Phone Interview Survival Guide

Applying for a veterinary job in a distant location is nothing short of terrifying. You don’t entirely know what you’re getting into, there are far more factors to consider (accommodation, lifestyle, work visas and flights, to name a few), and there is much more at stake if the job doesn’t work out. Even more concerning, you need to make a judgement of a vet clinic based on a half hour phone call! 

In the last week, I’ve had 5 Skype interviews for veterinary positions in the UK. This was an entirely new experience for me and I had no idea what to expect. I shook and stumbled my way through the first interview, and by the last, I was interviewing like a pro! Ok, maybe not that great, but I wasn’t nervous anymore!

So if you’re about to brave a phone interview, here’s what to expect and how to succeed without really trying:

Beating Heart Cadavers

Last year we had a terminal (non-recovery) fish practical which required fresh cadavers. The fish were humanely euthanised with an anaesthetic overdose. As an added precaution, the gill arches were then cut (causing them to bleed out and preventing respiration) and the spinal cord transected (obstructing electrical signals from the brain). Despite these measures, the fish hearts continued to beat for several minutes. Even once removed from the rest of the body, they continued to beat. As you can imagine, it was quite disconcerting, but we were all reassured that the fish were, in fact, dead and unable to feel any pain. 

I hadn't given it another thought until I came across this video yesterday and my curiosity got the better of me. So I did what any ex-vet student would do - RESEARCH!

Seven Species of Sea Turtle

Last year I was lucky enough to visit Sri Lanka and spend some time on the beautiful coastline. The water was so crystal clear and I was delighted to spot the odd turtle foraging close to the beach. I spent literally hours with my eyes glued to the water, waiting for them to pop up for a breath so I could catch a glimpse or snap a pic.

There are seven species of sea turtles currently in existence: leatherback, green, flatback, hawksbill, loggerhead, kemp’s ridley and olive ridley. Of these, six inhabit Australian waters. The IUCN classifies the hawksbill and kemp’s ridley turtles as critically endangered, the green turtle as endangered, and the other four as either vulnerable or data deficient. Some of the threats to sea turtles include poaching, bycatch, development, plastic debris, oil spills, climate change, predators and disease (namely fibropapillomatosis).

The Anatomy of Vet School

Most of my posts from the past year have been about my final year rotations and my experiences in each. Someone recently asked me to explain what rotations actually are and what they involve. I thought I’d take this opportunity to demystify the structure of vet school to any aspiring vet students out there. The following is based on my course in Australia, a 5 year combined undergraduate (Bachelor of Science, BSc) and postgraduate (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, DVM) degree, although many vet schools follow a similar system.

End of an Era

24 weeks of rotations, 15 weeks of placement, 1 postgraduate research project, over 50 assessments, 12 flights and 3 final exams later, I’ve finally reached the end of fifth year! We hit the ground running immediately after our fourth year exams and worked tirelessly right up until Christmas. Although I didn’t have a moment free to appreciate it at the time, fifth year gave me the freedom to explore my interests and presented countless opportunities to travel and work abroad. My experiences have allowed me to grow as a vet - taking charge of cases, making my own decisions and taking responsibility for the outcome. The past 13 months have without a doubt been the highlight of vet school.

Surgery Rotation

My final rotation of the year! It seems like yesterday that I was following a hand drawn map of the hospital to locate the ophthalmology room for my very first rotation. How far I’ve come!

On this rotation we began with a small group of four students (rather than the usual eight) which was then divided in half, with two students beginning on soft tissue and the other two on orthopaedics. I was assigned to soft tissue surgery for the first week and it was hectic! My buddy and I were run off our feet trying to complete the work of four students. We arrived at 7:30 each morning and didn’t leave until after 7:00 at night when our patient records were completed. Once home, our evenings were spent frantically researching surgical procedures to avoid looking like complete idiots when the specialists inevitably quizzed us the following day.

Students were assigned to cases and responsible for collecting a history during the initial consultation with the owner, performing a physical examination, scrubbing into the surgery, writing a detailed surgical report, looking after the patient in hospital, administering medications, overseeing wound care, recording vitals and the progress of recovery, and eventually discharging the patient. Our ultimate goal was to get our patients through all of those stages and discharged as quickly as possible, to minimise the number of animals in our care and allow us to leave the hospital at a semi-reasonable hour each day.

