Just what does it require to be a vet, and is it the right career path for you?
It can take just as long to become a veterinary surgeon as it can to become a doctor, as after school you need to attend four years of college and then four years of veterinary school to begin with. Getting a placement at an animal hospital can help with credit, but it wont make your time any shorter actually in college.
Competition is fierce for a place in a veterinary college, there are only 28 across america, as opposed to the hundreds of human medical schools. Other than the diseases you will be learning about all the different animals you may be treating during your career. As a vet you will have to study quite a lot of animal anatomy -rodents, birds, canines felines and others. That’s before you’ve even thought about considering whether to make one animal species a priority.
The final test could be considered the same as the lawyers BAR exam, as in you cant practice treating animals without it -so study hard for it. Think carefully over which state to do the state exam in, as many of them wont give you the right to practice in the other states.
Being a vet also means constant updating of your skills, keeping up to date with the latest practices that are taking place in the medical field. What you might be surprised to learn is that vets also have to take a vow to heal, treat and protect animals -similar to the vows that doctors have to take. Yes, the hours are long, but the worse thing about being a vet may be having to put down an animal that you cannot save. Remember that, because you may find it hard to cope with.
So if you have the dedication and motivation to become a vet and love working with animals, it may just be the ideal career move for you.
Posted under Dog Tips
This post was written by admin on August 13, 2009
