Should I go into Vet med?
Yesterday I was doing work experience in a vets, and I watched my first euthanasia on a healthy dog due to behavioural issues. Up until that day I was dead set on being a vet. I’ve been preparing myself for vet school since I turned 14. It’s all I’ve been thinking about. But now, I don’t know if I could do it. I considered euthanasia before, but I never thought it would’ve been that difficult. Realistically, vets experience so many traumatic things and just have to brush them off and continue on. I don’t know if I could do that. After the euthanasia appointment I wanted nothing more than to just go home. I know veterinary has to be something you’re dead sure on, and I love the profession but now I’m having doubts.
Because veterinary has been my only aspiration for so many years, I have no idea what other careers are even out there or where to look. I’m just so confused.
I picked a subject that I hate for a level for vet med (chemistry…). I wasted 2 weeks on work experience, found 4 other placements and I’ve spent money on 5 books on how to get accepted. I feel like if I give up on it now I’ll have wasted everyone’s time and money. But it’s better I decide if it’s right for me now, rather than as a graduate. I’m still in my first year of Alevels but I think it would be too late to change subjects now…any advice? Thank you.
Because veterinary has been my only aspiration for so many years, I have no idea what other careers are even out there or where to look. I’m just so confused.
I picked a subject that I hate for a level for vet med (chemistry…). I wasted 2 weeks on work experience, found 4 other placements and I’ve spent money on 5 books on how to get accepted. I feel like if I give up on it now I’ll have wasted everyone’s time and money. But it’s better I decide if it’s right for me now, rather than as a graduate. I’m still in my first year of Alevels but I think it would be too late to change subjects now…any advice? Thank you.
That is a difficult one, and I don't think anyone can tell you for certain whether this experience means vet med is right for you or not. I do think being exposed to euthanasia etc for the first time will always be difficult, and your reaction to this doesn't mean whether you're right for vet med or not. I near fainted watching a spay for the first time at 17 and it certainly didn't mean I can't handle surgery generally. With euthanasias generally, most vets you'll ask will say they kind of get desensitised to it - it's obviously still sad especially for the owners and even moreso if it was an animal they knew well, but the actual act of it is quite a common thing carried out in practices obviously. It is easier if it was 'the right time' in terms of the animal was very sick etc as you are ending their suffering, which I would say is the more common reason for it happening - if you are ok with those situations (+ accepting those would get easier over time more than likely), I'd say I wouldn't rule out vet med.
As for behavioural euthanasias as in your case, I do understand that is a harder pill to swallow - I think as a vet you can choose not to do those (I don't think I would for certain cases), although probably best if there is someone else in the practice who would. But you can also think of it as preventing suffering, as with quality of life euthanasias - had the dog not been euthanised, would it be passed around from pillar to post, being stressed in new ownerships all the time? Would it spend its life in a kennel with minimal stimulation etc? Would it be always be treated well? Would it be abandoned? The behavioural issues could also be a result of physical health issues which may not have been diagnosed or necessarily treatable (brain tumours etc). Everyone's take will be different on this of course, but imo death is not a 'negative state' to be in, whereas there are certainly negative states the dog could end up in if it is not euthanised.
If you do decide that vet med isn't right for you, I wouldn't think of the experience as wasted - if it showed you that you indeed don't want to go into vet med, then as you said those 2 weeks will have prevented you from wasting 5 years at uni and potentially more years post graduation. If your next placements aren't at vets, perhaps they're still careers you could be interested in? If not I'm sure they'll understand you cancelling. I do understand the frustration on the chemistry part - I also despised it and only took it for vet med, but perhaps that still opens up some avenues to other careers which may require that A Level?
But I do think this is something you need to figure out yourself, and there is no right or wrong answer. Maybe speak to your friends, family, teachers etc for more insights as they'll know you better personally. Could you reach out to the vets you were with (or another vet) and maybe have a little chat with them about it? I'm sure they'd understand you were feeling a bit down after what you saw and they wouldn't want to leave you feeling this way, so maybe they'd have advice.
