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Adrian
V. President
Very glad that I recently got in touch with Dr Wong, a mentor whom I have not kept in contact with in many years. I am very honored to be asked to contribute to this blog, and will gladly do so during those long sleepless nights staying up caring for a newborn whom we just welcomed on April 6th.
ReplyDeleteI practice at a small animal practice in Amelia, Ohio, about 20 minutes drive from downtown Cincinnati. It's a relatively sub-urban area where we see a mixture of metropolitan-chic people, as well as simple farming families. Most of my clients will ask me where I come from (there are not many oriental faces in my neck of the woods) and the next question to follow is usually "Why Cincinnati?". My answer is pretty simple, I just shudder and say, "It's destiny." A year before I graduated from vet school, I had the opportunity to visit the Colorado State University, School of Veterinary Medicine, attending the Student AVMA Symposium. After that symposium, I travelled to Cincinnati, Ohio, the middle of nowhere, to observe at a private small animal practice. After spending 2 weeks there, I had my heart set on practicing small animal medicine in America. Of course it was then that I met my now husband at the very hospital we're working at now.
I graduated from Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia (of course where else!) uneventfully (Thank Goodness) and took on the offer from Dr Meakin the owner of the practice I was observing at. 1 month after graduation, I flew to the Queen City (Cincinnati) and began building my career as a foreign small animal veterinarian. The beginning was tough, I had not a work visa, nor a veterinary license, hence, no job.
It took an immigration attorney (very popular in the United States since everyone is looking into immigrating here), several months, and few thousand dollars before I finally got a valid visa to work here as a Veterinary Research Associate (since I had yet to obtain a valid practicing license, this is the fancy job title the attorney came up with). I started working officially in March of 2004, approximately 11 months after graduation.
Many foreign graduates I come across, including those from Malaysia, will inevitably seek my advice on how to legally practice veterinary medicine in America. Here's the path I took. Register as a Foreign Veterinary Graduate with the American Veterinary Medical Association. Take the 2 English language tests (TOEFL and TSE), take the NAVLE (National Board Exam) and lastly take the CPE (3-and-1/2-day hands-on practical exam). The whole process took me 2 years, and approximately 8 thousand dollars, including airfare to Las Vegas where I took my CPE (Viva Las Vegas!). I was so glad the Las Vegas site opened up so quickly because otherwise I might have to wait several years before being able to complete the entire licensing process. Those of you who are reading this blog right now, if you are interested in practicing in the States and have questions or need guidance, please do not hesitate to contact me :-) There is a shortage of veterinarians as well as vet tech here (hint hint).
Since this is my first time blogging, there's still plenty to learn and so once I figure out how to post a blog I will certainly entertain y'all with more juicy stories. I hope y'all enjoy my comment.