“Until one has loved an animal a part of one’s soul remains unawakened” Anatole France. There are about twenty-two different types of Veterinary medicine one may go into. So do not worry, if there are certain areas of being a Vet that does not interest one, there will be many other options. Before one can pursue this career they must know the history of vets, what they do, the different types, what schooling is required/how long, what classes should they be taking, what college is the best for this career, how many Veterinarians are there, why they are important to the community, and the qualities one should have to become a vet.
To begin with, the first Veterinarian school was started in 1761 in France by Claude Bourgelat. Their main focus was to study the anatomy and diseases of sheep, horses, and other animals that were affected by the plague at this time. Saying that the first group of people who started to look into animal medicine was in the Middle East countries around 9000 BC. The Egyptians, who wrote in hieroglyphs, were studying how to keep their animals in a good health and how to properly take care of them. The Kahun Papyrus is the oldest medical information that has been written down. It traces all the way to Egypt in 1900 BC. Both, the papyrus and the hieroglyphs, are the first written records of veterinary medicine. In 1850 BC archaeologists found parts of the papyrus in medical textbooks. They mentioned the Egyptians and how they helped develop this new understanding of animals and their anatomy. They were not the only ones who were studying animals. In India, the first Buddhist King, Asoka, claimed that they were medicine for humans and animals. He believed in helping herbs that could be planted at the persons home or near the animal and they would be healed. Going back to Claude Bourgelat, 1761, was when veterinary medicine started to become a profession. They started to create the first vaccinations for their animals in 1712 and even helped the ones that were affected by the plague. For the United States, they got their first veterinary school in Philadelphia in 1852. That was 140 years after France got theirs.
A veterinarian is a medical professional who helps and treats animals with diagnosing them when they are sick/injured. They can practice, teach, help conduct research, help in the military, and work for private industries. The most known Veterinarians do many things like diagnosing animal problems, they help deal with diseases, prescribe medicine, HEAL their wounds, fix their broken bones, perform surgery (although that would be a specific type of vet), helps families get their animal on a proper training/diet, gives x-rays, EKG, ultrasounds, blood tests, urine test, and faeces test. Will Rogers said, “Best doctor in the world is a Veterinarian. He can’t ask his patient what’s the matter. He’s just got to know.” If a Veterinarian is compared to a pediatrician one could see a lot of similarities. A pediatrician takes care of babies/children at a young age. Since they cannot talk to the doctor, just like animals, the doctor just has to know and understand what is wrong with their patient in order to treat them.
There are many types of Veterinarians that one could be. That is one of the upsides to being a Veterinarian is all the different field options that a student could go into. Anesthesia doctor is one who makes sure that animals do not feel pain during certain procedures that are required. Animal welfare, this is where one would help make sure that the animal is coping with the conditions where it lives. Make sure that the animal is healthy, comfortable, healthy, well-nourished, safe and able to be itself without suffering. Another filed would be training animal behavior. Dentistry would be exactly like a dentist but this one would be for animals in looking at their teeth to make sure it is clean and good. A dermatology vet would be studying the diseases that relate to their skin. Emergency and Critical Care vet would be considered the “ER doctors” who would help out in the intensive care at the animal hospital. Another type of vet is Internal Medicine. This is where one would study cardiology, neurology, oncology but for animals. Lastly, another field that vets have an option to go into is Laboratory Animal Medicine. These are vets who work on research and in labs to study animals. Looking in depth to these fields, they are very similar to the doctors that humans have.
One of the greatest thing about being a vet is that it is like being a doctor but to animals. It is a very hard job but every doctor job is. Less than 50% of the students who applied in 2010 were accepted into a veterinary school. This field is very competitive but with hard work, determination, and the knowledge of what it takes will get any student in. The basic classes one may take in this major is animal physiology, anatomy, biology, zoology, animal science, chemistry, microbiology, humanities, social sciences, and of course mathematics. The first three years of veterinary school is usually present in classrooms while the last year is usually spent practicing in clinical or working in a lab. It is more hands on which helps students before they leave the school having a good background for what to expect. As soon as one gets their license to become a vet they are allowed to begin practicing as soon as wanted. It is recommended that after graduating to go intern for a year at your local animal hospital. This helps the student get a full-on hands-on experience to make sure they understand what they are doing. Being fresh out of school, having someone who is highly educated and experienced will help the student feel more comfortable in what they are doing, instead of jumping in head first.
