I’m at the american association for zoo veterinarians conference this week and they’re having an official shooting competition (with prizes) to determine who is the best with a dart gun… this is the best academic conference I’ve ever attended
Two Downforce Motorsports Superformance GT40 entries competing against each other at OPTIMA’s 2024 Ultimate Street Car Series at Sebring on the Classic Car Liquidators Autocross
You probably don’t remember because it was a while back, but I sent you an ask about a year and a half ago about vet school admissions. First off, I wanted to thank you for your kind words; I was so nervous back then about my application that it was driving me to distraction nearly every day for months, and what you said was really helpful and reassuring. Also, I wanted to let you know that I got in! I’ll be done with my first year in a couple months, and it’s been amazing!
I actually have a new question for you though: I adore working with exotics and wildlife and got a good amount of experience with them as a technician before applying for vet school. But now that I’m here, there doesn’t seem to be many opportunities to learn about exotics or get clinical experience with them, or at least not so far in my schooling. So what did you do during and/or after vet school to learn more and get experience with exotics/wildlife as a veterinarian?
Thanks again!!!
Congrats on starting your vet med journey!
The best thing to do while you're a student is to take advantage of all the free/discounted CE. At least a few years ago VIN CE was free for students and they generally do a handful of intro exotics courses per year plus some more advanced ones. Conferences are also usually cheaper for students and may have hands on labs too.
Does you school have a zoo/wildlife club? Usually they set up some speakers and wet labs. If they don't have one, consider starting one! It will look great on a resume and you'll be able to get some practical experience.
Wildlife rehab is also a great opportunity for gaining clinical skills. A lot of wildlife clinics have opportunities for students to intern and it's generally pretty hands on. I learned to handle raptors before I learned to handle parrots which ended up being a huge advantage because as much as being bit by a parrot sucks, it's not worse than being bit/taloned by a raptor so it helped a lot with my confidence haha. A lot can translate from wildlife to exotics (and if you work somewhere that sees a lot of exotics people will probably also bring you pet wildlife).
And of course you can always shadow/work at a clinic that sees exotics. It's definitely variable how much hands on experience you'll get but if there's no one near you with a good caseload consider traveling. Some of the big exotics hospitals have student externships as well.