Why are vets so hard to get into now?
Curbside care made caring for pets more challenging and time-consuming. To limit the number of people inside veterinary practices, and to enforce social distancing measures, curbside care was instituted. And, while that minimized close contact, appointment times became much longer.
As a Veterinary Receptionist, I get to greet both people and pets all day, which I love. This can be a mixture of emotions of course as we see pets for a variety reasons. Some are very happy times, like a new adoption or puppy! Others may be more difficult times such as an unwell pet that is not improving.
James Herriot: Life of the World's Most Famous Veterinarian | Memorial Hall Library.
Across the country, nearly every veterinary hospital is facing critical staff shortages. Both doctors and technicians are leaving the veterinary profession due to low wages, burnout, and compassion fatigue.
Though aspiring med students have to take the MCAT before applying to medical school, most people agree that vet school is harder than medical school. Vet school isn't harder because it requires more strenuous work. Medical school is just as demanding.
And Number 1: The Inability to Treat In my opinion, the very toughest aspect of being a vet is having a young, mostly-healthy animal with a solvable problem- but no resources to correct the issue. The truth is, even the healthiest of animals can run into unexpected illnesses or accidents.
Stress is normal in the day-to-day life of a veterinarian. From juggling the competing demands of work and family, to diagnosing and treating critically ill patients, to dealing with difficult co-workers or employees, to making ends meet financially while paying off student debt, we face stressful situations every day.
Most vets say the career is rewarding, but also challenging and demanding. To be a vet, you must have a passion for and a clinical interest in animals, great interpersonal skills and a strong work ethic.
Generally, a Veterinary Reception will wear medical scrubs and act professionally.
Example: I hope to bring empathy and compassion to my duties as a customer support professional. Further, I think staying organized and communicating effectively will serve me well in the role of veterinary receptionist as I schedule appointments, interface with other staff and maintain client files.
What qualities should a vet receptionist have?
Personal qualities
As such you must be a natural communicator and confident engager and understand the needs of both humans and animals alike. You must also be able to remain calm with clients that may become upset or angered, and be empathetic towards situations that will be difficult for pet owners.
The highest paid veterinary specialty is: Ophthalmology
Average salaries for a veterinarian vary, but we found that the highest paid specialty in the industry is Ophthalmology, with AVMA reporting annual incomes of $199K+.

Meet Dr. Marty
He's the bestselling author of The Nature of Animal Healing and The Spirit of Animal Healing and has appeared on national television programs including The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Martha Stewart Show, and Good Morning America. He stars in the critically-acclaimed documentary, The Dog Doc.
Dr. Barbara Royal, DVM is widely recognized for her groundbreaking work with camels, elephants and zebras as well as domestic dogs and cats. She has attracted the attention of Oprah Winfrey, who relies upon her for veterinary services.
The typical age for retirement in the United States is 65, but physicians, dentists and veterinarians often retire a few years, a decade, or more later. A majority of physicians retire after age 65, according to a study by the American Medical Association.
The World Health Organization defines burnout as an “occupational phenomenon” and is characterized as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress (5). In a recent survey, 86.7% of US veterinarians had ProQOL burnout scores in the moderate or high range (6).
Some veterinarians may also feel burnt out when they experience a lack of respect or major differences in their organization's goals and their own values. Many veterinarians find their job stressful and have symptoms of burnout, which can also result from a lack of work-life balance.
For the people who pursue veterinary medicine, they can go up to four years of studies, but they can go up to five years and above for those doing medicine. Both are essential courses, but you have to trust your gut and do what you love the most. Here is a brief comparison between vet school vs. med school.
Although you might not think of math as a staple of a veterinarian's job, it actually plays a significant role. Veterinarians use math in numerous aspects of their daily operations. In fact, solid math skills are vital for a vet to ensure appropriate diagnostic testing and medication dosing.
Compared to most undergraduate programs, veterinary school is hard. Most veterinary students take 25 to 30 credits per semester of rigorous science-based courses.
Do veterinarians rarely become wealthy?
While salaries vary widely, veterinarians rarely become wealthy. As long as there are animals, there will be a need for veterinarians to care for them. The emotional and intellectual rewards of veterinary medicine are rich and diverse.
On average, veterinarians rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.7/5.
For every bad day, you will have a whole bunch of fantastic ones. There's nothing more rewarding than knowing that you have saved a life or helped improve the quality of life for both patient and client. Being a vet is not easy. It is emotional, humbling, challenging, and you will probably not make a fortune.
What is burnout in veterinarians? Burnout is a psychological syndrome occurring as a response to prolonged exposure to interpersonal stressors at work. Most cases of burnout within the veterinary profession likely occur due to high levels of prolonged stress in the veterinary workplace.
Is vet school worth it? The purely financial answer is yes, vet school is worth it — but barely. The projected lifetime earnings of a veterinarian compared to the average college grad is $450,000 after taxes versus the $292,000 in cost of paying back student loans.
There are only 30 colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States. Several thousand applicants vie for the approximately 2700 seats available each year. Admission to these programs is extremely competitive so you should strive to exceed the minimum requirements.
You get to work with animals
If you love animals, you may enjoy being a veterinarian because you interact with them daily. You directly handle pets and wildlife during evaluations and treatments. The work can be very fulfilling because you help animals remain healthy and live more comfortably.
Conducting surgical procedures in the morning allows the patient to recover throughout the day, with plenty of staff to monitor their vitals. Many times the vet will perform routine, scheduled surgeries in the morning including spays and neuters, mass removals, or dental procedures.
