veterinary+medicine

Jiachen, 10/11/10

Veterinary Medicine
__JOB DESCRIPTION__ Veterinarians are like doctors, but instead of taking care of humans they take care of health of animals. Most of these doctors, after graduating from colleges, work for private animal clinics and spend their times taking care of animals. And there are also some veterinarians who work at Zoos or big farms.

__EDUCATION__ To become a veterinarian a four year of undergraduate education (bachelor's degree) is required to enter veterinary schools. And then a four year of general veterinary medicine degree is necessary. This would allow them to be generalist in most diseases with couple main animals including cats, dogs, horses and cows. There is also another four year for specialization, if needed, in different areas of veterinary medicine such as ophthalmology (disease of the eye) or emergency care. The most common requirements for the veterinary colleges include: very specific science coursework; a minimum GPA; and either the VCAT (the veterinary version of the medical school entrance examination) or the GRE. After graduating from college, the person should pass a demanded national veterinary medical board exam to become a veterinarian.

If you are considering to take this major, here are some of the top veterinary schools in the United States

Ranked in 2007 by USN
 * ~ Rank ||||||~ College name ||~  ||~ Score ||
 * 1 |||||||| [|Cornell University]Ithaca, NY || 4.5 ||
 * 2 |||||||| [|Colorado State University]Fort Collins, CO || 4.3 ||
 * 2 |||||||| [|University of California--Davis]Davis, CA || 4.3 ||
 * 4 |||||||| [|University of Pennsylvania]Philadelphia, PA || 4.1 ||
 * 5 |||||||| [|North Carolina State University]Raleigh, NC || 3.9 ||
 * 5 |||||||| [|Ohio State University]Columbus, OH || 3.9 ||
 * 5 |||||||| [|Texas A&M University--College Station]College Station, TX || 3.9 ||
 * 5 |||||||| [|University of Wisconsin--Madison]Madison, WI || 3.9 ||
 * 9 |||||||| [|Michigan State University]East Lansing, MI || 3.8 ||
 * 10 |||||||| [|University of Minnesota--Twin Cities]St. Paul, MN || 3.7 ||
 * 11 |||||||| [|University of Florida]Gainesville, FL || 3.6 ||
 * 12 |||||||| [|University of Georgia]Athens, GA || 3.5 ||
 * 13 |||||||| [|Tufts University]North Grafton, MA || 3.4 ||

__SALARY RANGE__ Veterinarians who do not own their practices only make around 75,000 to 85,000 a year.

__BEST PART OF JOB__ The good part about this job is, of course, to those who are animal lovers, because veterinarians spend all day long with the animals. Compared to doctors, being a veterinary the schedules are more flexible.

__WORST PART OF JOB__ Veterinary schools are very hard to get in, and they are expensive compared to other colleges. It is considered one of the most stressful health professions because the job is very different from what they had imagined, often times veterinarians see animals that are very sick or might soon die, and so it requires them fortitude that even biggest pet lovers might not have. Veterinarians also have to deal with pet owners who might be irritable, rude and difficult to deal with. Even though veterinarians have a fairly good salary, but they would also have a big amount of loans.

__INTERVIEW__


 * Date:** October 19th, 2010
 * Interviewer:** Jerry Scheck DVM (through email)
 * Occupation:** owner of Hopewell Animal Hospital.
 * Recommended Educational/Training path:** he said that the education process for veterinary medicine is very rigorous; they have four years of undergraduate college then four years of veterinary school. And most of people elect to get a masters or PhD degree.Additionally, to be specialized that can add another three years for a residency.
 * Valuable skills:** communications skills, math and science, and a desire to work very hard.
 * Outlook for this profession for the future:** good outlook because people always have pets.
 * Contact info:** phone # (845) 221-7387 or visit their website www.hopewellanimalhospital.com

= = __FOR MORE INFORMATION__ @http://www.petplace.com/dogs/how-to-become-a-veterinarian/page1.aspx @http://www.medcareerinfo.com/VeterinaryMedicine.html

SOURCES: "Rankings Veterinary Medicine ." U.S. News, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2010. <@http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-veterinarian-schools/rankings/>.

Khuly, Patricia. "How to Become a Veterinarian." n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2010. <@http://www.petplace.com/dogs/how-to-become-a-veterinarian/page1.aspx>

"Veterinary Medicine." Med Career Info, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2010. <@http://www.medcareerinfo.com/VeterinaryMedicine.html>.

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