Becoming a Farm Vet
That’s Farming’s light-hearted take on what people do not tell you about becoming a farm vet.
- You will need more patience than you could have ever imagined – some farmers will not always have their full cattle herd rounded up by the time you arrive for the TB test (despite all the notice you gave)
- You are still debating whether the course or the job itself is harder
- Spring is a test of how many hours you can function on without a full night’s sleep
- You argue that small animal practice would be a better fit for you
- You must learn to expect the unexpected – No matter how hard you try, cases do not always go your way
- ‘When you are here, you might look at this, this and this and do this, that and the other’ is a common line from a farmer – Do not think you got called to look at just one animal
- If you are not a fan of tea, coffee or energy drinks, veterinary will change that
- You have more plastic containers, wrappers, and coffee/tea cups in your vehicle’s footwell than some landfill sites
- Between breakfast, dinner, dessert and tea, farmers will keep you fed and watered in between calls
- There are times when you question why you decided to become a vet. There are days when you wonder why you do not swap this for a 9 am-5 pm pen-pushing job in an office
- You spent years learning things in college that you may never apply in practice
- No matter how many cattle or sheep you tend to during the day, you have the desire to come home to your own flock or herd each evening/night
- A shiver still runs down your spine when you get a call for a 3 am C-section even after years of graduating
- If you have an other half, you may not see them as often as you like, so taking them on call might be the only option
