Veterinary School Interview Questions – Flashcards

I grew up in Moorpark, a suburban town in southern California. I grew up with two german shepherds and a loving golden retriever, and was always interested in saving lost dogs around the nieghborhood. I attended zoo camp at the Moorpark College teaching zoo when I was very young. My interest in veterinary medicine is truly founded and has further developed from these two experiences in my life. I am graduating with a bachelors degree in psychology this fall, with a minor in interdisciplinary studies through the honors program at my university. I am an open-minded individual, persistent and determined, and resilient. These three qualities have allowed me to excel in my life's goals, and have shaped the person I am and the choices that I make today.

I want to be a veterinarian because I have an interest in the ever-changing, growing field of medicine. Learning about how the body works fascinates me. In particular I want to do veterinary medicine because I want to be able to work with the two things that I love--both animals and people, and want to be able to see the results of me making a difference through my personal skills that I will learn in veterinary school. (quality of life--life is the most important thing).

Ideally I would like to pursue a specialty in orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation services for pets who have undergone orthopedic surgery. I have seen a few orthopedic surgeries and also find it amazing to be able to heal problems in pets that could not have healed without surgery. It gives these pets the opportunity to have a higher quality of life. I am open to other areas, such as farm, animal behavior, and/or oncology/radiology, but my firm interest remains in the orthopedic realm of veterinary medicine.

highlight my strengths, not others weaknesses. provide things that could attest to your achievements. qualities not on CV that may apply to job

I think that my grades are a fairly accurate way to assess my academic ability. My grades typically reflect how hard I worked to attain a good grade in a class via class readings, reviewing lecture material, etc. For most of my grades, the time I spent on the class is reflected in the letter grade I received.

If I am not accepted in to the program, I will spend another year trying to improve myself as a candidate. I think I could become more involved in community service based projects with animals, gain farm experience, and take a class for the GRE to bring my test scores up. I do not want to give up on my goal.

I knew it was a fairly new, up to date program, and felt that it would be a great place for me to attend veterinary school. Not only are the laboratory instruments new and state of the art, but everyone is fresh at the school, which I feel fosters an environment for cohesiveness when working as a team as well as a positive atmosphere where the drive to succeed and learn thrives.

I expect to gain the knowledge and skills it will take to become a successful veterinarian, and learn how to apply those skills effectively.

I have always had a desire to pursue higher education. Veterinary medicine became a prominent goal for me when I realized that I could incorporate my love for medicine and influence the lives of both animals and people. My passion for all three areas motivated me to pursue veterinary medicine, and my internal drive to learn and succeed has sustained my motivation.

My greatest weakness is definitely my little farm animal experience. While I did have some exposure to farm animals through the pre-veterinary club at my undergraduate university, I know that there is so much to learn and experience in that field. However, I feel that my lack of experience in that area can be made up for my my strengths in other areas. For example, I have a strong background in small pet animal nursing duties, which I can use in teamwork during veterinary school by assisting other students who may not have as much clinical experience. I can also apply sterile techniques and other skills that I've learned, like inserting a IV catheter, to other animals. I feel that the skills that I know well and am confident in will aid me in a farm animal setting, and I am very willing and open to learning about farm animals.

I have worked with different veterinarians for about six years, and have seen different kinds of practices (corporate and privately owned). I also have experience working at the front desk as a receptionist, running lab tests, and performing nursing duties--including interacting with clients and explaining medications, diseases, etc. I also grew up with pets in my home, and have developed strong compassion for both people and animals. My study abroad experience in South Africa also makes me a great candidate for veterinary school because I was able to adapt quickly to a different setting and learned an area of veterinary medicine that was new to me, including wildlife education and conservation.

I liked animal behavior and physiology best. Animal behavior incorporates some of my psychology background as a psychology major, and I have always had a desire to understand animal behavior and investigate the reasons behind why certain animals act as they do. I enjoyed physiology also because I find it fascinating to learn about how the body works. I never find my mind wandering in these classes, and feel that they are pertinent to my future. Thus, I feel that my interest is indicative of my sustained interest in veterinary medicine. My least favorite subject was the second portion of organic chemistry. While I enjoyed the subject matter, I did struggle with learning the content. I have liked every class that I've taken to a varying degree, but this class was more than a challenge for me. I love a good challenge, but I wasn't able to make a major breakthrough in this class despite my persistent efforts to learn the subject matter.

I was actively involved in the pre-veterinary club at my undergraduate university which gave me a breadth of experience and exposure to various fields in the world of veterinary medicine. I am also an active runner, and will be competing in my first full marathon in January at Disney World. Finally, I thoroughly enjoy reading a good book, whether it is educational or not. If I find it interesting, I feel that I will gain informational knowledge or knowledge from the perspective of another, something that is so invaluable in today's world.

