Quick Facts About Veterinarians
Being a veterinarian is demanding but highly rewarding. Becoming a qualified veterinarian is long and arduous process involving many years' training and experience. Even after earning a degree, veterinarians must keep up with ongoing trends and developments in the profession and specialty.
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The Basics
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Most veterinarians train in companion animal care. Veterinarians work to keep pets healthy. They treat and prevent diseases in animals and administer medical treatments and surgical procedures. With only 28 veterinary colleges in the United States, it's a competitive field. It takes four years to qualify as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM). Training in the UK lasts five or six years. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, median salary for veterinarians was $79,050 in May 2008, although this varies depending on location and specialty. Around 59,700 veterinarians practiced in the United States in 2008; about 80 percent worked in private practice, according to the BLS.
Specialties
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Most veterinary courses focus on companion animals such as dogs, cats and small pets, and some also look at farm animals. A few mainstream courses include reptiles and birds. For courses focusing on aquatic or wild animals, students of veterinary medicine need to follow a specialty. Later, as trained veterinarians, DVMs will also have opportunities in fields such as animal behavior, toxicology or animal husbandry.
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After Training
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Veterinarians need to be empathic and focused. After graduating with a DVM degree, future vets must pass the North American Veterinary Licensing Board Exam, an eight-hour licensing paper. Individual states also require licensing in addition to the national exam.
Challenges
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Research involving 1,060 veterinarians conducted by the Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in Hamburg, Germany reports that veterinarians suffer high levels of stress due to heavy workloads, long hours and the challenges of dealing with difficult clients.
Vets can be on call late at night and during public holidays, and some aspects of the job are distressing. When pets fall sick, owners become emotional; vets must help clients make challenging decisions.
Professional Development
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Veterinarians spend a great deal of time continuing their professional development, keeping track of what's changing in both diagnostics and treatments available. Subscription to clinical journals, attendance at lectures and seminars, and maintaining an interest in the evolution of the field is important to a veterinarian's success.
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