Veterinary Vlogging to inspire future students
As a group of people, veterinary students are an incredibly dynamic group of people, with a whole range of interests both inside and outside of the profession. However, diversity in the profession is certainly lacking and applications to vet school can seem an intimidating experience. One vet student who is hoping to make the veterinary world profession more accessible through vlogging and social media is May Yean Chua (@thatsmesunny), a final year student at Cambridge. We spoke to her about her experience starting her own youtube channel alongside a veterinary degree and what advice she would give to anyone wanting to start vlogging themselves.
How would you describe your channel/social media?
Fun and educational is the theme! Currently, my YouTube channel provides veterinary school related content to inspire pre-vet applicants on this fulfilling journey as well as provide a glimpse into the things we go through as vet students. I produce ‘podcast-style’ videos interviewing other vet students about their application process and vet school experience. The aim is for my channel and blog to act as a useful resource for potential vet school applicants; showcase bits of vet school life; the challenges we face; and some tips that are helping me survive vet school so far.
How did you get into vlogging?
Just like many other millennials, lockdown free time and several months of solitude inspired me to start a YouTube channel. What actually gave me the confidence to start was a meeting with the Cambridge Doctor/ YouTuber/ Productivity Guru Ali Abdaal, who gave me sound advice and encouragement to just do it!
What are you hoping to achieve with your channel?
I hope to add value and inspire other students to pursue their passion for veterinary medicine. I also aim to offer some form of virtual mentorship through the ‘advice-type’ videos and create a community where vet students can connect and share their common vet school struggles.
How are you finding managing it alongside the veterinary course?
I will admit that producing videos is time-consuming, especially when it comes to video editing: the danger is that I enjoy it so much that I often lose track of time when I sit down to edit my videos!
Being in final year I found that, as long as I prioritise my work and manage my time efficiently, producing a video once a week is manageable. Plus, since we are in a lockdown, there is not much else you can do outside of vet school, so I fill my time with making videos.
What is the favourite thing you've done with your channel so far?
My favourite thing so far has been interviewing other vet students from different universities. I find it so interesting to hear about their journey and connect with them over the call. It has been the most social activity I have achieved over lockdown (outside of speaking to my housemates of course).
Through the channel, I also received many heart-warming comments and messages from viewers, including a 12-year-old who asked for veterinary-related book recommendations!
What have you learnt from vlogging?
I have learnt so much through doing YouTube! Besides learning the technical side of producing videos, I also learned how to reach out to people via cold emails and network with other people in the veterinary industry. Besides that, talking to a camera has helped build my confidence in public speaking. This skill has come in handy especially when I have had to present clinical cases to clinicians during rotations.
What would you recommend to anyone else interested in vlogging in the future? Is there anything you would have done differently?
If you have an interest in building a social media presence as a vet student, or if you want to create informative videos/posts to combat misinformation in the internet, I would say JUST DO IT! Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and don’t worry about what other people would think. As long as you’re aware of your intentions going into it and you don’t obsess over the ‘number of followers’ or ‘subscribers’ (because it can be a vanity metric); I think it can be a fun way to productively procrastinate.
Anything I would have done differently: I wish I had started making videos since my first year of university.
What are you planning to do next (both veterinary and Youtube channel related)?
After (hopefully) qualifying as a vet, I hope to take this channel further and help combat misinformation on the internet by providing evidence-based information on pet care and animal welfare issues. I hope my channel can act as a platform to engage the public with accessible information and encourage them to have better relationships with their vets.
As for the veterinary side of things, I am hoping to go into general practice as a mixed animal or small animal vet.
Check out May’s work for yourself with these links:
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/user/thatsmesunny
Blog link: https://thatsmesunny.com/