Most often than not, students choose to become veterinarians in order to help other animals in need. They become interested in animal behavior and learn to interact with different types of animals. Furthermore, becoming a veterinarian is an everyday learning experience. According to Mary Hope Kramer, who writes “The Top 10 Reasons To Become A Veterinarian,” reports that “no two days are alike for a veterinarian. You will […] see a variety of injuries and conditions, and utilize many diagnostic tools to determine the best plans of action (Kramer). Pursuing a career in veterinarian is perfect for any animal lover who is trying to make a difference for any animal in need.

            A veterinarian’s job is to “care for the health of animals and work to protect public health. They diagnose, treat, and research medical conditions and diseases of pets, livestock, and other animals” (Veterinarians: Occupational Outlook Handbook). They also provide animals with medication, vaccination, and recommendation for a healthy diet for owners to follow. Veterinarians also examine animals through x-rays and blood samples. Furthermore, they treat wounds and perform surgery to better help the animal in need. A veterinarian can also euthanize a pet; however, the owner and the veterinarian weigh in a number of factors before doing so. When euthanizing, the veterinarian and the owner will look into “the animal’s current quality of life, what type of disease he or she may be suffering from and how it is likely to progress” (Greenwood). A veterinarian’s work is similar to that of a physician’s work, except they focus on animals and not humans. There is three know types of careers a veterinarian student can pursue: Companion animal veterinarian, Food safety and inspection veterinarian, or Food animal veterinarian. They tend to work more than forty hours a week. A companion animal veterinarian works at a private clinic or a hospital. They deal mostly with domestic animals and are also the ones people are more familiar with. Any animal owner will typically take their pets for a check up or treatment to these types of doctors. A Food animal veterinarian works with animals in farms. “They spend their time visiting farms and ranches to treat ill and injured animals and to test for and vaccinate against disease” (Veterinarians: Occupational Outlook Handbook). A Food safety and inspection veterinarian works in livestock and animal products inspection. Their task is to provide research in animal health improvement and to enforce government food safety regulations. “They design and administer animal and public health programs to prevent and control diseases transmissible among animals and between animals and people” (Veterinarians: Occupational Outlook Handbook). In May 2018, the annual wage for veterinarians across the country reached $93,830 (Veterinarians: Occupational Outlook Handbook).

            The Veterinarian Profession began in Lyon, France in 1761, but it did not really flourished until the establishment of The London Veterinary College in 1791. There, the college dedicated their time to animal medicine. The main focus for veterinarians at the time was to maintain horses for the army. In time, many turned their attention to “cattle and other livestock, then to dogs and now to companion and exotics animals” (Cole). The Veterinary College of Philadelphia was established in 1852 until 1866, it was the first school in the United States that focused on animal medicine. In order to improved the quality of livestock and protect the people from infectious diseases, the Bureau of Animal Industry under the USDA was established in 1884 and was in operation until 1900 (Cole).

            In order to become a veterinarian, a student must first complete a bachelors degree program. However, they can also enter veterinary school by taking only the prerequisite undergraduate courses (How to Become a Veterinarian: Education and Career Roadmap). Since admission to veterinary programs is competitive, applicants are required to take many science classes such as biology, chemistry, and animal science. Furthermore, some programs require math classes, humanities, and social science courses (Veterinarians: Occupational Outlook Handbook). When applying to a veterinarian school, it is also required to have experience with animals. Students can gain experience by participating in volunteering programs or internships in the veterinarian field. By volunteering or interning at veterinary clinics, students can also gain a better perspective on the hands on experience of what it is like to work with different types of animals. Moreover, students can use these experiences to show dedication for animal care and in the process gain professional references. Schools also require for students to take and submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, it will evaluate a person’s readiness for graduate-level studies (How to Become a Veterinarian: Education and Career Roadmap).

