1. The Daily Life of a Veterinarian
by
Sandra Cash
Professor Bouchard
Crown College
English Composition, Section 111
20 October 2011
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2. A veterinarian’s job is to be a doctor for animals, but there is a plenty more to this
career than just taking care of pets. Veterinarians can tend to typical pets, like dogs and
cats, but they can also see many different types of pets throughout the day. They also
have plenty of paperwork, research for curing illnesses, cleaning the clinic, and
following up with clients. A veterinarian’s day is very busy, and they work long hours.
Veterinarians can see various types of pets, from dogs to fish, all in one day, and
occasionally they will see exotic creatures (Career Books and eBooks, 2011). When an
animal comes for a visit to the veterinary clinic, they may need check ups or shots, or
they may need a diagnosis for a problem, administration of medicine, surgery, and/or
explanation to the owners how to take care of their pet.
When I visited my local veterinary clinic, the veterinarians performed one
neutering and one declawing surgery. Two clients came in with dogs with issues that
they needed help with, so they brought them to the veterinarian to diagnose the problem.
One owner was very concerned about her dog, which had a limp. Dr. Paula diagnosed
the problem as an infection in the dog’s paw. She then gave the owner some medicine,
and explained thoroughly to the owner how to administer it. She also assured her that
she should feel free to call with any questions. The second dog was named Zoey. Its
owner said that Zoey’s ears seemed to hurting and she was going to the bathroom more
than usual. Dr. Paula thought that Zoey probably had an ear infection and bladder
infection. Dr. Paula and a veterinary technician did some lab tests to make sure that her
conclusion was correct. After the lab tests came through, Dr. Paula was able to confirm
that her diagnoses was right. She then explained to the owner what was wrong with
Zoey and how to use the medicine. (Frick, 2011)
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3. Occasionally a pet will be brought in without any notice or appointment. For
example, during the afternoon when there was no appointment for anyone, a woman
came in with her cat. She wanted to Dr. Patty to look at her cat’s stitches, because her
cat had been scratching them and the woman was worried that the cat might have hurt
herself. Dr. Patty, being a very understand person, examined the cat and then
reassured the owner that her cat was all right and that she had not hurt damaged the
wound. She also told the owner to feel free to call or drop by again if she has any further
questions or concerns. (Dahlke, 2011)
While the veterinarians are not seeing patients they are busying doing paper
work, calling people back and cleaning up the clinic. A veterinarian’s paper work can be
anything, from filling out forms for ID chips, to writing in a patient’s medical history folder,
to sending to another veterinary clinic for their patients’ medical files. They also
research diseases and effective cures for their patients.
When they are not doing paper work sometimes they are following up with
patients and their owners. A day or two after a pet has returned home after undergoing
surgery, a veterinarian will call after a day or two to check up on how the pet is doing.
The doctor wants to make sure that the pet is doing well and answer any questions the
owner may have. Other times veterinarians will answer messages, because people
have called with concerns, or they are checking in on their pets. (Frick, 2011)
Throughout the day, veterinarians sanitize the clinic, the examining room, and
the front desk area. They can clean countless times. In the same way as a hospital,
they try to keep everything sanitary. This is to ensure that another pet will not get sick
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4. from the microbes a patient as left behind in that area. Another reason they do this is so
that no superbug is created. After all, there are plenty of germs and ways for pets to
catch diseases.
Over all, a veterinarian’s day is always busy, but they are not necessarily just
seeing patients, as most people think. There is always work to be done, whether paper
work to fill out, research, cleaning, or following up on patients, a veterinarian works long
days and is usually very busy.
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5. References
Boldrick, O., & Boldrick, M. (2009). The barefoot veterinarian. Orange, CA: All
Publishing Company.
Career Books and eBooks (2011). Veterinarian, dude (career book). Career Books and
eBooks.
Dahlke, Dr. Patty (2011, October 13). Interview by S.E. Cash [Personal Interview]. A
Day in the Life of a Veterinarian.
Freyburger, R P. (2009). Vetting, the making of a veterinarian. Tonawanda, NY: Pjf
Publishing.
Frick, Dr. Paula (2011, October 13). Interview by S.E. Cash [Personal Interview]. A Day
in the Life of a Veterinarian.
Miller, L. (2000). Careers for animal lovers & other zoological types. (Second ed.).
Blacklick, OH: McGraw-Hill Trade
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