If you’re looking for a Veterinarian Job Description that will help outline what this career requires, then you’ve come to the right place! As a Veterinarian, your job will consist of taking care of the medical needs of animals, primarily dogs and cats. The Veterinarian field is a fast growing industry with a continual increase in employment opportunities and growth. Veterinarian’s usually work within private clinics with a large part of their responsibility being in the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses. While most Veterinarian’s work with dogs and cats, other animals that they work with that you won’t find in most Veterinarian Job Description’s include birds, horses, production animals (Cattle, Pigs, Sheep), aquatic animals (Fish) and Zoo animals.
As you can see, the variety of animals that Veterinarians work with is quite diverse. While the primary role of Veterinarian's is to care for the health and well being of the animals they treat, indirectly, they are also responsible for the health of the owners of the animals you’re treating. When diagnosing and treating the illnesses of animals, it’s of great importance to make sure the illness/sickness that an animal is carrying is not contagious. If an animal is carrying a contagious disease, this sickness could spread to the owner or others who come in contact with the animal. This is why the role of a vet carries a lot of responsibility as you’re tending to the health care of both the animal and its owner(s).
Veterinarian Job Responsibilities
We outlined the basics of a Veterinarian Job Description above though we’ll cover all of the roles that are involved below. Simply stated, it’s the Veterinarians responsibility to provide treatment to it’s patients (animals). Just as doctors treat people, veterinarians will provide medication, surgeries & vaccinations to the animals they’re caring for. However, there is one huge difference and that is that animals are unable to speak so Veterinarian’s must diagnose conditions based strictly on signs and symptoms of the animal(s). Due to this, you may wonder how Veterinarian’s are accurately able to diagnose and treat illnesses in the animals and the answer is actually pretty simple.
The Veterinarian’s are able to both diagnose and treat animal sickness by combining their personal review/diagnosis with the owner’s input/concerns and testing results (X-Rays, Cat Scans & Blood Tests). By being a Veterinarian, should you not be able to treat an animal and the patient is unable to live a normal day to day life without being in pain, you do have the authority to administer euthanasia which is the humane & painless killing of an animal. This is usually required for animals with incurable conditions that cause pain and suffering.
Veterinarian's are educated on pet wellness and health so as a vet, it’s of great importance to educate the pet owner(s) of the health of their animal including dieting (Properly feeding the animal), exercise (Proper walking routines) and how to interact with their pet. Another part of a Veterinarians job is preventive treatment which in the Veterinarian field is labeled “Prophylactic Treatment/Care”. This treatment/care is administered before problems/sickness occurs. This treatment is very important as researches are discovering more and more diseases that are contagious to humans from animals. It’s important for Veterinarians to educate others about these sicknesses to prevent them from spreading, in an effort to reduce/stop the spreading, Veterinarians will administer vaccinations to the animal(s) with the sickness to kill off the disease.
Veterinarian Career – Among the TOP Most Respected Professions
From information gathered from a recent survey, Americans have ranked Veterinarians as one of the most respected professionals within the Medical field. More and more individuals are beginning to understand the impact that Veterinarian’s have within the health care world/industry and this acknowledgement is growing.
The responsibilities that are carried by Veterinarians are:
- Research, prevention and treatment of animal sickness and illness.
- Write and administer prescriptions for animals.
- Educate pet owners on caring for their pets and administering prescriptions.
- Caring for fractures and/or broken bones in animals.
- Operating/Using medical equipment.
- Administering vaccinations to animal with an illness/disease.
- Performing surgical operations.
- Care for wounds/cuts.
Veterinarian Requirements
In order to become a Veterinarian, there are some education prerequisites you must meet. In order to become a vet, you must apply at a Veterinary Medical College, to do so, you must have already obtained a Bachelor’s degree in medical-science or in a related area. Some examples of these areas include Chemistry, Biology, Physiology, Anatomy, Zoology, Animal Science & Molecular Biology.
In rare occasions, Veterinary Colleges will not mandate that applicants hold a Bachelor Degree however this is only for students who have maintained nearly perfect academic grades that do hold experience in this field that have between 45-90 undergraduate semester credits. Currently, in the US, there are under 30 Universities that are accredited by the Veterinary Medical Association, this means that admission in to these schools is highly competitive between applicants due to the low number of accredited schools.
To be eligible to become a Veterinarian, you must earn a degree in “Doctor of Veterinary Medicine” at one of the 28 accredited Veterinary Medical Colleges. This is a 4 year degree program divided in to two 2 year segments. The first two years you will be in a classroom setting where you will learn animal anatomy, animal physiology, disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment. The remaining two years will contain “Clinical Practicum” in a real work setting.
Veterinarian Graduates
Students who graduate Veterinary Medical College are only allowed to begin their practice once they’ve earned their licence however some graduates may make the choice to specialize in a certain area within the field. With specializing within a certain area, this opens the door to more opportunities for employment. If specializing within the Veterinary field, you will focus only on one specific area. In order to specialize within a specific area, students must do an internship for 1 year and 2 years of clinical practice and then 2-3 years focusing on their specialty.
Students before have successful approval for their credential review and certifying examination must submit their scientific/research based results. While the requirements are extensive, graduates are rewarded by receiving an average pay that is 2-3 times the pay of an average Veterinarian.
Veterinarian Certification
Once a student has graduated with the “Doctor of Veterinary Medicine” degree, they are required to acquire their license before starting their practice as a registered Veterinarian. In the US, all states mandate that Veterinarians pass the “North American Veterinary Licensing Exam” (NAVLE) which will evaluate the applicants understanding of the role as a Veterinarian. This exam is an extensive and intensive eight hour test consisting of 360 questions. In some states such as Florida, you will also be required to pass a “Clinical Skill Exam” as well.
Over all, the Veterinary field is a promising career/field with a year after year increase in employment opportunities. If you’re looking for a promising career options and you enjoy working with animals, then this is a great career option for you to endeavor in to! Working with animals can be an exciting and rewarding experience and we would highly recommend this career to those who enjoy working with both people and animals!