As for behavioural euthanasias as in your case, I do understand that is a harder pill to swallow - I think as a vet you can choose not to do those (I don't think I would for certain cases), although probably best if there is someone else in the practice who would. But you can also think of it as preventing suffering, as with quality of life euthanasias - had the dog not been euthanised, would it be passed around from pillar to post, being stressed in new ownerships all the time? Would it spend its life in a kennel with minimal stimulation etc? Would it be always be treated well? Would it be abandoned? The behavioural issues could also be a result of physical health issues which may not have been diagnosed or necessarily treatable (brain tumours etc). Everyone's take will be different on this of course, but imo death is not a 'negative state' to be in, whereas there are certainly negative states the dog could end up in if it is not euthanised.
If you do decide that vet med isn't right for you, I wouldn't think of the experience as wasted - if it showed you that you indeed don't want to go into vet med, then as you said those 2 weeks will have prevented you from wasting 5 years at uni and potentially more years post graduation. If your next placements aren't at vets, perhaps they're still careers you could be interested in? If not I'm sure they'll understand you cancelling. I do understand the frustration on the chemistry part - I also despised it and only took it for vet med, but perhaps that still opens up some avenues to other careers which may require that A Level?
But I do think this is something you need to figure out yourself, and there is no right or wrong answer. Maybe speak to your friends, family, teachers etc for more insights as they'll know you better personally. Could you reach out to the vets you were with (or another vet) and maybe have a little chat with them about it? I'm sure they'd understand you were feeling a bit down after what you saw and they wouldn't want to leave you feeling this way, so maybe they'd have advice.
Very honestly, euthanasia is horrible to watch for the first time when you’re still young and I can assure you that it does get easier. I am almost certain that if I’d experienced a euthanasia with an owner present back when I was doing work experience before vet school, whether it was for health or behavioural issues, I’d have found it really difficult and I would probably have held back tears. However, I’m now in the clinical stage of my vet course and on my first clinical EMS placement, I witnessed 5 euthanasias and was able to watch them all without getting emotional in front of an owner or it affecting me too badly. I have found that I’ve become more desensitised to animal death throughout my course, which (as morbid as this will sound) has come from working on farms where I’ve seen stillborn animals or ones that have succumbed to a disease and I think doing dissections has made me a lot less sensitive to it. Additionally, the euthanasias I’ve watched have been in some very sick animals and in a way I feel glad that they were given a nicer way to go. That’s not to say that I don’t feel any sadness at all- seeing owners get upset can be difficult and I know full too well that I will be a sobbing mess when it’s time to say goodbye to my elderly family dog!
Behavioural euthanasias are never nice to see or perform, and a lot of vets I’ve spoken to about it have said that they feel so deflated after doing one as they never want to put a healthy animal to sleep. I remember however when I was on work experience, a dog that had attacked someone was put to sleep (which I didn’t witness as the vets didn’t know how I’d react to watching a euthanasia). The vet was understandably a bit upset about it as the dog was healthy and seemed like a happy dog when he walked in, but then she said “If I refused and that dog went out and attacked a child, I would never forgive myself” and that statement has stuck with me and whenever I think about having to put an animal down because of behaviour problems, I always think of that statement.
I’d recommend that you don’t immediately give up on being a vet based on this one experience as it will get easier. Try to think about which parts of the job you have enjoyed witnessing or that you can see yourself enjoying too, as horrible as the bad days are there are also good days. Whether you feel like you can continue or not is up to you, but please don’t feel like feeling upset over your first euthanasia automatically means you can’t be a vet.
Behavioural euthanasias are never nice to see or perform, and a lot of vets I’ve spoken to about it have said that they feel so deflated after doing one as they never want to put a healthy animal to sleep. I remember however when I was on work experience, a dog that had attacked someone was put to sleep (which I didn’t witness as the vets didn’t know how I’d react to watching a euthanasia). The vet was understandably a bit upset about it as the dog was healthy and seemed like a happy dog when he walked in, but then she said “If I refused and that dog went out and attacked a child, I would never forgive myself” and that statement has stuck with me and whenever I think about having to put an animal down because of behaviour problems, I always think of that statement.
I’d recommend that you don’t immediately give up on being a vet based on this one experience as it will get easier. Try to think about which parts of the job you have enjoyed witnessing or that you can see yourself enjoying too, as horrible as the bad days are there are also good days. Whether you feel like you can continue or not is up to you, but please don’t feel like feeling upset over your first euthanasia automatically means you can’t be a vet.