Equine Rotation

I was looking forward to being back in the large animal hospital, in my overalls and boots, with the smell of fresh air, hay and manure wafting through the barn. Out of the group of eight students, only two of us had an interest in working with horses, which meant I’d have more opportunities to practice things over the next two weeks. It became evident early on that the equine department had an innate distrust for students and wouldn’t be allowing us to carry out anything but the simplest tasks under extreme supervision. This sentiment was only reinforced by a recent incident involving a student and a feisty stallion.

Primary Care Rotation

The primary care (aka general practice) rotation is essentially two weeks in which to become comfortable dealing with the cases that will make up 95% of our workload as vets. This includes vaccinations, ear infections, itchy skin, sore eyes, dental disease, wounds, lameness, and so on. The rotation also focusses on developing our client communication skills through consultations with pet owners.

For the majority of the days we pretended to be real veterinarians. We assigned ourselves to cases which we followed from beginning to end. When our patients arrived, we greeted the owners, collected a detailed history and performed a thorough physical examination of the patient. We reported our findings to the responsible vet and together we formulated a diagnostic and treatment plan. The vet then conveyed this to the client. If any procedures needed to be performed (such as blood collection, ultrasound scan or wound clean), we were allowed to assist. The patient’s hospital report was also our responsibility.

Anaesthesia Rotation

(1001 Ways To Kill Your Patient)

While most people in my group were terrified to begin two weeks of anaesthesia, having spent six years working in a vet clinic on weekends and often playing anaesthetist, I felt quietly confident about this rotation. I was already competent drawing up and administering medications that a vet had advised, recognising when a patient’s vitals were abnormal and following instructions to correct this. I was hoping this rotation would provide me with an explanation behind these actions so I would be able to problem solve and make decisions independently.

Diagnostic Imaging Rotation

I had been dreading this rotation all year and it was finally upon me. Countless stories of students crying and having breakdowns were circulating and didn’t inspire a great deal of enthusiasm. The first couple of days were really quite overwhelming. It seemed as though there was a new assessment every five minutes!

Each day generally began with an online quiz for which we frantically revised the night before. Once finished, we would convene in front of the light boxes for interpretation rounds. This involved five students being selected at random to look at a series of radiographs we’d never seen before, interpret them using a systematic approach, and arrive at a diagnosis. This was both timed and assessed. Each day would cover a different topic: musculoskeletal, thorax, abdomen, equine, and so on. In a desperate attempt to beat the tears, our group diffused the tension with humour. I don’t remember how it started, but we began referring to interpretation rounds as ‘the grilling’ or ‘the roasting’. The puns were endless. When asked if we were ready, the response was “I’ve been marinating all night!”. As the first person of the day stepped up to the hot seat, someone would mime lighting a grill. If the radiologist was being especially harsh, we’d say “the grill is hot today!”, and if they were giving someone a hard time, someone would make a sizzling noise in the background. Laughter was the only way to get through it.

A Note On Religious Slaughter

In my third year of vet school, I had to write an essay on an animal welfare issue. I chose to research ‘halal slaughter’ because I wanted to increase my knowledge in order to form an educated opinion. The essay ended up winning me an award and sponsorship from Meat and Livestock Australia. It also provoked an ongoing interest in animal welfare associated with slaughter and euthanasia.

Halal slaughter conditions vary considerably according to differing interpretations of the Quran. It is generally accepted that animals must die from exsanguination (draining of blood) in order to be classified as ‘halal’. Therefore, animals are either slaughtered without any prior stunning (i.e. conscious) or after being reversibly stunned.

Public Health Rotation

The rotation that converts the masses to vegetarianism! This is a week spent in lab coats, hard hats and gumboots, visiting a range of local abattoirs (chicken, sheep, cow and pig) and learning about public health issues. The following account describes my observations in detail and doesn’t skirt around difficult and controversial issues. If you do not want to know about animal slaughter, stop reading now and find another blog that talks about happy things like puppies and kittens! However, I encourage you to educate yourselves about where your meat comes from so that you can make informed lifestyle decisions. After all, eating animals is a privilege, not a right!

