Help for every stage of your veterinary career
Some time in the recent past, I thought to myself, “I wonder if there is a guide to help those who are applying to vet school? If not, maybe that’s something I could write!” I looked on Amazon and the result was this book. The Vet School Survival Guide: Notes from a Back Row Student
Most people probably know the Boy Scouts of America has the motto “Be Prepared”. As an Eagle Scout, I obviously embraced this concept and have made numerous successful professional steps that can be partially credited to this motto. It is similar to another saying I like, “I’d rather have it and not need it than
Let’s be clear at the outset: if I knew the answer to this question, I could be a millionaire. Untold numbers of consultants with MBAs try to answer this in the business world all the time and fail. There is no iron-clad way to make sure that the job you are about to take is
This one is difficult and likely to be a little controversial. A residency is more of a commitment than an internship- if it’s not a good fit, three years can be long and unpleasant. People leave residencies or are dismissed because of a bad fit. I have heard some program directors refer to choosing a
In contrast to vet schools, which are accredited by the AVMA, there is no governing body which accredits internship. Any hospital can establish an internship, and some of them probably shouldn’t. There are some notoriously bad internships out there. Some of them have turned around and become better programs. So, if you are looking at
This series was inspired by people asking me how they could identify a bad vet school. Over the past 20 years, I have had numerous people ask me about identifying bad internships. When I advise those applying for residencies, we talk about identifying potentially problematic programs. And I am blessed with having worked at institutions
Oh man, do I really need to write this post? I do, but not for the reason you may think. Yes, there are people who lie, and we will deal with that. The bigger problem is that, in our culture, honesty is a fluid concept with many different definitions. So let’s break them down. Brutal
I occasionally do locum work at different universities. Locum is short for locum tenens, a Latin term describing temp work for doctors. I assume they don’t call it “temp work” because doctors would rather be called “locums” rather than “temps”. In any event, I am usually on call the entire time, and during my last
When going to an interview, often there will be a period where you go to lunch and/or dinner with people at the institution. Sharing a meal is a powerful point of connection for people, so this is often an important component of the interview. Unfortunately, it adds another layer of social dynamics which have to
I was interviewing at a university recently and someone brought up the study we did looking at internship letters of intent. They said, “Aren’t you just telling them how to write a good letter? Won’t it be formulaic? There won’t be any difference between candidates. They can just read the study and ape what others