If you had to choose one area of specialism to work within, what would it be?
Vets may choose to specialize in various areas of veterinary medicine, which can include small animal medicine, small animal surgery, large animal medicine, welfare ethics and law, public health, cardiology, and orthopedics. The interviewer is looking to understand your main interests and aspirations for your veterinary career, and the areas of the industry you find most appealing.
"I would like to specialize in cardiology as I have always had a keen interest in the heart, and advances in medicine/technology and how this can benefit patients. Cardiac specialists are also able to perform operations on the heart that are particularly unusual or complex and can get involved in experimental procedures on pets that would otherwise have no chance of survival. This would be so rewarding and something I would love to explore further in the future"
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
I would most probably like to specialize in sheep as from my lambing experience last year I found that I really enjoyed working with sheep and so I would find it extremely rewarding to be able to work with them!
Kevin's Feedback
Good response; however, I am going to touch up the wording. Try to phrase your answer more affirmatively with less passive language (ie: most probably...).
"If I could pick one area to specialize in, I would choose sheep. I gained lambing experience last year and thoroughly enjoyed working with the sheep. I would find this specialty very rewarding."
Anonymous Answer
I am incredibly passionate about both emergency and critical care and internal medicine. I thrive on problem-solving under pressure and quick thinking. Many cases come through the general practice I work at. Many of these cases have to be referred to a specialist, and I would love to be able to see these cases through and create treatment plans. Playing a critical role in the large of an animal's state throughout its illness or emergency state is something I strive to do. Seeing complex and unusual cases in this specialism would keep my career interesting and extremely rewarding.
Rachelle's Feedback
Fantastic answer! You give the interviewer a very clear idea of your passion and career goals. Well done :)
Anonymous Answer
I would specialize in large animal medicine as I thoroughly enjoyed volunteering on a range of farms, including beef, sheep, and dairy. I found the disease control methods farmers employ fascinating. I found I was most interested in the large animal aspects of veterinary medicine and enjoyed observing consultations on farms.
Rachelle's Feedback
It seems you have great direction so far, which the interviewer should be happy to hear. You make a great case for the fascinating side of large animal medicine.
Anonymous Answer
There are so many different areas I would love to work within as a veterinarian. Although, the one that I would choose currently is to work with aquatic life. I have always had a passion and curiosity for these creatures. Working at my internship in Washington state increased my desire to learn and care for these animals. I was able to aid harbor seal pups that were in distress with Dr. Jones. Another reason I would like to choose this area is that it is more difficult to help wild animals because no one is continuously watching their behavior change or determine something is wrong as quickly with pets or agricultural animals.
Rachelle's Feedback
Your reasoning is so heartfelt, and you do a fantastic job bringing your passion and desires to life for the interviewer. Good work!
Anonymous Answer
I'm not entirely sure yet; I think it is so exciting that vets have such a broad horizon they can choose from. However, I know I am very interested in Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway syndrome. This mainly affects flat-nosed dogs, such as Shih-Tzus, French bulldogs, and Pugs and cats such as the Persian and exotic short hair. They have a compact skeleton which results in lots of health problems, such as malformations in nasal cavities which can cause breathing problems and excess soft tissue around their skeleton, causing skin folds which can cause skin fold disease. Because I am really interested in this, if I had to choose a specialty, it would probably be small animal soft tissue.
Rachelle's Feedback
Airway and skeletal issues are certainly an interesting area of study! You have many options to explore, and the interviewer should appreciate your enthusiasm for the broad range of options ahead.
Anonymous Answer
After graduation, I would like to gain more experience and would work in a small animal practice so that I become more familiar with the operations and signs to spot. I would then like to go into wildlife veterinary, as I believe this is a very important part at the moment as it can help to save endangered species so that future generations also get the same opportunity to experience wildlife as this generation. Additionally, wildlife veterinary interests me as it is a way to give back to the community and reverse the effects that some people have had on it. Dr. Claire Madden has inspired met in this section of a veterinarian as she works for Sea World Australia and helps animals along the coast, recently she removed two fish hook sinkers from a black swan through an endoscopy and helped the swan to recover which I think shows the impact we can have as vets.
Amanda's Feedback
It sounds like you have a strong idea of what you'd like to do after graduation. You can enhance this answer by sharing more about why it's important to save endangered species. Consider talking about how the loss of a species impacts the ecosystem. Typically, a rise in endangered species suggests that an ecosystem is slowly falling apart and the loss of one species can trigger the loss of others. Because humans depend on healthy ecosystems, we are ultimately at risk as well if we fail to care for wildlife.
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