UVM Career Center Blog

I am a Senior Animal Science major and a Peer Leader within the Health Professions Interest Group at the Career Center. I have been a part of health-related peer mentoring at the UVM Career Center for three years now and will deeply miss all the friends and counselors that I have connected with through this role. When I joined the Career Center team initially, I was a sophomore pre-med student who was majoring in Biochemistry. I thought I was interested in cancer research and wanted to become an oncologist. However, after taking a biochemistry class and shadowing a pediatric oncologist, I realized that was not the job for me and I did not want to limit myself to just cancer-related things. In my first year as a pre-health peer mentor at the UVM Career Center I learned that there is an incredible amount of healthcare jobs besides the typical physician. I also realized that my childhood passion for animals was not going away in my college life as I worked as a stable hand and kennel assistant. Therefore, I decided to explore the world of veterinary medicine and discovered that I absolutely loved it. I ended up switching into the Animal Science major to be able to take animal health specific classes and grow close with professors who hold DVMs (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine).

I learned invaluable networking and job-related information from the Career Counselors and my peers at UVM which allowed me to attain a wide variety of experience in my undergraduate years. Specifically, my advisor at UVM helped me land an amazing veterinary assistant internship abroad in South Africa for the Summer of 2019 where I was able to learn about the importance wildlife population health on human health. After that experience, I networked with local clinics and landed an ICU overnight technician job at Vermont Large Animal Clinic for my junior year. Following that, I attained a Veterinary Technician position at River Cove Animal Hospital in Williston, VT where I am currently employed. After graduation, I will continue working there full-time as a veterinary technician while I apply to veterinary school. As of right now, my career goal is to own a practice that focuses on creating personal relationships with both my patients and their human owners. 

For my undergraduate peers debating on a career in healthcare, the best advice I can give you is to explore everything that University of Vermont has to offer. These four years are not the time to “check box” your requirements for a professional experience, rather they are for you to figure out who you are, what you love, and meet individuals who will help you get to your goals. Join the club that you want to, change your major if you need to, and invest in your hobbies. If healthcare is for you, I promise that everything will fall in place for you. These experiences, health-related or not, will expose you to new people and new things that will let you know whether this “thing” is for you. Personally, I changed my major three times in college and do not regret it.

My career goals jumped from medical school to PA school to veterinary school in the past four years. Yes, all these career goals were in the realms of healthcare but my experiences and interactions with UVM faculty, peers, and alumni helped me narrow down my focus to something that fit me. I am extremely thankful for my experiences (good AND bad) in all the different healthcare fields because it just makes me feel reassured that I chose the right career path. Have fun, experience as much as you desire, and most importantly be YOU!

Hello Explorers! Read on to learn about your 4-year path, watch a fun video on informational interviews, and hear more about the latest content we have been creating for you.

As the Exploring Interest Group, we highly recommend you take time to reflect on who you are and what you want out of life. Reflecting on your interests, skills, curiosities, and identifying the people who you want to connect with is the first step towards figuring out your unique path. The 4-Year Path to Career Success is a great tool to help you get started on your reflection and planning process. You can fill this out on your own or you can meet with us for assistance either by logging into Handshake to schedule an appointment or you can attend one of our Virtual Drop-In sessions. We are here to help you create the life you want to live-happy exploring!    

Put Your Curiosity to the Test 

Do you want to explore an area of interest, but you don’t know where to begin? One step you can take is to set up an informational interview with someone working in a job or career you’re curious about to learn more about that chosen field. By interviewing a professional contact and asking them about their experience you’ll receive career advice, you’ll bridge connections and learn more about whether it’s something to consider as a career. In addition, it will help you map out your next steps.

To prepare for informational interview(s) you’ll want to research the professional’s current position, the organization they work for, and then reflect on what’s most important for you to learn about during this conversation. This will help you think of the questions you want to ask them during your time together. Remember, they were once in your shoes, so try not to feel intimidated by the interview; it’s all about building a trusting relationship. After the interview, reflect on what you learned- is it something you want to pursue further? Are there more skills you need to gain? Are there other people you want to connect with? If you need help, please connect with us.

Here’s a helpful video to learn how to get started!  

Instagram Story Highlight reminder

The Exploring Interest Group has been creating curated information to put out on the Career Center Instagram. Check out information about how to explore through different experiences, what career competencies are and how to develop them, and interactive stories that give you the space to reflect! Keep checking for awesome content! 

