Dr. Chris Bern
21 Years Experience
Cartersville, GA
Male, 49
I have been a practicing veterinarian since 1997, but have been in and around the profession since 1984. I am a general practitioner and see most pet species, from dogs and cats to parrots and snakes. In my job I do everything from routine vaccinations to complex surgeries and difficult medical cases. Becoming a vet takes hard work and dedication but can be very rewarding.
I can't speak entirely for Canada, as I'm in the US, but I think North America is pretty similar in the outlooks. Veterinary medicine is actually in a tough situation right now. Student debt load continues to rise while starting salaries are decreasing. A newly graduated vet has on average over $150,000 in debt and can expect to make around $60,000 per year. New vets are actually finding it difficult to survive and pay back their loans. While the situation may change in the future, it's not a great time to enter the field, at least financially. Now, if you have a substantial fortune or can get incredible scholarships so that you can graduate without any debt, you can make a good living. Most new vets I know are not at this point and are happy to simply be able to pay their bills and afford a fast-food meal. Do I enjoy it? It depends on the day you ask me. It's a hard job and not as rewarding or glamorous as most people think. I've gone back and forth over the years and am at the point where I do enjoy it most days.
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Honestly, I know little about Eastern and holistic/homeopathic medicine. I was trained in traditional Western medicine and believe that there is much more empirical evidence for this than other methods. Corn in pet foods is much maligned, and that's unfortunate. Corn is not a "filler" as is often claimed and actually has many nutrient benefits. Processed, cooked corn is quite digestible, and contains good levels of protein, fiber, antioxidants, and linoleic acid. Personally I don't like it as the first ingredient, but there is nothing "bad" about corn in a diet. The MDR1 mutation occurs in some individuals among herding breeds. There is a test available for it, so people worried about it can have their dogs screened. The biggest historical concern is a sensitivity to ivermectin, though only in comparison to other dogs. Doses of ivermectin found in heartworm prevention are far too low to cause a problem even in dogs positive for MDR1. There are other drugs that these dogs can also be sensitive to, including antiparasitics, antibiotics, analgesics, sedatives, and chemotherapeutic agents. There's a relatively small list of the concerning drugs, so most in these categories are perfectly safe, and even the potentially dangerous ones may be safe at lower doses (such as any used in heartworm prevention).
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For the most part, yest I do. All of my cats are strictly indoors. Other than cancer and organ failure, the majority of the illnesses and injuries I see in cats are related to being outside, including bite wounds, fractures, communicable diseases, and so on. Statistically the average life span for an outside cat is around 12 years old and for an indoor cat is around 16. I realize that some cats can't make the transition to being inside or the owners can't keep them inside (allergies or other problems) so I don't get upset if someone has an outside cat. But I do believe that they are healthier and live longer on average.
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Being a vet is much more than being able to handle "gross" or graphic sights. While it certainly helps, that doesn't say anything about your ability to remember details of diagnostics, drugs, and disease. It also doesn't indicate if you can handle the daily stress of the job, make proper decisions, and so on. So it's impossible for me to be able to tell if you would make it as a vet based on that alone. As far as math, most schools require you to take calculus, though I have no idea why. I use basic algebra on a daily basis, so that's essential. Understanding how statistics are calculated and reported also allows you to interpret studies properly. Math is important, but you don't need highly advanced knowledge.
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Great question! To many vets, myself included, it ends up being a job rather than a "calling". We may enjoy our work, but it's still work and it does wear us down. Burn-out is actually a serious concern among medical professionals because of the emotional roller-coasters we have (even in veterinary medicine) and the often extreme mental work-out we have when diagnosing cases. To me being a veterinarian is what I do, not who I am. I have much more passion in my non-veterinary activities (theater, ministry, being with my family, playing on my computer...) and would like to be able to have more time for those things. So yes, I hope to one day retire and am looking forward to not having to be in a clinic daily. However, I'm still young enough that retirement will be 25-30 years away unless my personal finances improve greatly before then.
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This is a very tough one to answer. Whether or not it can be fixed depends on what caused it. Some cases of megaesophagus cannot be cured. A surgery like this should normally be done only by a board-certified specialist surgeon. The cost can be highly variable depending on which kind of surgery is needed and who is performing it, but you're probably looking at a few thousand dollars. My best recommendation is to ask more questions of your veterinarian.
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Fleas are nasty little creatures and are adept survivors. There are actually many different species of fleas, but what most people come into contact with are "cat" fleas. Despite the name they can live off of most warm blooded animals, including dogs, cats, raccoons, squirrles, and yes, humans. We aren't their preferred host and they will typically chose animals over people, but they do just fine on human blood and will certainly reproduce after feeding on people. A flea typically stays on its host during the adult part of its life cycle unless somehow removed. While fleas have been known to come in from a yard into a home, hitching a ride on shoes and socks, a longer journey would be less likely but not impossible.
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