Place: Pet Veterinary Clinic, P.C.

Questions answered by: Dr. Christina Hage, DVM

Email: petvetclinic@comcast.net
Clinic Number: (616) 532-2660

Education:
1. How much formal education is needed in your field
4 years post college degree then possible residency or internship for 1 to 3 more years.
2. What sort of special training or advanced degree is required?
The training comes with Veterinary School. Usually there are certain prerequisite classes
needed before applying to veterinary school.
3. What are the important characteristics (personal traits/qualities) for someone entering this
field?
You have to be able to talk to people and be understanding about different situations,
you have to handle emergencies and sad situations, you have to be able to stomach
surgery and blood.
4. What kinds of extracurricular activities and/or volunteer experiences would be
beneficial?
Being well rounded is important. Interning or working in a veterinary clinic helps and
makes sure it is really what you want to do.
5. What are the most important skills someone should have to find success in this
occupation?
People skills! It is so important to talk and listen to your clients. Being interested in
biology and how the body works!
6. Do you read any field-specific journals or magazines?
I go to meetings more than read. I learn from listening and hearing others experiences.
But many doctors learn from reading articles.
7. Are continued studies required?
Yes 15 hours every 2 years of continuing education that you can get from journals,
conferences, nightly meetings, etc.

Technology:
1. How has the technology changed since you first started your career?
A lot. Almost all records are now kept on a computer. Client communication is via
email and phone.
2. What technology trends/challenges for this field did you see in the past?

3. What technology trends/challenges for this field do you see in the future?
4. How does todays technology compare to past methods?
 It helps communicate quicker to clients and they can ask questions and send pictures.
There is a lot of second opinions on the internet good and bad so you have to sort through
them.
5. What can be detected with modern technology that wasnt before?
New bloodwork results can detect diseases sooner, new medications can treat diseases
better or different and safer than in the past, things can be done much faster than before
like processing a radiograph or running bloodwork.
6. How often is technological equipment updated or replaced?
Depends on the practice. Every 5 years?

Procedural methods:
1. What methods do you take to diagnose what is wrong with an animal?
Physical exam and history are the most important, blood work and xrays help further
diagnose and then there are thousands of other things to narrow down the problem.
2. What procedural method trends/challenges for this field do you see the future?
Continued to improve medications and how to diagnose and treat illnesses
3. How do present day procedural methods compare to past procedural methods?
Learning what works better and faster, making patients more comfortable and diagnosing
more things.
4. Do procedural methods for the same thing vary in animal type?
Yes every species is different. Mammals are similar but not all the same, but ruminants
and reptiles are very different and as a veterinarian you learn them all.

Emergency locations:
1. How is an emergency location different from a regular clinic?
They have 24 hour service. They typically have more equipment and medication for
emergencies. They cost more because of those things.
2. Do emergency locations offer the same treatments? If not do they offer more or less?\
They offer more intensive treatments and the pet can be watched all day and night. They
see more emergencies like hit by car, gunshot wounds, dog fights, but can also treat
similar diarrhea and ear infections too. Usually all the same and more since they are
there 24 hrs. Some emergency clinics also have specialists like oncology, surgery or
dermatology so they can do much more. But depending on the disease regular
veterinarians can do just as much as the emergency clinic.
3. Do emergency clinics have general veterinarians or veterinarians that specify in a certain
thing?
Both. Certain emergency clinics have general veterinarians and others have specialist
like internist or emergency medicine that requires more schooling.