Veterinary Medicine: Personal Statement

My interest in veterinary medicine began when I was a child. I have always been an animal lover and have had pets my whole life. I became a vegetarian when I was seven, unable to ignore the connection between living animals and the meat on my plate. I wanted to be a veterinarian from the start but my parents felt I would have more satisfaction being a medical doctor. I enjoy helping people any way I can so I decided that was what I was going to pursue. Freshman year of college however, I went back to my childhood dream. I volunteered at an animal shelter and decided that animals were my passion. I changed my major from pre-med to pre-vet and never looked back. Shortly after I graduated, I started volunteering at the Athens Area Humane
I spent the majority of my free time studying between classes, working and sleeping. I worked extremely hard through my four years of college and stayed focus and successfully earned my bachelor’s degree in biology. I have taken quite a few high level biology and chemistry courses, done plenty of lab work, have done a number of research projects and papers and feel very prepared for professional school. I have learned a tremendous amount about veterinary medicine in the past few years. This has greatly reinforced my desire to become a veterinarian. My professional experience has exposed me to the pure and special bond between a person and their pet. It takes a lot of composure and resolve to be a veterinarian and I believe I have the strength to be successful. What I will offer to the veterinary community is not only compassion and dedication, but critical thinking that could save an animal’s
At first I wanted to pursue the typical day practice path. I didn’t know how expansive and diverse the field really was. I believe two of the biggest struggles in veterinary medicine are how costly it can be for medical care and how ill informed the pet owning community is. The cost discourages many clients from getting their animal veterinary attention past what is required of them. The lack of public information on animal care and well being doesn’t help this situation either. This avoidance of vets and lack of knowledge are two of the major causes of pet overpopulation in shelters and why kill-shelters are still necessary. A low cost basic clinic with a shelter side, similar to the Humane Society’s Spay & Neuter center, would be a great way to encourage the general public to get medical attention for their animals. Instead of just spays and neuters, I would also offer antigen tests and vaccines, basic diagnostics (blood work and x-rays), fecal tests and deworming, full exams, microchips, simple grooming, first aid and other basic services. Many low-income clients are so deterred by the price of an exam and sometimes the pressures of the staff to purchase services and products they don’t necessarily need, they just avoid the visits. There should be animal clinics that run similar to health departments where you get the services you need, the price is income-based and there is no pressure or judgment