Where have I been? Well, remember that interview I mentioned maybe a month ago? I got it, and got hired. Well it wasn't even really much of an interview as an introduction + a job offer. I now work in the kennels of a veterinary clinic on the weekends. Its hard work, the dogs are sometimes difficult, but I expected that. Getting the hang of things was kind of confusing, but again, I expected that. What I didn't expect was the hostility of 2 people in the hospital. They didn't care that I was new, its like I had a giant bulls-eye on my forehead on my second day. Why the second day, you might ask? Well, on that day the head tech that hired me happens to not be there that day, so these 2 "hostiles" took it upon themselves to boss the kennel crew around. *sigh* Thankfully, after venting and crying to Doom after my shift on Sunday, I feel much better. I realize these 2 people don't really matter, and they can bitch and screech all they want, they didn't hire me and they can't fire me.
So, I've gotten a general impression about how a small animal veterinary clinic works now after my first two days and its not all what I expected. Of course, my perspective is from the bottom-of-the-totem-pole, and I can honestly say I find the bizarre disrespect between the techs and the non-licensed employees to be just disgusting. I (semi)jokingly told Doom, "Fuck it, I wanna do large animal medicine!" Now, I realize that it could just be these 2 individuals, and not all small animal hospitals are like that, but still... it was kind of a slap in the face, to be brutally honest. Nonetheless, I'm a stubborn girl and I shall persevere. I have yet to talk to any of the doctors as I spend most of the time in the back (not to mention I am shy!) but maybe I'll have some new experiences to talk about in the future.
I can't forget that I'm gaining veterinary experience and I can start saving money with this job. Stay positive!
Art note: my weekend free-time is now limited, but hopefully I can figure out a way to complete my calendar at a reasonable pace!
So if anyone else has small animal hospital experiences they'd like to share or input, feel free! :)
I'm glad you're persisting. I know in my first volunteer position at a vet hospital which was for a school work experience program, the most senior tech completely disregarded me for the first few months. She wouldn't acknowledge my existence, and when she had to, it was mostly to stop me from doing something. The rest of the techs and vets were mostly friendly, but they eventually just didn't like how I didn't really talk. When the tech finally sort of warmed up to me, my school term was over, and I decided not to go continue. I was going to university in a different city in the fall, so I didn't really see the point of continuing when it was so stressful. I...guess I'll write a blog post about this now. xD
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your experience! Its never fun being the newbie. >_<' haha
DeleteOh sad. I don't know why people have to be so mean to people in positions below them. It seems like to me that you should know positions are all dependent on each other and you should nurture people whom you depend on to a job. Or even if you don't, be nice for the animals' sake! Sheesh. I really hope I get the position at "my" vet place. Seems like the head gal doesn't let any pettiness go on so that's nice. Plus we work after hours so I shouldn't after a few weeks have much contact with people anyways.
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