Describe your current position and what led to your job.
I am an associate veterinarian in a private small animal practice. I am a general practitioner that sees primarily dogs, cats and small mammals for surgical and medical conditions. I wanted to be a veterinarian since I was 5 years old.
What has been the most rewarding/challenging moment in your career?
That is hard to define considering the variety of things we see and the people we deal with on a regular basis. There have been many of both rewarding and challenging moments. I would say, in a general sense, working up a complicated case and getting a diagnosis or saving an animal's life through surgery or medicine would be the best moments. Challenges come in all forms including dealing with people.
What is the best career advice you have received?
Listen to your gut.
What would you recommend to someone interested in working in your field?
There are many facets to veterinary medicine. Explore them and realize that it is a lot of hard work for not a lot of pay. If you truly are passionate about it, then you will be happy, otherwise, it may not be for you. And you definitely need to love science.
What skills are necessary or what prepared you the most for your career?
The biggest thing is knowing how to deal with clients and being able to think analytically to formulate a list of differentials for a particular problem. Also having a wide variety of experiences within the field of animal science has helped me. The great scientific base education I received at UD was key as was being able to see the various facets of veterinary medicine (private practice, research, public health, etc). Knowing where and how to get info is a big part of daily practice. You can't remember it all but if you know to get to information or who to consult with, it will truly be a great help.
What professional associations have aided in your professional development?
The AAFP (American Assoc. of Feline Practitioners) and the AVMA are the biggest ones.
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