Abbey Romick
Mr. Christensen
English 11B - Hour 1
February 9th, 2015
Veterinary Medicine
Whether they are large, small, exotic, or aquatic, one thing all veterinarians have in common is
their love for animals. The job of a clinical veterinarian is to treat the diseases and injuries that
animals obtain. The profession of a veterinarian offers a wide variety of specializations and
career advancement opportunities. Animals contribute to the world’s food and clothing needs, as
well as great companions to people worldwide. When these animals have injuries or illnesses,
veterinarians provide treatment to help them recover, along with providing their owners with
information or tips on further care for them during their recovery.
Before the start of the modern era, animals and humans closely worked together for
survival, as animals were crucial for not only food production but also for means of
transportation. The people relied on horses, oxen, and mules on a daily basis to get around
(“Timeline of Veterinary Science”). Animals were also used as transportation in the first world
war on landscapes that vehicles could not gain access to. Animals were a vital part of everyday
life for people, thus introducing the need to keep these “animals” healthy and able to continue to
work (“The History of Veterinary Science”). At this time care for animals was performed with
the same treatments that were used on humans. In fact, animal care was done this way all the
way up to the opening of the first veterinary college founded in 1761 in Lyon, France.
Veterinarians play an imperative role in disease control and medical advances throughout history
(“Timeline of Veterinary Science”). With the newly educated veterinarians from veterinary
college, they soon began studying concerns with the diseases that livestock possess. The early
veterinarians focused on controlling the diseases that affect our food supply. Dr. Leonard
Pearson began the testing of livestock to prevent the spread of tuberculosis, which was a
widespread infectious disease that was spread through the air and caused by bacteria that
attacked the lungs (“The History of Veterinary Science”). Veterinarians quickly began studying
diseases and finding ways to control them. Diseases like hog cholera, hoof and mouth disease,
tuberculosis, brucellosis, and rabies were studied and later controlled. In 1863, the AVMA
(American Veterinary Medical Association) was founded and thirteen years later the first
American veterinary school was established (“History of Veterinary Medicine”). Agencies began
forming to work for the benefit of animals and the effect they have on the people. The Bureau of
Veterinary Medicine began in 1965 and twenty years later was renamed the Center for
Veterinary Medicine or CVM. The Center for Veterinary Medicine works to regulate the
distribution of food additives and drugs that are fed to animals (“History of Veterinary
Medicine” ). As time passes and technology advances, veterinarians have the opportunity to
further their advancements and progress treatments for animals yet even further.
The term veterinary science is a broad term when it comes to the field’s expansion and
contributions, and as a veterinarian one can hold numerous different jobs. It is often thought of
only helping cats and dogs in a clinic or animal hospital, but sometimes it is much more than
that. With a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, one could conduct research, work for the federal
government working on biosecurity or with federal departments such as the United States
Department of Agriculture, Centers for Disease (USDA), or even the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). Within a veterinarian’s scope, they could work with the militaries, public
and environmental health, and in animal shelters globally, the possibilities are endless (“PreVeterinary Resources”).The Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded in 2013 that, “healthy veterinary
jobs [will have a] growth rate of twelve percent by 2022”. That twelve-percent growth rate
shows that animal care is continually becoming a more and more important aspect of jobs in the
medical field. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reported in 2013 that, “the median veterinary
salary earned in 2013 was $86,640 with the highest-paid veterinarians earning $149,530 and the
lowest- paid earning $53,270”. Veterinarians play a large role in the United States, because they
not only provide treatment for our pets, but they also help keep our food and environment safe
and healthy.
The job of a veterinarian is consistently challenging yet it is very valuable. The majority
of a vet’s work is prophylactic treatment, which means preventing problems from occurring.
Veterinarians often act as a safeguard to pets. People bring their pets to the veterinarian to
receive shots, check ups on their well-being, or receive emergency treatment. These vets work in
clinics or animal hospitals and specialize in caring for pets in the average household. Their job is
to diagnose and treat sick animals as well as preventing illness in healthy ones. Unlike human
doctors, veterinarians cannot ask the patient what is wrong, so they must try to pick up on the
clues that the animal is giving and communicate with the owner in order to find the origin of the
problem. Pets in the clinical or hospital setting are very important to their owners, thus placing a
weight on the veterinarian to find the source of the problem as soon as possible. Being a vet
requires one to have good leadership, observation, and communication skills.
