‘The Incredible Dr. Pol’: The Career He’d Have Chosen If He Hadn’t Become a Vet
It’s hard to imagine The Incredible Dr. Pol, also known as Dr. Jan Pol, as anything other than a veterinarian. He does his work so effortlessly it almost seems he was born an animal doctor.
And surprisingly, he has a ready answer when he was asked recently what he would do for a living if he hadn’t ended up a veterinarian.
Find out Dr. Pol’s alternate calling, plus the hardest procedure he said he had to learn as a vet.
Twitter loves Dr. Pol
Dr. Pol loves his Twitter family and they love him right back, big time! It seems that his NatGeo WILD program is producing amateur veterinarians and, even more importantly, a newfound appreciation for farmers and the hard work they do.
One person tweeted, “My wife and I recently discovered @DrPol . . . Didn’t know what we were missing! We are binge-watching copper sulfate applications on hoofs and treating uterine prolapses in sheep and cows in rural Michigan. What a time to be alive.”
Another ardent fan said, “As I’ve said a million times hoping @natgeowild will hear me….You need to have a channel that’s nonstop Dr. Pol reruns all day!!! You guys are my FAVORITE!! And thanks to you and the other vets on Nat geo Wild my daughter has decided to become a Vet”
During NatGeo WILD’s “12 Days of Polmas” twelve-day marathon of The Incredible Dr. Pol, a tweeter posted, “If you are not watching #12DaysOfPol@DrPol you: 1. Don’t know how to birth a calf 2. Know how to milk a goat 3. Don’t know that many lumps are abscesses. Check for puss. 4. Don’t know that #Charles always gives his mama the best Mother’s Day gifts! Thanks @DrPol!!”
The procedure Dr. Pol said was hardest for him to learn at school
Dr. Pol makes his job look so easy, and at 77 years of age, he has the younger veterinarians struggling to keep up with him. He learned his trade at Utrecht University Veterinary School in the Netherlands and was clearly taught well.
He was asked recently which procedure was the hardest for him to learn when he was in veterinary school.
“Back in college, they were teaching us obstetrics,” he said in an interview with the YouTube channel, Victoria’s Amazing World. And sometimes that is one of the hardest things to learn. Surgeries, no. They taught us to suture first. So, you know how to suture before you can cut, and that’s very important. And honestly, suturing is easy. “
What Dr. Pol would be doing if he weren’t a veterinarian
Dr. Pol continued in his interview, considering which vocation he would work in had he not become a veterinarian. You’d think this question would stump him, but he was ready with an answer.
“I probably would’ve been a dairy farmer because I want to work with animals, live with animals. We have had just about every animal [on their property]: cows, horses, cats, dogs, geese, chickens, pigs, peacocks, turkeys, pheasants, quail, it’s a whole menagerie!”
Read more: ‘The Incredible Dr. Pol’: Why He Doesn’t Wear Surgical Gloves or Mask During Surgeries