Original post by RambleAmple
That is a difficult one, and I don't think anyone can tell you for certain whether this experience means vet med is right for you or not. I do think being exposed to euthanasia etc for the first time will always be difficult, and your reaction to this doesn't mean whether you're right for vet med or not. I near fainted watching a spay for the first time at 17 and it certainly didn't mean I can't handle surgery generally. With euthanasias generally, most vets you'll ask will say they kind of get desensitised to it - it's obviously still sad especially for the owners and even moreso if it was an animal they knew well, but the actual act of it is quite a common thing carried out in practices obviously. It is easier if it was 'the right time' in terms of the animal was very sick etc as you are ending their suffering, which I would say is the more common reason for it happening - if you are ok with those situations (+ accepting those would get easier over time more than likely), I'd say I wouldn't rule out vet med.
As for behavioural euthanasias as in your case, I do understand that is a harder pill to swallow - I think as a vet you can choose not to do those (I don't think I would for certain cases), although probably best if there is someone else in the practice who would. But you can also think of it as preventing suffering, as with quality of life euthanasias - had the dog not been euthanised, would it be passed around from pillar to post, being stressed in new ownerships all the time? Would it spend its life in a kennel with minimal stimulation etc? Would it be always be treated well? Would it be abandoned? The behavioural issues could also be a result of physical health issues which may not have been diagnosed or necessarily treatable (brain tumours etc). Everyone's take will be different on this of course, but imo death is not a 'negative state' to be in, whereas there are certainly negative states the dog could end up in if it is not euthanised.
If you do decide that vet med isn't right for you, I wouldn't think of the experience as wasted - if it showed you that you indeed don't want to go into vet med, then as you said those 2 weeks will have prevented you from wasting 5 years at uni and potentially more years post graduation. If your next placements aren't at vets, perhaps they're still careers you could be interested in? If not I'm sure they'll understand you cancelling. I do understand the frustration on the chemistry part - I also despised it and only took it for vet med, but perhaps that still opens up some avenues to other careers which may require that A Level?
But I do think this is something you need to figure out yourself, and there is no right or wrong answer. Maybe speak to your friends, family, teachers etc for more insights as they'll know you better personally. Could you reach out to the vets you were with (or another vet) and maybe have a little chat with them about it? I'm sure they'd understand you were feeling a bit down after what you saw and they wouldn't want to leave you feeling this way, so maybe they'd have advice.
As for behavioural euthanasias as in your case, I do understand that is a harder pill to swallow - I think as a vet you can choose not to do those (I don't think I would for certain cases), although probably best if there is someone else in the practice who would. But you can also think of it as preventing suffering, as with quality of life euthanasias - had the dog not been euthanised, would it be passed around from pillar to post, being stressed in new ownerships all the time? Would it spend its life in a kennel with minimal stimulation etc? Would it be always be treated well? Would it be abandoned? The behavioural issues could also be a result of physical health issues which may not have been diagnosed or necessarily treatable (brain tumours etc). Everyone's take will be different on this of course, but imo death is not a 'negative state' to be in, whereas there are certainly negative states the dog could end up in if it is not euthanised.
If you do decide that vet med isn't right for you, I wouldn't think of the experience as wasted - if it showed you that you indeed don't want to go into vet med, then as you said those 2 weeks will have prevented you from wasting 5 years at uni and potentially more years post graduation. If your next placements aren't at vets, perhaps they're still careers you could be interested in? If not I'm sure they'll understand you cancelling. I do understand the frustration on the chemistry part - I also despised it and only took it for vet med, but perhaps that still opens up some avenues to other careers which may require that A Level?
But I do think this is something you need to figure out yourself, and there is no right or wrong answer. Maybe speak to your friends, family, teachers etc for more insights as they'll know you better personally. Could you reach out to the vets you were with (or another vet) and maybe have a little chat with them about it? I'm sure they'd understand you were feeling a bit down after what you saw and they wouldn't want to leave you feeling this way, so maybe they'd have advice.
Thank you. But is becoming desensitised to something like death not really bad for your mental health? Maybe it’s fine, but it seems like maybe it would have some negative effects.
Original post by Elizabeth200
Thank you. But is becoming desensitised to something like death not really bad for your mental health? Maybe it’s fine, but it seems like maybe it would have some negative effects.
Saying this not to put you off but to help you make an informed decision, the veterinary profession does have one of the highest suicide rates. It’s not just to do with the death aspect, there are many reasons of course, including owners saying we are only in it for the money/overall being rude/aggressive, not always being able to do enough, the pressure, sometimes working hours or environment etc. So that is something to bear in mind when considering the profession - you know yourself best (+ with support of friends and family hopefully) so only you know whether that is something you could deal with or not.
