Friendships/Relationships and Veterinary Medicine

Hi there,
This is my first post on here so I'm kinda scared to write this but it has been worrying me for weeks now. Do vet med students often keep in touch with or are still close with their friends from back home? Or do they almost always have to move on and focus on the course? I'm worried I'll lose all my friends and my girlfriend if I do this course despite it leading to the career of my dreams. I have been informed multiple times how full on it is and have been previously okay with it because I do still believe I can handle it, I just don't want to lose some people who I am really close to. FYI I haven't received an offer for vet med so this post could be irrelevant come May next year but I'd appreciate any idea on what it's like.

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 1

BelindaFlamazing

The truth is, nobody can tell you whether your friendships or relationships will last. As you grow older, you and the people around you naturally change, and sometimes that means growing apart if you no longer share common ground. But long-distance relationships can work out for some (it did for me).
If it breaks down, it won’t be because of vet school, even though it’s demanding and time-intensive—so are many other courses, jobs, and life in general.
If veterinary medicine is truly your passion, you should pursue it. Choosing not to for the sake of a relationship might lead to regret and resentment down the line.

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 2

Duransian

Hi, my daughter is a vet who has been qualified for 3.5 years now. She stayed in touch with her old friends throughout Uni and she still meets up with them whenever she can when she’s home. Sometimes it can be a while before the whole group can get together as they’re working all over the UK now after all going to different Uni’s but she always manages to see at least one or two of them at a time.

She was in 4th & 5th years during the pandemic so they all used to get together online via zoom so that’s definitely something you could do to keep up the contact.
She met her boyfriend (also a vet) during second year and he has stayed in touch with his old friends too. One of his vet housemates married his long-term girlfriend from back home last year. They stayed together throughout the time he was in Uni so it’s definitely doable!
You’ll find you make so many new friends too so it’s a win/win situation!
Good luck with your application!