At the base of being a veterinarian is having a passion for animals. The road to becoming
a veterinarian is a long and challenging one that requires patience and determination. Becoming
a veterinary consists of years and years of schooling and countless hours studying, researching
and practicing skills. Other than having a love for animals, a first step would be to take as many
science and math classes as possible in high school to prepare yourself for college. As an
undergraduate student there are many science and math classes that are deemed mandatory in
order to get into veterinary school. A pre-veterinary student will likely end up being either a
biology, chemistry, or biochemistry major, with either math or psychology as a minor (“Steps to
Becoming a Veterinarian”). A pre-veterinary student must also maintain a sustainable grade
point average along with passing an entrance exam. In the United States there are only twentyeight colleges that offer a veterinary degree program that meets the American Veterinary
Medical Association standards (Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences). Due to the extreme
competitiveness, getting into one of the twenty-eight veterinary programs is a great
accomplishment. In 2007, only about three thousand of the nearly six thousand students that
applied were accepted (“Steps to Becoming a Veterinarian”). Veterinary schools focus on a
candidate’s experience, so before applying it is beneficial to be involved in an internship or have
some animal health experience, which would be favorable on a resume. Being a part of a
volunteering program and/or a pre-veterinary club is helpful when applying for veterinary
programs too (“Pre-Veterinary Resources”). Finally, as with many colleges, letters of
recommendation are always an advantageous strategy to get accepted(“Steps to Becoming a
Veterinarian”). Once accepted a veterinary student will spend the first two years mainly focused
on classroom work. Students will spend hours in classes such as biochemistry, embryology, and
calculus. In fact, the first two years of veterinary school are immensely similar to the first to
years of human medical programs. However, in the second two years, students begin to focus
entirely on clinicals. These two years are when the student begins to apply their knowledge and
practice skills from everything they have learned thus far (“Pre-Veterinary Resources”). The goal
of attending veterinarian school is to receive a DVM, or Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. To earn
a DVM, a veterinary student must pass an eight hour, three hundred and sixty multiple choice
question National Board Exam (North American Veterinary Licensing Exam). Students should
be able to begin working as a veterinarian on the day of graduation. Many students also reported
to have found it helpful to conduct research while in still in college, in order to get a leg up on
everyone else. Once working within the field many veterinarians continue to broaden their
education and continue studying in a certain specialty.
Since animals have been around people have been caring for them. Throughout time
technology has advanced and further deepened our medical understanding of the human anatomy
as well as that of animals. Thanks to multiple universities across the country, today our
knowledge on anatomy and reasons for disease as well as the prevention of diseases are so much
broader than what they used to be. To become a veterinarian one needs to attain a Bachelor’s
Degree in a field relating to veterinary science, and the majority of people choose a major in
either Biology, Chemistry, or Biochemistry. Once getting a Bachelor’s Degree, the next step is
choosing the appropriate graduate school to go to in order to get the right training to become a
certified veterinarian, that is after passing the National Board Exam of course. Although the
journey is a long and hard one, most veterinarians can agree that the reward at the end of the
tunnel is well worth the work put into achieving it. The field of veterinary medicine is fast paced
and growing more and more annually. The profession has drawbacks which are expected in
every field of work, but the rewards outweigh the drawbacks. The world would not be where it
presently is without the study of animals or the work veterinarians have performed throughout
time. Veterinarians were the first to provide disease control and use animals to help with human
medical advances Veterinarians have and will continue to play a large role in the world’s health.
Works Cited
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 201415 Edition
"History of Veterinary Medicine." Go Veterinary School. 25 May 2014. Web. 8 Feb. 2015.
Kokemuller, Neil. "How to Become a Veterinarian." EHow. Demand Media, 14 Nov. 1999.
Web. 8 Feb. 2015.
"Pre-Veterinary Resources." Association of American Veterinary Colleges. AAVMC, 1 Jan.
2015. Web. 8 Feb. 2015
Ross, Roger. "History of Veterinary Science." Animal Pet Doctor. The Foxnest Veterinary
Hospital. Web. 8 Feb. 2015.
"Steps to Becoming a Veterinarian." Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences. College of
Agricultural Sciences, 1 Jan. 2015. Web. 8 Feb. 2015.
"Timeline of Veterinary Science." Healthier Animals Healthier World. IFAH. Web. 8 Feb. 2015.