For more details about the specific classes that one will be required to take/what is recommended. These classes are highly recommended but not limited to; humanities, social sciences, English, statistics, algebra, trigonometry, calculus biology, molecular biology with lab chemistry, organic chemistry with lab, physics and lab courses. The main requirements are animal science, microbiology, biology, biochemistry, poultry, science, and zoology. During these programs/school, students have two parts they must complete. The first part, they will concentrate on only scenes for the first two to three years. This is where they would take anatomy, microbiology, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. The second half would be scrubbing in during surgery, examination skills, looking at animals and their health, and other medical subjects. This would be the hands-on part of a school. Remember, each school is different but this is the basis for all grounds on class requirements. Considering how competitive veterinary medicine is, students who are planning on applying need to know the requirements. Start in high school by taking advanced math, chemistry, biology, and physics that your school offers or your local community school does. Once college applications start, look for majors that will help in the long run for this type of medicine. Specifically, one with a good basis for biological and physical sciences. In college make sure to keep a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Make sure to make a good impression on the professor that is teaching the classes because it is required to have one letter or recommendation for the graduate programs. Volunteer with a Veterinarian to get familiar with the things that the vet school will be showing. A test that will be required to take is the GRE, the Graduate Record Examination. This standardized test is very similar the SAT and the ACT that all juniors and seniors in high school have taken. Lastly, stay active while in school. Participate in different clubs, especially ones that involve helping animals, along with staying active in the community. This will look good on a resume along with giving the student a good idea with meeting all different types of people and their animals.
Every college is known for a specific major. Some colleges are better for certain ones than others but every college is good for something. The top five schools in the United States for Veterinary Medicine is The University of California at Davis, Cornell University, Colorado State University, North Carolina State University and Ohio State University. A little bit about these colleges is that The University of California in Davis has a 42.3% acceptance rate as of 2016. The average ACT score is between 25-31 with about 35, 186 students as of 2016. This is a slightly competitive school to get into but only 180 applicants for their veterinary school will be allowed in for an interview. Only half of those students will get accepted. Cornell's University is located in Ithaca, New York. It is a private university with a 14.1% acceptance rate as of 2016. They look for ACT scores between a 30-34. Their vet school is even harder to get into than the regular admissions to this college. On the other hand, Colorado State University is located in Fort Collins, Colorado with an acceptance rate of 81% as of 2015. It is considered to be a public research university with a typical ACT score of 22-27. Even with a high acceptance rate, their veterinary school has been ranked number three in the states. North Carolina State University is a public university in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is a public research school as well with an acceptance rate of 43.7% in 2016. The typical ACT scores they accept is between a 26-30. Lastly, Ohio State University is a public university located in Columbus, Ohio. Their acceptance rate is 49.1% as of 2016 and accepting ACT scores with 27-31. These are the five schools that are ranked in the top five in the United States but other colleges have this program as well so do not get discouraged if the decline letter comes in the mail, there are many other options.
As of December 31, 2017, there were a total of 71,393 in Private Clinical Practice. It makes up 41.6% male and 58.4% male. This practice includes food animal exclusive, food animal predominant, mixed animal companion animal predominant, companion animal exclusive, equine, other and species were not specified. For Public and corporate Employment there were 16,821 people in public and corporate with 44.3% male and 55.7% female. There are about 27,504 who are listed as “employment unknown” both combining male and female. Overall, there are 117, 735 United States Veterinarians as of 2017.
Why are Veterinarians important to the community? Tommy Polo said, “animals know how to love better than humans do.” Any animal lover would agree with Polo. Of course, this is a personal opinion that is depending on whether or not one likes animals but for the most part, people love their pets and want what is best for them because it is like having another kid, just one that does not speaks words but barks. Being a Veterinarian requires taking care of animals and watching their health. They are also helping abused animals, nurturing them back to health, diagnosing their problems, and most importantly making the animal feel better. If humans get doctors, then animals deserve them too.
At one point in everyone's life, they ponder over the same question, “what am I going to do with the rest of my life?” A lot of high schoolers and sometimes even college students will ask this question. If any student thinks that being a Veterinarian is their life path, always make sure that the qualities they have are fit for the job. To be a good Veterinarian, one should have a love for animals, a servants heart, patience, respect, integrity, and always wanting to learn new things. Being a vet, dealing with animals all day, every day is the job. They will be presented with every type of animal with every type of family/person. To do this job, one must have a love for animals. It is as simple as that. Having a servants heart is something all doctors must have/already have. One has to want to help people, in this case, animals, with everything inside of you. With a servant's heart, one is always willing to do whatever it takes to make someone happy. Having this quality is big but not only for vets but every doctor. Patience is also a good quality because animals are just as complicated, if not more, than humans. Animals cannot speak which means the vet has to know what is wrong with the animal that is in front of them. Having respect is a quality that everyone should already have. Going into any field this quality should be something everyone already has. Respecting others is how one will receive respect. Being respectful is how people get other people to like them. Another quality everyone should already have is integrity. This trait should already be a quality that everyone has. It is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. Being in any professional field this is expected of the new person that was just hired. Lastly, make sure that learning is something that is enjoyable to the student. Being a doctor, things change all the time and new situations come up in life that will need to be looked more into it and expand your learning abilities. Learning new things every day is no joke in the life of a doctor.
Overall, being a Veterinarian is an amazing job and is very vital to their community. Before going in make sure to know the history of vets, what do they do, the different types, what schooling is required/how long, what classes should they be taking, what college is the best for this career, how many Veterinarians are there, why they are important to the community, and the qualities one should have to become a vet. How does being a Veterinarian sound now?