagues as to how to "fix" the problems of high student debt and over-population of graduate veterinarians. I don't claim to have any answers. I do, however, want young people to know what they are getting into before they leap into this career.
I enjoyed private practice. I liked working with horses, cats, dogs, cattle, etc. The large animal portion was rough on my body, but I did enjoy the work. It involved both physical and mental labor.
I love my current job. I get to help veterinarians find the information they need to handle their private-practice cases. My fellow employees are veterinarians who are/were in academia, specialty practices, general practices, etc. who also enjoy helping our colleagues. It's a great bunch of people working at VIN.
I love my job. But because of the contact I now have with so many veterinarians, I get to hear from far too many who are facing financial problems because of student debt and/or the current economy. When I graduated, it was unheard of for a veterinarian to lose a practice. That's no longer the case.
If you want to be a veterinarian, plan ahead. Make an informed decision. Check out the I Want To Be A Veterinarian website.
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