I shadowed the veterinarians at Andover Animal Hospital, in Andover Mass. I knew that I was interested in medicine but unsure of whether I wanted to pursue a medical career. After speaking with the practice manager and my site supervisor, Diane Lindsay Towner, I made arrangements to shadow the veterinarians over the summer. When completing my practicum I was able to follow the various veterinarians at the Andover Animal Hospital through out their daily routine, viewing consultations, surgeries, interactions with the animals and their owners, in addition to the behind the scenes paper work and animal care. In addition to shadowing the veterinarians I was able to spend time with the veterinary technicians, who are the ones spending most time with the animals. The veterinarian technicians took on duties such as caring of the animals during over night stays, performing dentals and taking x-rays. Being able to spend time with both the veterinarians and technicians allowed me to see how the responsibilities were spread out among the staff.
From doing my practicum project at the Andover Animal Hospital I was able to see veterinary medicine at work. I was able to see the scientific method at work when observing the veterinarians performing diagnostics on their patients, analyzing what symptoms were present and from there deciding upon a treatment. When it came to the animals the scientific procedure was taken very cautiously, to provide the best treatment for the animals and to also appease the owners. When in the operating room I was able to see the intricacies that go into preparation, the attention to detail used during surgery and the effect that the anesthetics have on the animals after surgery. Aside from being able to go in to the operation room sitting in on consultations was one of my favorite parts of shadowing. Being able to see the veterinarians work together to figure out what was wrong with the animals based off of x-rays, blood work and ear swabs etc. showed the scientific community working together in a similar manner to that promoted by scholars. After the consultations the veterinarian I was shadowing for the day would point out the different aspects they had been discussing to me, explained how they deviated from what normal would look like, and explained their course of treatment. Allowing me to see how they came to their conclusions, and to understand the course of treatment they decided upon.
Completing my practicum project at the Andover Animal Hospital was very beneficial to me. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to observe the veterinarians at work and see how much more went on behind scenes that I was unaware of. The veterinarians shared experiences they had had in veterinary school, and how it differs from the experience one would have in medical school. At the time I had been considering both medical and veterinary medicine as possible future paths. From speaking with and observing the veterinarians I realized that they are able to interact with the patients and perform nonsurgical procedures and are able to be surgeons, which was what I was most interested in, radiologists, and anesthesiologists. The versatility of the veterinarians while still being highly skilled in all of these areas was one of the reasons veterinary medicine became more appealing to me than mainstream medicine. Another reason was the difference in post-undergraduate schooling, and amount of time they each took. Although I decided that veterinary medicine was a better fit for me than mainstream medicine, I ultimately have decided that as interested in medicine as I am, it is not what I am currently looking to pursue in the future. Even though I have decided not to continue pursuing veterinary medicine I am very happy that I chose to do my practicum project at the Andover Animal Hospital and would enjoy shadowing veterinarians there again.