Current recommendations include short nails, no nail polish, no artificial nails, and of course no hand jewelry (i.e. rings, watches, and bracelets).
As a veterinary receptionist, you have to spend the entire day multitasking, toggling between checking clients in, checking clients out, gathering information to pass along, getting blamed for ANY problem with scheduling, all the while answering non-stop phone calls, each with a potential emergency on the other end.
Can veterinarians have beards?
Proper Appearance and Attire
Ideally, a medical provider should have short hair, short fingernails without artificial nails, and no beard. The reasoning for this is overall safety and to reduce the transfer of infection to the provider and the patient.
“A great receptionist has excellent organizational skills, is a valuable resource that employees can count on, and has a positive and friendly attitude at all times. A receptionist is the first face of the company that many clients will see, so it's vital to make a great first impression.”
Start off on the right foot by greeting the hiring manager with a genuine smile and a handshake. Make sure to look them in the eye during the interview and engage directly. Practice communicating clearly and calmly: A big part of being a great receptionist is answering phones and communicating with clients.
I possess effective business communication skills and can easily interact with a wide variety of personalities over the phone and in person so I have no doubt that I will represent the company in the best possible manner.
- greeting visitors when they enter the clinic.
- communicating with veterinary staff members.
- answering questions from visitors.
- using computers, phones, fax machines and other equipment.
- organising documents and correspondences.
- using filing systems.
- scheduling appointments.
The top personality traits of veterinarians are agreeableness and social responsibility. Veterinarians score highly on agreeableness, meaning that they are very sensitive to the needs of others and value harmony within a group.
How Much Does a Veterinarian Make? Veterinarians made a median salary of $100,370 in 2021. The best-paid 25% made $128,410 that year, while the lowest-paid 25% made $78,920.
As noted above, the median annual salary of veterinarians living in the United States is $88,490. While this wage is higher than those in any other country, Hawaii takes the cake. The average veterinarian in Hawaii earns $95 per hour, or $198,600 per year.
State | Employment (1) | Annual mean wage (2) |
---|---|---|
California | 7,770 | $ 134,190 |
Texas | 5,580 | $ 119,130 |
Florida | 4,580 | $ 115,400 |
New York | 3,810 | $ 135,130 |
- Claude Bourgelat. Veterinary medicine as we know it would not exist were it not for Dr. ...
- Bernhard Lauritz Frederik Bang. ...
- Elinor McGrath. ...
- Buster Lloyd-Jones. ...
- Louis J. ...
- Patricia O'Connor. ...
- James Herriot. ...
- Mary Knight Dunlap.
Who is the most famous veterinarian?
James Herriot: Life of the World's Most Famous Veterinarian | Memorial Hall Library.
- Corn Syrup and Artificial Food Coloring. The sweetness from corn syrup and the artificial coloring from food dye are completely unnecessary and unnatural in dog food. ...
- BHA, BHT or Ethoxyquin. Just say “no” to these artificial preservatives. ...
- Rendered Fat. ...
- Propylene Glycol.
Vets Now was founded in 2001 by Richard Dixon, a veterinary surgeon who understood the pressure of being on-call round the clock while also trying to maintain a good quality of life.
Dr. Marty Pets was founded by Dr. Martin Goldstein, a highly respected veterinarian with over 45 years of medical experience.
Like those working on the frontlines of the pandemic in other capacities, many vets left their jobs because they felt “unsafe or concerned about being sick” and either left the workforce entirely or took jobs “in other places where they maybe didn't need to have so much face time with clients,” Dr. Fox says.
A recent pet adoption boom — especially during the COVID pandemic — along with continuing veterinarian retirements have contributed to the vet shortage, experts say. Already, pet owners are experiencing long delays when trying to get appointments in order to secure the care they need for their pets.
Biggest Challenge – The biggest challenge for the veterinary industry by far is the widespread shortage of veterinarians. The two big reasons: poor remuneration and poor job satisfaction. Poor remuneration is a necessary consequence of low production.
Employee turnover and attrition remain high in veterinary medicine, especially when compared with other health care professions. The average turnover for veterinarians is twice as high as it is for physicians in medical practice.
- Potential burnout and compassion fatigue.
- You will see animals in pain and suffering from every ailment, and will likely perform euthanasia.
- Long hours in the office and on-call during weekends and evenings.
- Revenue is a discretionary expense for caretakers.
Arkansas Has Fewest Veterinarians Per Capita in US, Study Finds.
What is the least a vet could make?
A companion animal practice veterinarian will get about $110,000 per year. Then, a mixed animal vet can get about $100,000 per year on average. Food animal practice vets also earn around $100,000 per year. Equine veterinarians are the lowest-earning vets, with their annual salary being around $90,000.
State | Employment (1) | Employment per thousand jobs |
---|---|---|
California | 7,770 | 0.44 |
Texas | 5,580 | 0.43 |
Florida | 4,580 | 0.50 |
New York | 3,810 | 0.42 |
Stress is normal in the day-to-day life of a veterinarian. From juggling the competing demands of work and family, to diagnosing and treating critically ill patients, to dealing with difficult co-workers or employees, to making ends meet financially while paying off student debt, we face stressful situations every day.
Not providing sufficient or accessible information.
Ouedraogo observed, “is that over 40% of practitioners who graduated during the last 10 years are thinking of leaving the profession.
If you love animals, you may enjoy being a veterinarian because you interact with them daily. You directly handle pets and wildlife during evaluations and treatments. The work can be very fulfilling because you help animals remain healthy and live more comfortably.
References
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