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Samantha Citta
Mrs. Taylor
Honors Pre-Calculus
16 December 2010
You Need Math to Be a Veterinarian?
Most of the math used by veterinarians is very basic, unless they own their own
business. Veterinarians mostly use math to figure dosages for a specific animal,
because dosages are based off of weight, or to convert those dosages into more
common measurements to make it easier for the owner of the animal to administer. For
example, a dog may weigh 85 pounds and the medicine may say to administer 2 cc's
(cubic centimeters) per every 5 pounds of body weight. The veterinarian would then
have to figure the dosage for the dog by doing the following calculation: 85/5=17x2=34,
34 cc’s being your final dosage. However, perhaps the owner does not have an
instrument that measures in cc’s. Then, the veterinarian would have to know that 5 cc's
equals 1 tsp., and 15 cc's equals 1 tbsp, so the owner could therefore give the dog 2
4/15 tbsp. or 6 ⅘ tsp. of the medicine. If a veterinarian also goes into business for
himself/herself, they would also either need to know how to do the math involved in
figuring a budget and inventory for supplies, overhead, taxes, personal salary and
deductions and employees' salary and deductions. Now, it is not completely necessary
for the vet to know those things, because they could hire an accountant to do all of that
for them, and some do, but they would save quite a bit of money by doing it themselves.
Math is required for most professions, some more than others, but at least some
for everything. Before one goes to veterinarian school two terms of math are
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recommended by most schools; required by 20% of the schools. Several possibilities
are available, Math 3 (or Math 1-2) and 8 or 3 plus a non-calculus math course, such as
Math 10 (Statistics); Advance Placement + Math 10; or two terms Advance Placement
(if the AP courses are accepted by the medical school in question). Biology 29
(Biostats) is also a good option for veterinarians. Many schools require one term of
calculus and some require statistics. Most schools require Math 3 before allowing
someone to enroll in Chemistry 5.
As a veterinarian, you can make a difference in many people’s lives. If you are
working with pets (such as dogs, cats, birds, and even larger animals such as horses),
the families that own them often become very attached and it is very hard on most of
the family when the animal is sick. In some families a pet can act as a way for the family
to bond or as an emotional comfort for many members of the family. If you are working
with agricultural animals such as cows, pigs, and sheep, the health of the animals is still
very important to their owners, not always because they have an emotional connection
to the animals, but because the livelihood of the rancher and his family is often directly
connected to the value of his product, which is little to none if the animal is sick or dead.
There is also opportunity as vets to help people in third world countries do things, such
as learn to care for their livestock and other animals and solve some animal husbandry
problems. There is a program for veterinarians to do this through a group called
Christian Veterinary Mission or CVM. They travel to countries such as the Dominican
Republic and teach mainly the poor peasant farmers of the area basic things in animal
care so that they can fix some of their problems in animal husbandry. Since these are
christian vets though, they also provide spiritual help for the farmers they are helping.
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“CVM veterinarians live and work alongside these people to encourage them and
provide them with not only much needed veterinary expertise, but also the hope that is
only found in Christ. As friends and encouragers, CVM veterinarians build lasting
relationships with individuals and communities, helping them be transformed through
Christ's love. Christian veterinarians also serve through the profession here at home,
demonstrating Christ's love in word and deed” (Weddell 1).
Practicing veterinary medicine is also one way you can help our environment.
Veterinarians help make sure that the meat we eat is safe by making health codes.
Many health problems can occur in a person if the meat they are eating is diseased or
otherwise contaminated. Vets also work to try to keep diseases from passing from
animals to humans and vice versa by regulating safety codes about our food, identifying
the seriousness of an animal’s sickness or disease, treating them so that their problems
are not passed to us, and teaching us how to take care of them so that we do not cause
diseases in them. Christian Veterinary Mission also helps by teaching mainly the poor
peasant farmers of the area things to better their environment such as how to care for
sick animals and that if an animal is sick or diseased, that it is not good to eat it.
Veterinarians also help our environment in other ways. They help with animal
abandonment and animal overpopulation by creating/running the Animal Human Society
and spaying/neutering animals so that unwanted animals are not created. After
unwanted animals are created homes are tried to find for the animals, but if that is not
done, vets also are left to do the only human thing left to do, which if humanly euthanize
them. Veterinarians also often check our lakes and rivers to make sure that they are
safe for the animals that live there as well as the people visiting them. They also work
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with wildlife and animals in zoos to help protect endangered species and find new ways
to restore and protect their environments. There are also vets that work with NASA to
conduct experiments in space to learn more about the diseases of not only animals, but
humans as well.
Works Cited
American Humane Association. "Spaying / Neutering." American Humane: Protecting
Children and Animals Since 1877. American Humane Association, 2010. Web.
16 Dec. 2010. <http://www.americanhumane.org/protecting-animals/adoptionpet-re/care/spaying-neutering.html>.
American Veterinary Medical Association. Advertisement. www.avma.org. American
Veterinary Medical Association, Mar. 2008. Web. 16 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.avma.org/products/classroom/classroom_poster_side1_85x11.pdf>.
Malinowski, Frank. "DC: Sci. & Math - Programs | Pre-Veterinarian." Darton College: A
College of the University System of Georgia. Darton College, 2008. Web. 16
Dec. 2010. <http://www.darton.edu/programs/scimath/programs/p-prevet.php>.
"Required Courses for Medical, Dental, or Veterinary Schools." Dartmouth College.
Trustees of Dartmouth College, 2010. Web. 16 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.dartmouth.edu/~ugar/premajor/faculty/handbook/premedcourses.ht
ml>.
Weddell, Sherry A. "Veterinarians Making a Difference." Catherine of Siena Institute.
www.siena.org, 24 Mar. 2010. Web. 16 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.siena.org/March-2010/veterinarians-making-a-difference.html>.