Or Mr. Herriot Had Trouble Too
Last week, I took two senior days off school and began a job hunt that was to take me to Wisconsin and then to Pennsylvania. It was going to be a long trip. For this trip, Shari from school suggested some books on tape. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t thought of that before and got about five from the library. I started out listening to one of James Herriot’s books that I had already read (this ‘re-reading’ was an accident).
As I listened to this book, I felt a little better about myself. Mr. Herriot (in Britain, veterinarians are not doctors) had the same problems that I am having after he graduated. It was 1937-the middle of a world-wide depression. The rough economic times in 2010 feel the same way. He said that there were classmates doing medial work and manual labor because they couldn’t find jobs as vets. I have a classmate that sometimes feels that way. Like maybe working as a laborer (a welder in his case) might be better than being a veterinarian because at least it’s a job. James Herriot said that there were ads in the Veterinary Record (the British equivalent of JAVMA I’m sure) for vets that were willing to work for room and board because they just wanted to practice veterinary medicine.
Not only did James Herriot have trouble finding a job and breathe a sigh of relief when he found one, but had his doubts about his skills and how to solve these problems. He wanted to give up too. This makes me feel so much better. Listening to the cases as he presented them, I could come up with differentials and treatments. Bovine medicine (dairy medicine most often) really hasn’t changed that much.
What makes James Herriot such as great veterinarian? He was a great story teller. He could relate to his clients and care about the animals. Maybe it was because he was one of the first vets to relate their tales of practice. Lots of vets have written books similar since then. I could tell some stories. Well, maybe not now, but someday.
As I listened to this book, I felt a little better about myself. Mr. Herriot (in Britain, veterinarians are not doctors) had the same problems that I am having after he graduated. It was 1937-the middle of a world-wide depression. The rough economic times in 2010 feel the same way. He said that there were classmates doing medial work and manual labor because they couldn’t find jobs as vets. I have a classmate that sometimes feels that way. Like maybe working as a laborer (a welder in his case) might be better than being a veterinarian because at least it’s a job. James Herriot said that there were ads in the Veterinary Record (the British equivalent of JAVMA I’m sure) for vets that were willing to work for room and board because they just wanted to practice veterinary medicine.
Not only did James Herriot have trouble finding a job and breathe a sigh of relief when he found one, but had his doubts about his skills and how to solve these problems. He wanted to give up too. This makes me feel so much better. Listening to the cases as he presented them, I could come up with differentials and treatments. Bovine medicine (dairy medicine most often) really hasn’t changed that much.
What makes James Herriot such as great veterinarian? He was a great story teller. He could relate to his clients and care about the animals. Maybe it was because he was one of the first vets to relate their tales of practice. Lots of vets have written books similar since then. I could tell some stories. Well, maybe not now, but someday.
SO anyway, I left on Thursday, April 1st for Wisconsin. I drove north through Missouri, into Iowa where I got lost for about 30 miles round trip after figuring out my mistake and turning around, then Minnesota and then an hour into Wisconsin. I had a nice hotel room in a brand new Motel 6 with FREE internet. I went to dinner with the practice owner at Applebee’s. I had a tiny little steak though I really wanted a BBQ pork steak ala Lambert’s. Maybe I should have Joe make some for me…The next day, I went out on large animal calls for most of the day and then saw some small animal appointments on Saturday. It was nice overall. I liked the practice (www.countrydrs.com) but I don’t think that the offer was really all that great. The offered salary was higher than I expected though the benefits were crap. When the fact that I have to buy half of my own insurance and there’s no retirement 401K match, it pretty much drops the salary back quite a bit. I think I liked Birnamwood better. Most of the farms were smaller and the vets were maybe a little more enjoyable. And the overall package offer was better. HOWEVER, I would get to do horses at Country Doctors. And the town is better, larger and has more job opportunities for Joe. I got to try ultrasound (one of those portable jobs with the eye piece) and tried to pull a breech calf (well, actually two because it was a set of twins) but wasn’t really able to. And managed to get covered in blood and placenta juice. It soaked through to my skin and ruined the gray t-shirt (Niagara Falls) that I was wearing. Overall, I guess it went okay.
