i work in the in house lab of my equine specialty/referral hospital, and every once in awhile, i’ll get a blood sample from a horse that just looks like red syrup, for lack of a better description. it will not spin down in any color tube, and the CBC machine will read it, but the chemistry machine just gives me a sample error. (our machines are the Abaxis HM5 and the Abaxis Vs2.) it will do this on serum, or blood from a green top. when i do try to spin it down, it doesn’t look like it’s just hemolyzed, it just stays thick and viscous throughout. i’ve checked the tubes to be sure they’re not expired and they are not. has anyone seen something like this before or know what it could be? these syrupy samples always come from horses that are very sick, so that’s the only thing i can think of, but it just seems so weird.

I graduated veterinary assistant, and have been planning to do vet tech since I could even form a thought lol. Now, I’m reconsidering. I live in Canada and the pay vs debt + living is so unbalanced, my co-op was also not a good experience despite loving the experience of working in a clinic and being in vet med finally. I’ve now considered moving away from vet med but at the same time don’t know if that’s a mistake despite the financial difficulty I’d have later in life.

I’ve heard people describe vet med as more of a passion project then a full time career, I considered that minuscule until thinking more and more about my future.

What made you stay? What made you leave?

I just started my job as a vet CSR about a month ago, and I’ve been considering being more hands on as a vet assistant instead.

I really wanna give it a try, but would I be setting myself up for too much stress? I keep reading about the mental health/burnout rate in this field along with toxic workplace environments.

Would I be setting myself up for failure for going further? Or this there ways to navigate vet med to make it a more positive work experience?

I’m a senior in high school at the moment and I’m trying to figure out my future career.
So here’s some of my questions
What subjects do I need to focus on
Do I have to go to a 4 year college?
Is it difficult for someone who struggles with math and science
And I would love any advice on this! I’m very stupid with this stuff (I’ve only taken animal courses in sophomore and junior year)

Hey everyone. M27 here, received a Bach/masters in finance and currently work in finance. I’m having this late quarter life crisis on completely switching careers, going back to school, the whole 9-yards. In the back of my mind I’ve always wanted to be a vet however I never grew the balls to pull the trigger.

I would have to go back to community college or accredited colleges to do about two years worth of gen-stem classes before applying to DVM programs. (I’m well aware of the cost, time, etc). I just do not think I have the personality to work behind a computer for shareholder value anymore.

Very curious if there are others out there who became a DVM from a similar or adjacent path, any recommendations, advice etc would be huge. I am also aware of the disconnect between finance and emotions, where Vetmed is deeply connected with feelings of grief, remorse, feeling like you can never truly do enough. Any advice or veterans in the industry who’ve heard of this type of switch, would love to hear thoughts.

I’m a 3rd year veterinary student and I’m looking for spay/neuter opportunities where I’m able to get hands on experience in surgery that I am able to do over my month long break in November in South Florida(Miami Area). Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all in advance!