DPIRD Workshop

Last week I voluntarily attended a two day workshop at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (aka the agricultural department). Unfortunately for me, the scheduled days alternated with my rostered night shifts at the equine hospital, meaning, aside from the odd power nap, I was awake from 9am on Monday to 9pm on Wednesday! That’s 60 hours of sleep deprivation that I brought on myself!

Despite having to physically hold my eyelids apart (because no amount of caffeine can substitute two nights of sleep), the workshop was well worth it. Only five students attended, so the training was interactive and hands on. Field vets, pathologists and other specialists contributed to the course, each imparting a wealth of knowledge and advice. A wide range of topics were covered over the two days, including:

After Hours Rotation

Throughout the year, final year students have to complete two weeks of ‘after hours’, comprising a total of three nights at the small animal emergency centre and three nights at the equine hospital. The small animal emergency nights are actual shifts where we are expected to work through the night, consulting, looking after the ICU patients, and treating emergency cases as they arrive. The 10pm to 8am shift is an absolute killer! Copious amounts of caffeine and sugar are a necessity to remain functional throughout the night. The only good thing about these shifts is that we’re allowed to wear scrubs, which are essentially professional pyjamas. There is a magical time around 3am where things usually become quiet (touch wood) and everyone starts to get a little delirious and giggly. This is when the staff let their guard down and students become privy to the hospital goss. All of my overnight shifts were dead quiet (maybe that’s not the best term to use in this situation) which made the nights drag out painfully. The worst part was leaving the hospital in the morning, blinded by the light and feeling like a zombie, while your friends rolled in, fresh-faced and full of enthusiasm for the day ahead.

DVM Research Project and Conference

After two long years, I finally hit SUBMIT and waved goodbye to my research project for good. This study has caused me an unbelievable amount of stress and frustration, and probably accounted for 95% of my vet school problems. A whole lot of sweat and tears went into it (blood was provided by other aspects of vet school), leaving me as dehydrated as a cat with chronic kidney disease. It feels like the huge dark cloud hanging over me has finally lifted. Hallelujah!

A couple of weeks ago, my year group attended the first ever Murdoch University DVM Research Conference, where we presented our findings to our peers, supervisors and external practitioners. My fellow bobtail lizard researchers (the “Bobsquad”) nailed the presentations, and I think it’s fair to say we brought SHINGLE BACK! It was an interesting day, made even better by the free food and drinks! It was also the first time our whole year group had been together since last year, so it was great to catch up with everyone and hear about their experiences in practice.

Anatomical Pathology Rotation

I had low expectations for this rotation, after a friend described it as, “anatomical pathology…more like anatomical crapology”. Despite the negative review, I was determined to keep an open mind and start the week with fresh enthusiasm for dead things!

Monday began with a bit of pathology revision and a few practice cases. It was really hard and I felt as though I may as well have been listening to another language (situation not helped by the strong French accent of our teacher). In the afternoon, we got out the aprons, boots and safety glasses, and worked in groups to perform a couple of necropsies (the word for post-mortem examination in non-human animals). I worked on a five month old mixed breed dog that had presented to the hospital in acute respiratory distress. We systematically worked our way through all the anatomical structures, recording our findings as we went. While my teammates worked on other parts of the body, I removed the “pluck” - a weird term for a group of structures that can be removed together by cutting out the tongue and dissecting away attachments along the trachea and oesophagus to the heart and lungs. It is every bit as gruesome as it sounds! Pneumonia was evident in the lungs and the lung tissue was so dense it sunk when placed in water. I cut down the length of the trachea and discovered, to my surprise, the cause of death! A chunk of cartilage was wedged into the right primary bronchus, and had cut full thickness through the trachea. For one very brief moment I considered a career as a pathologist. I then looked around at all the death and gore surrounding me and quickly came to my senses. My friend, who was working on the gastrointestinal tract, found a huge number of nematodes (parasitic roundworms) in the intestines, which made my skin crawl!

Have You Got a Job Lined Up Yet?

Fresh off the plane from Sri Lanka, I had a mere three nights in my own bed before re-packing my bags and setting off on yet another veterinary expedition. This time I’d be driving several hours south for two weeks of clinical placement at my favourite country practice. I spent my first ever week of placement at this clinic, and during the drive down it dawned on me that this would be my last! Two more weeks of being ‘the student’. Next time I find myself in a clinic, I’ll have the title and responsibility of ‘veterinarian’!