On Saturday morning as I made my way to the clinic for the morning I got a phone call from Rome (www.romevetcenter.com). I had been having trouble with this clinic but had thought that even though they had already offered a contract to someone and weren’t sure about hiring someone else and now at least one associate if not two associates were leaving, everything was okay. Well, it wasn’t. Apparently, the contract had been signed and it was still up in the air about the associates (one was definitely leaving and one was still deciding) and the economy continued to be poor and they had talked to the son/brother that is a year behind me in vet school at Cornell about joining the practice and weren’t sure they wanted to start two new grads at once since they had done that already and all of this meant that they no longer wanted me to go up there. Needless to say that I was in a panic because I was supposed to be there for FIVE days and had a hotel room (NON-REFUNDABLE) reserved and everything. And nothing to do until this Saturday. Well, I started making phone calls and the practice in Newville, Pennsylvania thought that it would be okay for me to come up there on Monday and the practice in Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania thought that I could come up early too so it seemed like it was going to work out. I started driving and made it just into Indiana. The girl at the desk at the hotel was super nice. Like the nicest person I had met on my whole trip. I did however still have to deal with that hotel room in New York. That non refundable one that told me I had to talk to hotels.com. So I called hotels.com and explained. They did some magic and I got a full refund on my NON REFUNDABLE room. Almost $300! I was so excited. The next day, I drove across Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The weather was fantastic but paying the tolls was not. I was so far north that I was on the Turnpikes the whole way. It probably cost me close to $40 between Illinois and Pennsylvania. Once I got to my Motel 6 and changed around the reservation I had standing here, I was ready to relax. It didn’t take me as long as I thought it might. I found out however that I didn’t have any phone access and Motel 6 was out of internet. How can you be out of internet? Well, they didn’t have the access card that you pay $3 for to get 24 hours of internet. Suck. And this hotel was a little ghetto. The room was slightly dirty though it seemed pretty well kept. There was some crazy big haired woman yelling at someone in the parking lot. I know there are people living here too. And a cop came rolling though when I was walking back from getting ice tonight.
On Saturday morning as I made my way to the clinic for the morning I got a phone call from Rome (www.romevetcenter.com). I had been having trouble with this clinic but had thought that even though they had already offered a contract to someone and weren’t sure about hiring someone else and now at least one associate if not two associates were leaving, everything was okay. Well, it wasn’t. Apparently, the contract had been signed and it was still up in the air about the associates (one was definitely leaving and one was still deciding) and the economy continued to be poor and they had talked to the son/brother that is a year behind me in vet school at Cornell about joining the practice and weren’t sure they wanted to start two new grads at once since they had done that already and all of this meant that they no longer wanted me to go up there. Needless to say that I was in a panic because I was supposed to be there for FIVE days and had a hotel room (NON-REFUNDABLE) reserved and everything. And nothing to do until this Saturday. Well, I started making phone calls and the practice in Newville, Pennsylvania thought that it would be okay for me to come up there on Monday and the practice in Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania thought that I could come up early too so it seemed like it was going to work out. I started driving and made it just into Indiana. The girl at the desk at the hotel was super nice. Like the nicest person I had met on my whole trip. I did however still have to deal with that hotel room in New York. That non refundable one that told me I had to talk to hotels.com. So I called hotels.com and explained. They did some magic and I got a full refund on my NON REFUNDABLE room. Almost $300! I was so excited. The next day, I drove across Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The weather was fantastic but paying the tolls was not. I was so far north that I was on the Turnpikes the whole way. It probably cost me close to $40 between Illinois and Pennsylvania. Once I got to my Motel 6 and changed around the reservation I had standing here, I was ready to relax. It didn’t take me as long as I thought it might. I found out however that I didn’t have any phone access and Motel 6 was out of internet. How can you be out of internet? Well, they didn’t have the access card that you pay $3 for to get 24 hours of internet. Suck. And this hotel was a little ghetto. The room was slightly dirty though it seemed pretty well kept. There was some crazy big haired woman yelling at someone in the parking lot. I know there are people living here too. And a cop came rolling though when I was walking back from getting ice tonight.
Anyway, Monday I showed up at the vet clinic in Newville-maybe a little late because I didn’t think that they were open. I rode with one partner and then the other. I did some herd checks and then looked at a shocky horse-its gums were purple. Not good. Then we looked at some sick cows and one had a DA. The farmer wanted it cut standing which the vet that I was with didn’t do. He said that I knew how and I explained that it was how we were taught in school. At which point the vet asked if I wanted to do it. I said sure but really hoped that I wouldn’t have to. I did end up doing it and while it didn’t go great, it didn’t go bad either. The vet doesn’t do them like that so maybe he wasn’t the best to have assisting me through my troubles. I hope that I showed him that with a little more experience I could easily do it. Since I didn’t get to see any small animal work, the vet suggested that I come back the next day to see that side of the practice. He also said that I was the type of person that they were interested in-someone that could do large animal work and be comfortable with it. Today, even though there was another person there interviewing (she’s from St.George and I’m pretty sure unless she’s super impressive, I’m totally more awesome!), I hung out for most of the day and went to the other clinic for a while before excusing myself for errands. (I had to mail graduation announcements including one to Iceland.) Then I ate Chili’s.
