Becoming a vet -just what does it take?
Saturday, July 25th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
They treat animals, no matter how big, small or exotic to try and keep them well, but just what does becoming a vet involve?
It can take just as long to become a veterinary surgeon as it can to become a docotor, 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. There are only 28 schools that have veterinary places in the US, so trying to get in can be difficult. You will have to learn about the various animals you have to treat and the diseased that may affect them. A vet will have to learn many more anatomies than just a doctor will -canines, felines and other speices will come up. Thats not even mentioning if you want to specialise in a certain kind of animal. Quite similar to the bar exam in law is the final exam in veterinary school, as without it you legally cant treat animals. 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. Vets also have to take a veterinary oath, but is that fact really that surprising? They are doctors to, only their patients are more hairer and walk on four legs. The hours can be long, and the hardest thing to do when being a vet is putting an animal ‘to sleep’ when you cant help them, as sometimes the vets can get attached to the ‘patients’ -more so than a human doctor. Keep that in mind if your going to have a hard time with that.
Still interested? It sounds like you may have found your ideal job.
