The Medical Field

A degree in Animal Science can take you pretty much anywhere. That can be an awesome thing, or if you're like myself, that can also be a pretty confusing thing. I thought I knew what I wanted to do before coming to U of I- I wanted to become a veterinarian. I was so set on becoming a veterinarian, I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else. However, during my freshman year required classes, I was intrigued by animal agriculture, and the many different routes animal science can take you on, aside from veterinary medicine. Growing up in the suburbs, I was never exposed to any of these opportunities. To me, the only thing I could do with my degree was use it to go on and become a vet. Now, I am faced with all of these other opportunities and doors to open, and I am overwhelmed! I want to make the right choice and SOON because I want to spend as much time as I can getting experience and educated on what will be most useful to me later on in my life. Ugh, I hope who ever may be reading this is understanding my frustration! For now though, I decided to try to get some general exposure to medicine. To do this, I am volunteering at Carle Hospital this semester on Thursdays! I had my (5 and a half hour long..) orientation today, and was originally assigned to the surgical wing. However, due to a scheduling conflict, I had to be transferred to digestive health (boo). I may not get to see as cool of things here, but I still think it'll be interesting. Next semester I can always transfer departments too! The neat thing about anatomy is that it is basically the same from human to animal, with of course a few minor differences. I'm excited to be getting my foot in the door with medicine through volunteering at Carle, and maybe that will lead to more opportunities and confusion about what to do next, the world may never know... On the bright side, it is better to have so many opportunities and chances to gain experience than to have none at all. :)