Get Matched and Virtual Drop-Ins

Get Matched: Join us to explore major options, by engaging in 1:1 discussion and/or by completing the Choosing a Major activity. Register in advance or drop-in, and get advice and help on May 5th from 7-8pm.

Virtual Drop-ins: The Career Center is excited to offer drop-in hours again! We will be hosting these appointments virtually, and there is no need to sign up in advance. Just log into this link: go.uvm.edu/ccdrop-in, to meet with a couple of Peer Leaders who will be available to help throughout the week.  
You can meet with Alex, the Exploring Interest Group Peer Leader on Mondays from 1-2pm and Wednesdays from 5-6pm. You can meet with Peer Leaders from another Interest Group on Thursday from 1-2pm, too, if those hours work best for you!

Resources

UVM Clubs – Find clubs you want to join! By joining a club or two, you can meet other students who share the same interests and you will build skills that can transfer into the professional world.
Join an Interest Group – This will help you explore your interests through events, specialized resources and opportunities to meet people in the field of interest. Just log into Handshake and choose your Interest Group today.

Katherine Bullock graduated from UVM in 2019 and has recently been committed to Duke University’s Physician Assistant Program. At UVM, Katherine studied Nutrition and Food Sciences and minored in Microbiology. These fields of study coincided with many of her PA school prerequisite courses. During her first year at UVM, Katherine helped found the Pre-PA Club. As a Sophomore, she became more involved in the club through leadership opportunities, and by her Junior year, she became the President of the club. Along with being an active member of the Pre-PA Club, Katherine worked as a Licensed Nurse Assistant (LNA) at the Burlington Health & Rehab Center. She then moved on to work on the orthopedic and neurology floor at the UVM Medical Center. 

Katherine decided to pursue a career as a PA because she wanted to be able to have a relationship and a positive impact on her patients. PAs have more contact with patients than other health professionals, allowing her to give more time to work with patients to find the best routes of care and teach patients about their therapies and treatment options. She is also excited about the prospect of being able to switch specialties throughout her career. PAs are trained to be adaptable to many specialties, allowing them to switch between different fields, such as primary care, orthopedics, cardiology, etc., without needing to go through residency or specialty training. In addition to this, the fast-track timeline of PA school was also appealing to her because she would be able to treat patients, start her career, and her life outside of work sooner. 

After graduation, Katherine worked at a private gynecology office in order to get the 2,000 hours of clinical experience required for PA school admission. She decided to work in an office setting to expand the type of patient care hours she experienced prior to applying. Most applicants to PA school take time off between their undergraduate degrees and PA school. This gives them ample time to meet these requirements, save money for school, and get more life experience. Katherine noted that she was very appreciative of the time after graduation to learn more about herself as a healthcare worker and as a person. In addition to this, the average age of a PA student is about 26 years old, so there should not be a great deal of stress revolving around starting PA school right away. 

During her application process, Katherine applied to around 8 schools. However, many applicants choose to apply to more. She primarily applied to schools on the east coast because she knew that she wanted to be closer to family and that she could see herself living on the east coast in the future. When choosing schools to apply to, she was interested in schools that provided interesting electives, a focus on primary care, and high passing rates for the first attempt on the PANCE (PA National Certifying Exam). She also wanted to attend a school that utilized cadaver labs and ensured early clinical experience. That being said, other schools put emphasis on other aspects of the field, such as research. 

Katherine explained that the application process for PA school takes about a year. The Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) opens at the end of April. Applicants should get their applications completed sooner rather than later to ensure a spot in their desired program. Katherine completed most of her applications by June and began to hear back from schools in August. Interviews took place during the fall. She found that patient care experience is one of the most important aspects of PA school admissions, and that clinical hour requirements should be met by the time of application or soon after. In addition to the clinical hour requirement, PA school applications include a personal statement on why you would like to be a PA and 3-5 letters of recommendation. It is important to take note during the application process that some schools start their programs in January and others in August.  

After becoming a PA, Katherine hopes to go into family practice. She recommends that those who are applying to PA school read “The Ultimate Guide to Getting Into PA School” by Andrew J. Rodican. She found that it was very helpful in learning how to navigate the application process. She also believes that a career as a PA is perfect for those who are passionate about empowering patients and want to be able to have a direct impact on their health. She finds that being a PA is a great way to learn about medicine and get to know patients personally while making a positive difference.