Becoming a veterinarian

Entry, Experiences Category
Hannah Evans, University of Tennessee 

According to my fifth grade yearbook, I had aspirations to become a singer “like Britney Spears.” I used to sing her songs to my hairbrush every night, and I was certain my future would revolve around pop music. In middle school, my dream changed, and I was sure I wanted to grow earthworms for a living. As the years passed, my surefire career choices ranged from a librarian to a playwright to an astronomer. Dr. AshleyEven as I walked across the stage at my high school graduation, I was at a loss as to what career path I wanted to take. At the time, my mind wavered between a career working in Alzheimer’s research and one writing science fiction novels. I registered for a wide variety of courses in my freshman year of college and ended it by declaring myself a Biology major for no reason other than to give myself some semblance of the focus that all my new friends seemed to have.

The need for a summer job and a love of animals brought me to a job at Banfield, the Pet Hospital. I quickly fell in love with the staff as well as the variety of patients that pranced and waddled their way into our examination rooms. From Mrs. Williams’ gentle greyhound, Katie, to Mr. Burkhart’s irritable domestic short hair, Shadow, I came to appreciate the individual personalities of each pet I worked with.

Every day, I watched Dr. Ashley, the head veterinarian, and he fascinated me with his ability to converse with his clients. He could turn a hostile situation into a favorable one just by changing his tone of voice and choice of words. He used whatever mechanism he needed in order for the client to understand his recommendations even if this forced him to showcase his subpar drawing skills on a paper towel. Because he wanted that client to be able to make an informed, educated decision about his or her pet, he felt it was his responsibility to provide the client with those tools. I did not understand why it was necessary for him to go to such great lengths to convince a client to agree to his treatment plans. In my mind, if clients said no, then they were deliberately choosing not to treat their pets, and it was not the veterinarian’s fault if the pet did not get better. “It’s my job to educate clients,” he told me, “so if a client elects not to follow-through with my recommendations, I have to lay part of the blame on myself for that pet not receiving the care it needs.”

That piece of knowledge stuck with me as I saw more and more patients with Dr. Ashley. Each time I walked into an exam room with him, I gained a better understanding for why client education was so important to veterinary medicine. I witnessed clients refuse his recommendations countless times because they did not think a test was necessary or worth the money, so the pet went untreated. On the other hand, I also watched him convert non-compliant clients into accommodating ones and felt the wave of success flow through me as Dawg or Miss Kitty walked out with medications. What surprised me the most, though, were the occasions where, when I presented a client with an estimate, he or she would say, “If Dr. Ashley recommends it, then I’m going to pay for it.” The amount of trust his clients placed in him amazed me, and I developed a deep appreciation for the veterinarian-client relationship.

As each day passed, my respect for Dr. Ashley and for the veterinary profession increased. I started to feel comfortable in my position as a technician, and I began to consider a career as a veterinarian. My perspective of the occupation had been altered considerably. I realized that the profession was not just about saving animals. There was a delicate bond between doctor and pet owner that I had never noticed before, and I now know that, without this bond, most of the animals would never receive proper veterinary care.

It’s been over three years since I first walked into an exam room with Dr. Ashley. I’ve grown from a clueless, unfocused girl to a knowledgeable, determined woman with a clear goal. I still sing pop songs to my hairbrush, study earthworms on the sidewalk, and write stories in my notebook, but nothing makes me happier than walking into an exam room and being attacked by puppy kisses. I want to be the voice for that puppy as it grows and develops into someone’s best friend. I want to be the person that new owner looks to for advice when something is wrong with his or her pet. I want to be a friend, a counselor, a doctor, and a savior. I want to be a veterinarian.