As for the death desensitisation, everyone is different so it’ll impact people differently - for some, sure it may not be the healthiest thing, loads of people tell me they would’ve loved to be a vet but couldn’t do it because of the euthanasia aspect (not saying that’s you). But when I say desensitised to euthanasia, I more mean the act of doing it (which is essentially a part of your job) rather than being desensitised to all death itself - if a vets’ own pet or close one died, they would more than likely be just as affected as someone who wasn’t a vet. I have carried out euthanasias on EMS as a vet student recently and I could do it without getting overly upset because I knew it was the right thing to do (I honestly feel more upset when I see an animal where it’s really suffering and time to go but owner doesn’t see it) but when it was time to euthanise my chinchilla recently I was a massive sobbing wreck and could barely get the right details to the vet. Getting more detached from the emotional component in this way when you are being a professional is probably a better thing than getting extremely emotional over every one - that would probably have a greater impact on mental health if you are constantly upset. You can always take a moment after an euthanasia, especially if it was a tougher one - owners more upset or an animal you dealt with a lot, my old dog was in our vets loads with her autoimmune condition and apparently the big burly vet did shed a tear when it was time for her to go. Other professions will also have to deal with similar circumstances - hospital/hospice staff, farmers - unfortunately death is a part of life and someone will have to be the one dealing with it, not just at vets.
So it is really a personal question for yourself how you think dealing with deaths and euthanasias would impact your mental health long term. My views are that euthanasia provides a very humane way to end suffering to animals, which aligns with my view that as a vet student I want to prevent animal suffering - including the behavioural examples I said before, that even if the dog didn’t have a physical health suffering, the euthanasia is preventing a high potential of future suffering as dogs with behavioural issues aren’t always treated nicely. But everyone has different views on things like this which is perfectly fine - again it’s for you to decide where you stand and how much you can deal with it, and again you probably wouldn’t ever be forced to do a behavioural euthanasia you didn’t agree with, but I don’t think you would be able to avoid quality of life (i.e. physical health) euthanasias as a practicing vet (but there are other avenues you could down with a vet degree beside being a clinical practicing vet, so…)
@RambleAmple has given a very comprehensive reply but I’ll add a bit too.
Correct me if I’m wrong but it sounds like you’re rushing into a decision - you’re already denouncing your 2 weeks of placement as a waste and thinking about switching subjects. Give yourself time to process what happened. For some people, euthanasia is too much. But if you’ve been dead set on veterinary medicine for years and been aware of euthanasia, this situation might just be the shock of actually seeing it for the first time.
It is a hard decision and you’re right in saying that it is better to decide now. However, it is by no means the end of the world if you don’t. For example, you can take a gap year or if you do start vet med and change your mind you can either push through and pursue a different career afterwards or ask to switch courses.
As for the desensitisation, it’s what lets vet carry on with their job. What is important is that you do eventually process it - that’s at least what I do! But the downside of that is that I can dwell on it too much and make me feel even worse. You do end up finding a way to cope that suits you best.
I am not trying to put you off but you should be prepared to see things other than euthanasia that will affect you similarly. For example, learning about animal slaughter and visiting abattoirs, difficult welfare cases, and the nature of some animal production systems such as intensive pig farms.
Correct me if I’m wrong but it sounds like you’re rushing into a decision - you’re already denouncing your 2 weeks of placement as a waste and thinking about switching subjects. Give yourself time to process what happened. For some people, euthanasia is too much. But if you’ve been dead set on veterinary medicine for years and been aware of euthanasia, this situation might just be the shock of actually seeing it for the first time.
It is a hard decision and you’re right in saying that it is better to decide now. However, it is by no means the end of the world if you don’t. For example, you can take a gap year or if you do start vet med and change your mind you can either push through and pursue a different career afterwards or ask to switch courses.
As for the desensitisation, it’s what lets vet carry on with their job. What is important is that you do eventually process it - that’s at least what I do! But the downside of that is that I can dwell on it too much and make me feel even worse. You do end up finding a way to cope that suits you best.
I am not trying to put you off but you should be prepared to see things other than euthanasia that will affect you similarly. For example, learning about animal slaughter and visiting abattoirs, difficult welfare cases, and the nature of some animal production systems such as intensive pig farms.
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