I've received such a rich and diverse education from San Diego State that it is very difficult for me to choose just one class; however, one class really caught my interest--physiology. I find the how the body works extremely fascinating, and love leaning and then being able to explain the knowledge that I have gained to my peers. It is even more fascinating to see how different conditions regarding the heart, nerves, etc are treated with drugs, and to see the direct effect the drugs have on the body as well. In this class, I feel like I am connecting pieces of things that I'd known a little bit of, and am finally making it whole.

In all reality, I find veterinary medicine to be a more rewarding and fulfilling career path than human medicine. I feel that veterinary medicine is the best of both worlds--as a veterinarian, I will be able to work with both animals and people, and make a difference in the the lives of both. In human medicine, a doctor is limited to just one option--helping humans. I also think that veterinary medicine has some different challenging aspects than human medicine, in that our patients cannot explicitly say what is wrong. Instead, as a veterinarian, I would also be acting as an investigator, putting pieces of the puzzle together from the patient's known medical history, physical symptoms, and any test results that the client agrees to run.

To decide between the two schools, I would consider which program had stronger fields and areas for me to develop my skills in small animal orthopedic surgery, or my other interests in pathology and radiology as well as animal behavior. If there was a certain veterinarian with whom I could possibly have the opportunity to work with for orthopedic surgery, I would factor that in to my decision. I would also consider the way classes are taught and how much clinical experience is required. I feel that I would benefit from more clinical experience because over the years I have become aware that I am a hands-on learner.

Debts from veterinary education hard working staff on feet all day! changing standards, emerging trends, and new drugs, therapies, and treatments in field. staying on top of it is key! Also education on over-population and having good spay-neutor promotion/program. **from Dr. Schoenhaus--> companion fatigue and unfilled written out prescriptions.

My lab partner has recently asked my personally to share one of my lab reports with him. I responded to him kindly but firmly on my stance and opinion on the matter--the syllabus for the class clearly indicates that each student is required to complete individual lab reports. Although I don't believe my partner intended to plagiarize my report, I felt that I didn't want to jeopardize my academic standing by sharing a lab report that he was fully capable of doing himself. I told him he could call me if he had any trouble or questions to see if I could help, but I did not share my lab report and told him I would not feel comfortable with that kind of request in the future either.

Small animal surgery as well as wildlife medicine. I have explained my interest in both of these areas of veterinary medicine and would love the opportunity to pursue them at Midwestern university. The new state-of-the-art on campus facilities will also allow me as a student to gain access and familiarity with the latest technology in veterinary medicine, leading to a more efficient and accurate veterinary practice. I also realize that there is a shortange of veterinarians in the state of AZ, and would be very interested in opening up or joining a practice in Arizona after attaining a DVM license. I realize how important the veterinary role is, and would be honored to contribute to the growing field of veterinary medicine in AZ, helping to expand veterinary care and awareness there. (**also could mention community service outreach and education. giving back to the commuity--on presidents honor roll for community service. incorporated in to curriculum.)

Dr. Sidaway, the Dean, does research in canine orthopedics. Given that I have expressed a strong interest in orthopedics, I feel that at Midwestern I would be honored and thrilled to be able to work with someone who shares a similar interest to me. I feel also the orthopedic surgery and pain management for pets goes hand in hand, and would also be interested in working with Dr. Wegner. Her research in peripheral nerve pathophysiology in acute and chronic stress pain states is pertinent to pre and post health of an animal that undergoes orthopedic surgery. I am currently in a physiology class, and I was most intrigued my the way the nervous system works. It would be great to be able to do research on these areas which I am most interested in.

a time when I was lost maybe? In south africa?? Extubating?

My best friend of five years and roommate Julia recently learned that her 14-year old dog with arthritis broke his leg, and the veterinarian found tumors that had metastasized all over his leg and probably to other areas of the body. Her parents decided to euthanize the pet. Julia was crying, and I talked with her for a few hours about her dog Sampson. I canceled my plans for the night so I could be there for her, and shared that I went through a similar situation with my dog C.J. the year before. I explained that no situation was the same, but I could see the deep pain she was experiencing and could relate well. I shared her tears that night as well as my own thoughts--that although death and loss are scary and permanent, she'd watched her dog sampson struggle for months walking with arthritis, and that he wouldn't be in pain any more. His quality of life would've been poor with a wheelchair, and although it's the most painful thing to do to decide to euthanize your beloved pet, Sampson would be free of pain. I canceled my plans for the next day as well so I'd be able to take her to the airport as well, so she'd be able to spend time with Sampson for the last time. I also gently let her know that I am there to talk or just be there whenever she needs me for support--that's what friends are for.