            The second step is to earn a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, which usually takes four years to complete. In the first two years, students focus in taking classes on animal anatomy and physiology, nutrition, and virology. It helps students understand veterinary medicine. Also, some classes may vary depending on the animal group a student is trying to study. The third year, students comes familiar with clinical studies in “which students come in to contact with living animals and practice using the knowledge and skills they’ve gained in the previous two years to make diagnoses and recommend possible treatments” (How to Become a Veterinarian: Education and Career Roadmap). In the fourth, final year, students practice all they have learned in externships. In this final year students also learn what kind of veterinarian they want to be. In North America, students can attend the following universities to become a veterinarian: University of California – Davis, school of veterinary medicine in David, CA; Western University of Health Sciences, college of veterinary medicine in Pomona, CA; School of Medicine, Stanford University, Department of Comparative Medicine in Stanford, CA; and Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of California –San Diego, Division of Comparative Pathology and Medicine in La Jolla, CA (AAVMC).

A curriculum set up by UCDavis

            The third step for veterinarian students to take is to become licensed in order to start practicing in the field. They must pass the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam. However, there are some states that require specific exams. After a students successfully passes the exam, they will want to intern for a year to get a specialized experience in the field. There are a few veterinarians that choose to work with exotic animals at this time. Most prefer to go work with domestic animals. Some further education is needed if a veterinarian wants to specialize in a specific area. Residency is required if a veterinarian wants to be a surgeon or go into internal medicine (How to Become a Veterinarian: Education and Career Roadmap).

            A lot of time and dedication is required to get into the Veterinarian field. Students must have compassion and respect towards animals that are in need of care and treatment. A person who really loves animals should consider heading into this field. Anything is possible if students focus on their goals and dreams. People are always going have pets; farms are always going to have livestock that need care. In this field, the possibilities are endless and there is always going to be a need for veterinarians.

Bibliography

Cole, Linda. “A Quick History of Veterinary Medicine.” CANIDAE®, https://www.canidae.com/blog/2014/11/a-quick-history-of-veterinary-medicine/. I used this website to give background information on how Veterinarians got started. It helped me understand how the study of animal medicine began as well. The information reported here helped me set up a nice flowing research report. Overall, there wasn’t much information about current studies on veterinarian medicine, instead it was a little history of where it came from.

“Curriculum Design.” School of Veterinary Medicine, Image. https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/dvm/dvm-curriculum-overview.The schools website was able to provide with an example of a curriculum the university has set up. It shows how many years of classes a student needs to take. It also gives students an idea of how hard they have to work in order to get a degree. Overall, it helped me see how much work I have left before I can even begin a career with the university. However, it does guide me into what I need to do.

Study.com, Study.com, https://study.com/how_to_become_a_veterinarian.html.This source helped me with my report; it gives detailed information on how a student can get started into a veterinarian profession. I used multiples sources from this cite to help organize the way my report was going to be presented. The website goes into detail in steps on how to get started and what necessary classes are needed to begin the career. It was also helpful in comparing this information to another source I used.

“Veterinarians: Occupational Outlook Handbook.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4 Sept. 2019, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinarians.htm#tab-4.The information I used from this source helped in reporting with the wages of a veterinarian. I also used the information that was reported on how to get started on this career. This website also gave me information on what a veterinarians job is and the different types of field a veterinarian can go. This website and Study.com helped me verify that the information was accurate since they both showed similar reporting.

Work Cited

AAVMC (555) 123-4567, aavmc.dcwdbeta.com. “Member Institutions.” AAVMC, https://www.aavmc.org/member-institutions2.aspx?area=1&dstate=CA.

Kramer, Mary Hope. “The Top 10 Reasons to Become a Veterinarian.” The Balance Careers, The Balance Careers, 10 Nov. 2019, https://www.thebalancecareers.com/top-reasons-to-become-a-vet-125728.

Greenwood, Arin. “What Veterinarians Wished You Knew before Euthanizing Your Pet.” Pet Euthanasia: Veterinarians on When It’s Time, Cost and More, 27 June 2017, https://www.today.com/today/amp/tdna113053.

Veterinarian Information, https://www.sddac.com/content/sdc/das/adopt/veterinarian.html. Image. Arnold, Brandy. “10 Things Your Veterinarian Wants You to Know About Dogs.” The Dogington Post, 22 Oct. 2018, https://www.dogingtonpost.com/10-things-veterinarian-know-about-dogs/. Image