Veterinarians play a major role in the healthcare of pets, livestock, and zoo, sporting, and laboratory animals. Some veterinarians use their skills to protect humans against diseases carried by animals and conduct clinical research on human and animal health problems. Others work in basic research, broadening the scope of fundamental theoretical knowledge, and in applied research, developing new ways to use knowledge.
Most veterinarians perform clinical work in private practices. More than one-half of these veterinarians predominately, or exclusively, treat small animals. Small animal practitioners usually care for companion animals, such as dogs and cats, but also treat birds, reptiles, rabbits, and other animals that can be kept as pets. Some veterinarians work in mixed animal practices where they see pigs, goats, sheep, and some nondomestic animals, in addition to companion animals. Veterinarians in clinical practice diagnose animal health problems; vaccinate against diseases, such as distemper and rabies; medicate animals suffering from infections or illnesses; treat and dress wounds; set fractures; perform surgery; and advise owners about animal feeding, behavior, and breeding.
A small number of private practice veterinarians work exclusively with large animals, focusing mostly on horses or cows but may also care for various kinds of food animals. These veterinarians usually drive to farms or ranches to provide veterinary services for herds or individual animals. Much of this work involves preventive care to maintain the health of the food animals.
Veterinarians can contribute to human as well as animal health. A number of veterinarians work with physicians and scientists as they research ways to prevent and treat human health problems, such as cancer, AIDS, and alcohol or drug abuse. Some determine the effects of drug therapies, antibiotics, or new surgical techniques by testing them on animals.
Some veterinarians are involved in food safety at various levels. Veterinarians who are livestock inspectors check animals for transmissible diseases, advise owners on treatment, and may quarantine animals. Veterinarians who are meat, poultry, or egg product inspectors examine slaughtering and processing plants, check live animals and carcasses for disease, and enforce government regulations regarding food purity and sanitation.
There are 27 accredited Schools of Veterinary Medicine in the United States and 4 in Canada. Undergraduate pre-requisites for veterinary school vary by academic institution, and students interested in this field are encouraged to research individual requirements for programs of interest. That said, most programs are quite similar in what they require of their applicants and the basic pre-vet academic requirements are outlined below.
One year of calculus (although some may only require one semester)
One year of general chemistry with labs
One year of general biology with labs
One year of organic chemistry with labs
One year of physics with labs
One literature course (although some may require two)
1000-1500 hours of direct animal volunteer/internship/work experience (all hours must be logged in a journal)
Some schools require one or more of the following additional classes:
biochemistry
social or behavioral science
genetics or animal genetics
physiology
statistics
microbiology
speech
mammalian embryology or developmental biology cell biology
nutrition
In addition to strong grades in the required classes, vet schools also require one or more of the following standardized tests:
* GRE: The Graduate Record Examination is the most common standardized test required by veterinary schools in the United States. Most schools require the general test, but some require the Biology subject test, or the Writing Assessment tests. For more information see http://www.gre.org. For more information, visit ourGRE FAQ Sheet.
* VCAT: Veterinary College Admission Test is not widely used for entrance to veterinary school, however, some schools continue to accept VCAT scores. Information about this test may be obtained by writing to
The Psychological Corporation
Veterinary College Admission Test
P.O. Box 96152
Chicago, Illinois 60693
1-800-622-3231
* MCAT: A handful of schools accept the MCAT in lieu of the GRE. For more information see http://www.aamc.org/start.htm
