How Long Do You Have to Attend School to Be a Vet?
If you love animals, being a veterinarian is a rewarding experience. However, practicing veterinary medicine requires years of training to ensure that the veterinarian provides the best level of care. Veterinarians, like physicians, practice medicine; the main difference is the type of patient.
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Undergraduate Requirements
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To attend veterinary school, you must receive your high school diploma, then obtain a bachelor's degree. Your undergraduate education must contain a number of veterinary school prerequisites, including general biology with lab, chemistry with lab, organic chemistry with lab, physics with lab, calculus, animal nutrition, statistics, biochemistry, upper level biology, genetics, physiology, some social sciences and public speaking.
Depending on the number of advanced placement courses and college credits you complete before entering college and whether you go to school full-time, it may take three to five years to obtain a bachelor's degree and complete the prerequisites necessary for veterinarian school.
Graduate Requirements
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A prospective veterinarian must attend an accredited four-year veterinary program to obtain a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Veterinary school generally consists of an academic phase and a clinical phase. The academic curriculum at such a program may include courses in anatomy, physiology, histology, radiography, animal behavior, nutrition, critical and emergency care, and pathology. A veterinary student may take courses geared toward treating small animals, large animals or exotic animals. The clinical phase of veterinary school consists of hands-on practice under the tutelage of experienced veterinarians.
Upon graduation, the veterinary student must pass veterinary medical board examinations and state boards before she is allowed to practice veterinary medicine.
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