I am running my first marathon in January. In order to accomplish this goal, I have to follow a training schedule pretty consistently. I want to achieve a certain time (3:35 to qualify for the Boston marathon). Every week mileage increases in small increments, and I keep track of my pace through an app called run keeper. Basically I do shorter runs on week days, and save the long runs for the weekend. By putting in mileage on a daily basis and keeping track of my pace, I am breaking up my large goal into smaller, manageable pieces. I also began racing with a 10K, then a half marathon, and now am training to compete in a full marathon and then hopefully the Boston half marathon. These training markers have allowed me to also overcome any mental hesitance that I had about competing in such a taxing, vigorous, exciting event.

I asked my professor for advice on what to do for large project on something called a "mind map." While my professor didn't offer direct advice, the guidance he offered was insightful and helped me to see things from another perspective.

Filling out notes properly for a pet is very important as it is a legal document and also allows the doctor access and knowledge to the patient's history and past treatments. As a new nurse, I am learning how to document things properly. In my first week, I forgot to fill out age and weight for the bet under the objective section of the SOAP notes. These two things are crucial to know, especially weight of the pet, as this can affect the dosage for medications and certain injections and also allows the doctor to keep track of the pet's weight and overall health over time. I asked two different doctor's and a nurse to show me the way that they filled out their notes, and had either a doctor or nurse double check my notes the for the next week to make sure that I was doing them correctly.

MRI and ultrasound being incorporated in to veterinary practice. MRI good for detecting cancer but patient must be anesthetized. biotech drugs (antibodies--pet insurance, cost is concern). New technology is less invasive. First laparoscopy. According to Gordon, another great recent advance in veterinary cardiology was the development of the Amplatz Canine Ductal Ocluder (CDO). This was a revolutionary device because, unlike previous devices that were used to non-invasively repair a common congenital heart defect in the dog, this device was specifically designed for the dog.

I make decisions by making a pros and cons list in my head first. From that, I usually develop a feeling for which decision is the best option. I often run through scenarios in my head and analyze the different outcomes. When needed, I consult with others, as I feel different perspectives can be invaluable in any blind spots that I may have. (ex: college decision)

Integrity to me is what you do and how you act when no body is looking. To me it's doing the right thing, regardless of who is around or watching. Sticking to my values and internal moral code that I was raised with allows me to do this, as well as my conscience.

zoonotic diseases. The role of the Veterinary Services has traditionally extended from the farm to the slaughterhouse, where veterinarians have a dual responsibility epidemiological surveillance of animal diseases and ensuring the safety and suitability of meat. The education and training of veterinarians, which includes both animal health (including zoonoses) and food hygiene components, makes them uniquely equipped to play a central role in ensuring food safety, especially the safety of foods of animal origin. preventitive approach. farm leve;--hygeniec conditions and surveillance for diseases and how to avoid, eliminate, or control food safety hazards. foodborne disease --> contamination

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the most sweeping reform of our food safety laws in more than 70 years, was signed into law by President Obama on January 4, 2011. FSMA aims to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus from responding to contamination of the food supply to preventing it. The law applies to human food as well as to food for animals, including pets

One of the basic tenets of animal rights is that humans do not have a right to use non-human animals for our own purposes, which include food, clothing, entertainment and vivisection. This is based on a rejection of speciesism and the knowledge that animals are sentient beings. There are many who believe that humans do have a right to use animals for some purposes, but believe that the animals should be treated better. This position is the animal welfare position. While the animal rights position would hold that humans do not have the right to slaughter and eat animals, the animal welfare position would be that the animals should be treated humanely before and during slaughter. The animal welfare position would not object to the consumption of animals, but would seek the elimination of cruel factory farming practices such as confining calves in veal crates, confining pregnant sows in gestational stalls, and debeaking chickens.

I fear that I will make a crucial mistake. Although people make mistakes, it is important for a veterinarian not to make a mistake, especially during surgery when another life is in your hands. I think that to overcome this fear, I will need to remind myself every so often that I am being trained properly so that I will not make detrimental mistakes, and will also have the knowledge and skills to repair a mistake if I do make one.

I think a quarantine could have been a better option--that way, officials could study it. While preventative practice is always beneficial, it is hard to say that this was the right thing to do in this case. While there is evidence that dogs (01'02) have antibodies for ebola, there has been no evidence of any dog contracting ebola or spreading it (monkeys and bats can transmit). Spread through direct contact--dogs aren't eating corpses or eating infected animals--risk minimal.

To avoid burnout, I'd make time to do yoga, read, run, and hang out with friends. I feel that those activities are fun and relaxing for me, and always get boosts of happiness and support when I'm hanging out with friends. I have always been able to find a good balance between school, work, and my personal life, and feel that I will use the techniques that have worked for me so far in to the future as well.

university student senate. gain firm leadership experience--feel that I would be a great representative. I feel I can listen to student's needs and prioritize them. I would also be happy to start a branch of a veterinary student association if one doesn't already exist.