I think this interview went really, really well. I think I would fit into this practice pretty well. Of course, I have even higher hopes for the practice at Fawn Grove. This area of Pennsylvania is beautiful. There are these rolling pastures and fields and old barns and old houses that sit on the roads without any sidewalk. The weather is fantastic right now and everything is in bloom. Also, within the practice, you can go up a mountain covered in pine trees. I think its so fantastic. I told Joe that we should just move here anyway.
At Fawn Grove, I decided to just play it by ear as far as getting a hotel room and stuff because it was vaguely mentioned once about staying with the vet at the practice which turns out to be in his backyard along with his two reindeer. Seriously. Reindeer. Fawn Grove is a large animal only practice and both days that I was there, I saw an assortment of large animals-alpacas, horses, dairy cows. That aspect is very cool. For whatever reason though, I didn’t get the same great feeling that I did with the practice in Newville. (I totally got a call from the vet there and was told that the cow I did surgery on was doing great-milking and eating and had returned to the herd.) I just couldn’t help but feel that I was in the way sometimes. I liked the practice overall. Its tied for second.
Of course, once I returned home and gained access to the internet, there’s a practice in Lancaster County, PA that’s totally hiring. I may have to make another journey out east but I’m secretly hoping not. Fingers crossed for something good to have come from Job Journey.
There’s just something about Wisconsin or Pennsylvania with the rolling pastures and dairy cows spotting them. Fields of corn growing or the stubble still in the fields needing to be planted. I love the differences between the two states. The shapes of the barns, the slatted shutters on the barns in Pennsylvania and the slightly rounded peaked roofs of Wisconsin. In both states, the barns sit on solid stone foundations and are red or white. I love the wooden farm houses of Wisconsin and the stone or brick box shaped house that sit a little too close to the road in Pennsylvania . Either place I think I’ll be happy…but Pennsylvania is leading right now.
[EDIT-Originally published to Blogger on May 31, 2011]
I think this interview went really, really well. I think I would fit into this practice pretty well. Of course, I have even higher hopes for the practice at Fawn Grove. This area of Pennsylvania is beautiful. There are these rolling pastures and fields and old barns and old houses that sit on the roads without any sidewalk. The weather is fantastic right now and everything is in bloom. Also, within the practice, you can go up a mountain covered in pine trees. I think its so fantastic. I told Joe that we should just move here anyway.
At Fawn Grove, I decided to just play it by ear as far as getting a hotel room and stuff because it was vaguely mentioned once about staying with the vet at the practice which turns out to be in his backyard along with his two reindeer. Seriously. Reindeer. Fawn Grove is a large animal only practice and both days that I was there, I saw an assortment of large animals-alpacas, horses, dairy cows. That aspect is very cool. For whatever reason though, I didn’t get the same great feeling that I did with the practice in Newville. (I totally got a call from the vet there and was told that the cow I did surgery on was doing great-milking and eating and had returned to the herd.) I just couldn’t help but feel that I was in the way sometimes. I liked the practice overall. Its tied for second.
Of course, once I returned home and gained access to the internet, there’s a practice in Lancaster County, PA that’s totally hiring. I may have to make another journey out east but I’m secretly hoping not. Fingers crossed for something good to have come from Job Journey.
There’s just something about Wisconsin or Pennsylvania with the rolling pastures and dairy cows spotting them. Fields of corn growing or the stubble still in the fields needing to be planted. I love the differences between the two states. The shapes of the barns, the slatted shutters on the barns in Pennsylvania and the slightly rounded peaked roofs of Wisconsin. In both states, the barns sit on solid stone foundations and are red or white. I love the wooden farm houses of Wisconsin and the stone or brick box shaped house that sit a little too close to the road in Pennsylvania . Either place I think I’ll be happy…but Pennsylvania is leading right now.
[EDIT-Originally published to Blogger on May 31, 2011]
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