Top Tips For Aspiring Vets

Ten top tips!

Work experience is a very important aspect of your application to veterinary medicine, but it’s not the only one! Here’s what you should be doing right now:

1. Start thinking about your Personal Statement in Year 12 – right now!

2. Reflect on your work experience and volunteering so far – what have you observed and what has convinced you to spend the rest of your life helping and caring for animals?

3. Check each university website and ensure you have the required amount and variety of work experience – it’s worth checking to see if they recommend anything in particular eg in an abattoir (animal welfare)

4. Visit two vital sites – the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) to see the latest news, new treatments, policy and advice

5. Make sure you have looked up common diseases such as mastitis, avian flu, swine flu, blue tongue, BSE, anthrax, E.coli and acts such as the Dangerous Dogs Act. This website will tell you everything you did (and didn’t!) want to know about animal diseases, alphabetically and by species

6. Investigate diseases, treatments, procedures which interest you and make sure you can talk confidently about one article you have read or procedure you have observed

7. Watch online lectures to get a feel for your subject area - YouTube

8. Practice some additional maths so you can demonstrate your numeracy with confidence in the interview: NRICH

9. Think about your leadership and communication skills and what you’ve done to enhance them – it’s not just about working with animals!

10. Make sure you understand that veterinary medicine can be stressful so you’ll need healthy ways to de-stress and relax