VETERINARIANS?

Veterinarians? Well, the first thought that appeared in my mind before I get into this course is indeed an angel-looking and angel-hearted person, cuddling and having fun with those cute and fluffy pets such as dogs, rabbits, hamsters, chicks and so on.
 

However, reality slams me hard during Career Week for us as the first year students of DVM programme…..

Okay, actually it’s not really that bad. Hahaha I just get to find out a lot of details about the job and responsibility of a REAL veterinarian during the Career Week. It is said that the best doctors in the world are veterinarians, as they can’t ask the patient what’s the matter, they just got to know. Indeed, veterinarian is a noble occupation. As vets, we have to instill integrity, self tolerance, cooperation, flexibility, persistence, analytical thinking and independence in ourselves. These values and skills are crucial for us in dealing with animals and of course, with the owners.

 During Career Week, I’ve learnt that as vets, we do not focus on a single type of animal. In fact, we have to deal with ALL kinds of animals. Moreover, our job duties range from 

Cleaning teeth

 

 
                              Clearing poops

                                                            Spaying and neutering

treating wounds, inspecting hooves, providing geriatric care for older pets to major surgery and animal euthanasia etc etc etc..... I would say that enthusiasm and passion for the animals will be the key for us to keep going on, because this is really NOT an easy job.

                After listening to various speakers during Career Week, I’ve found out that I’m more interested in becoming a wildlife vet in which Dr. Eve Foong was the speaker for the session. Wildlife vet’s scope of responsibility circles around keeping an eye on the health of animals, dealing with zoonotic diseases, handling with emergency animal escape,

transferring animals between zoos and so much more! I didn’t know that becoming a wildlife vet is such a challenging yet fun job until I was exposed to it during Career Week. Wildlife vet is said to be the nurse, clinician, gynecologist, dentist, dietician, microbiologist, surgeon, anesthetist, keeper and even the welfarist for the animals! 

Life is definitely full of challenges, as a wildlife vet, one of the challenges we will be facing is the great diversity of animals that are waiting for us to explore them. Besides, we will only have a limited study on specific animals and limited record on the animal health condition, and therefore, according to Dr Eve Foong, a lot of actions were taken under the condition of “agak-agak”.

 
For example, they actually only estimated the weight of a tiger as it is impossible for them to ask a tiger to stand still on a weighing scale. Another challenge faced is the finance and management direction. We were briefed about the importance of balancing between the profit and animal welfare. There are still much improvements needed in taking care of the animal welfare, having a better enclosure design, getting more knowledge about the animals and preparing better medical facilities for the animals. We were told that there are some really really REALLY inconsiderate customers in zoos which spit on the animals, pouring coke on them, pulling off the bird’s feathers, mocking the animals and even the veterinarians and zoo keepers! This is definitely one of the biggest challenges faced as a wildlife vet, and of course, having bites and scratches will be unavoidable.

Although being a wildlife vet will not be easy, but everything comes with reward and I believe that the best reward of being a wildlife vet is viewing animal birth! I really hope to have that experience soon because for me, life is really precious and viewing the born of a new life will be so amazing, heart-touching and inspiring! The birth of any organism is certainly not easy for both the mother and the young. The mother has to endure the pain and face the risk of fatality during birth delivery, and the young has to struggle to get out and some need to learn to be independent once they get out from their mother’s womb.

 Another great reward of being a veterinarian is to see your “patients” recovering from illness and regain their activeness. I believe that we will accept tokens of appreciation in much more creative ways from our “patients” such as getting licks and hugs from them! Life will definitely be much more interesting in becoming a veterinarian!

What’s life? They say it’s from B to D. From Birth to Death. But what’s between B and D? It’s a C. So what’s a C? It is a CHOICE. Our life is a matter of choices. My first choice was not Veterinary Medicine, but I’ve never regret coming here. It’s our choice whether to complain about life or to enjoy it to the fullest. I’ve chose to live my life to the fullest and enjoy it as a veterinarian. The animals don't speak, and so, we, the veterinarians, as their representatives, shall speak for them. The power to change their future lie with us. I have to say that, my horizons have definitely been widened after attending Career Week!