GETTING INTO VETERINARY SCIENCE
Veterinary courses
All veterinary degrees must meet the requirements of the Royal College of Veterinary
Surgeons, so there is a more or less common course content.
Applying for veterinary science (see also: medicine)
Courses and application details
Entrance requirements, academic qualities and non-academic requirements are
clearly set out on the website of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, which is
the best source of all the information you need:
http://www.rcvs.org.uk/education/i-want-to-be-a-vet/
Non-academic requirements
The UCAS website has a comprehensive list of competencies required for each
course, and the one for veterinary science is particularly thorough. In general, many
of the competencies are similar to medicine, although additional ones involve
dexterity, sensitivity, business acumen, etc. to reflect the requirements of working in
general practice.
a) Understanding the job
Veterinary science is the study, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease in
animals as individuals and in groups. Vets may work directly with animals in a
domestic, farm, equine or research setting. Here there are a wide range of
specialisms. They may also work for charities, in zoos, wildlife, conservation, in the
armed services and in jobs related to human health and medicine, such as in public
health or food hygiene, and in commercial organisations such as pet care and pet
food companies.
b) Work experience
This is sometimes tricky to find and will need planning well ahead. The obvious route
- shadowing a domestic vet - is the one most people go for. Be prepared to travel some of the larger vets take more than one at a time, but small local vets may not be
able to accommodate any.
Think a little 'out of the box'. There may be stables, farms, etc. that you can help at lambing is a good time. Also, chicken farmers, fish farms, stables and even abbatoirs
are worth contacting to volunteer or observe (if you can't handle this it may not be
the right career for you!)
Some 'hands on' is necessary to show that you can actually handle animals.
However, it's also useful to see the business side of any organisation. Use the
internet to see what's available within travelling distance and write to all of them.