How to become a Veterinarian 2024

Veterinarian Diagnose, treat, or research diseases and injuries of animals. Includes veterinarians who conduct research and development, inspect livestock, or care for pets and companion animals.

Veterinarian is Also Know as

In different settings, Veterinarian is titled as

Companion Animal Practitioner
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)
Emergency Veterinarian (Emergency Vet)
Large Animal Veterinarian (Large Animal Vet)
Mixed Animal Veterinarian (Mixed Animal Vet)
Small Animal Veterinarian (Small Animal Vet)
Veterinary Medicine Doctor (DVM)
Veterinary Surgeon (Vet Surgeon)
Veterinary Surgical Specialist (Vet Surgical Specialist)
Zoo Veterinarian (Zoo Vet)

Education and Training of Veterinarian

Veterinarian is categorized in Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

Experience Required for Veterinarian

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Education Required for Veterinarian

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Degrees Related to Veterinarian

Training Required for Veterinarian

Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Related Ocuupations

Some Ocuupations related to Veterinarian in different industries are

What Do Veterinarian do?

Examine animals to detect and determine the nature of diseases or injuries.
Treat sick or injured animals by prescribing medication, setting bones, dressing wounds, or performing surgery.
Inoculate animals against various diseases, such as rabies or distemper.
Collect body tissue, feces, blood, urine, or other body fluids for examination and analysis.
Operate diagnostic equipment, such as radiographic or ultrasound equipment, and interpret the resulting images.
Educate the public about diseases that can be spread from animals to humans.
Train or supervise workers who handle or care for animals.
Provide care to a wide range of animals or specialize in a particular species, such as horses or exotic birds.
Euthanize animals.
Establish or conduct quarantine or testing procedures that prevent the spread of diseases to other animals or to humans and that comply with applicable government regulations.
Conduct postmortem studies and analyses to determine the causes of animals' deaths.
Direct the overall operations of animal hospitals, clinics, or mobile services to farms.
Drive mobile clinic vans to farms so that health problems can be treated or prevented.
Specialize in a particular type of treatment, such as dentistry, pathology, nutrition, surgery, microbiology, or internal medicine.
Inspect and test horses, sheep, poultry, or other animals to detect the presence of communicable diseases.
Plan or execute animal nutrition or reproduction programs.
Research diseases to which animals could be susceptible.
Inspect animal housing facilities to determine their cleanliness and adequacy.
Determine the effects of drug therapies, antibiotics, or new surgical techniques by testing them on animals.
Advise animal owners regarding sanitary measures, feeding, general care, medical conditions, or treatment options.
Attend lectures, conferences, or continuing education courses.
Perform administrative or business management tasks, such as scheduling appointments, accepting payments from clients, budgeting, or maintaining business records.
Counsel clients about the deaths of their pets or about euthanasia decisions for their pets.

Qualities of Good Veterinarian

Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.

Tools Used by Veterinarian

Ambu bags
Angiography catheters
Animal catching poles
Animal electrocardiograph ECG units
Animal snares
Arterial line catheters
Arthroscopic surgical equipment
Aspiration catheters
Automated chemistry analyzers
Automated microbial identification systems
Avian restrainers
Bandage scissors
Barcode scanners
Battery-operated orthopedic drills
Benchtop centrifuges
Biopsy punches
Blood collection syringes
Blood gas analyzers
Bone chisels
Bone clamps
Bone curettes
Bone cutting forceps
Bone fragment forceps
Bone holding forceps
Bone marrow aspirators
Bone rasps
Bone ronguers
Capture rifles
Cardiac monitors
Cast cutting saws
Castrating knives
Cattle chutes
Chest tubes
Coagulation analyzers
Computed tomography CT scanners
Crown pullers
Cryosurgery units
Dart guns
Dehorners
Dental amalgam carriers
Dental burs
Dental carvers
Dental cord packers
Dental elevators
Dental examination mirrors
Dental explorers
Dental files
Dental material pluggers
Dental probes or explorers
Dental reamers
Dental root tip picks
Dental spreaders
Desktop computers
Differential cell counters
Digital cameras
Digital veterinary thermometers
Digital x ray equipment
Digitizers
Dressing forceps
Ear syringes
Echocardiogram equipment
Electric animal clippers
Electronic animal scales
Electrosurgery units
Endotracheal ET tubes
Enema equipment
Enteral feeding equipment
Evacuated blood collection tubes
Extraction forceps
Eye lavage kits
Fiberoptic endoscopes
Fluoroscopy units
Gamma ray cameras
Glucometers
Goniometers or arthrometers
Hand scalers
Handheld refractometers
Hematology analyzers
Hemoclips
Hemocytometers
Hemostats
High-speed dental handpieces
Hoof knives
Hoof picks
Hoof testers
Hoof trimmers
Image guided intensity modulated radiation therapy IMRT equipment
Insemination equipment
Intravenous IV administration sets
Intravenous IV fluid pumps
Intravenous IV fluid warmers
Intravenous syringe pumps
Kelly forceps
Laboratory scales
Laparoscopic equipment
Laptop computers
Laryngoscopes
Laser surgery units
Lead aprons
Lead gloves
Linear accelerator equipment
Lip retractors
Low speed dental handpieces
Magnetic resonance imaging MRI systems
Mayo scissors
Mechanical intermittent positive pressure ventilators
Mechanical stethoscopes
Microhematocrit centrifuges
Microscope slides
Mobile multiparameter monitors
Mosquito forceps
Muzzles
Nail trimmers
Needle holders
Nose tongs
Nuclear scintigraphy equipment
Operating microscopes
Ophthalmic surgical blades
Ophthalmic tonometers
Ophthalmoscopes
Optical compound microscopes
Orthopedic drills
Osteotomes
Otoscopes
Oxygen administration equipment
Periodontal chisels
Periodontal curettes
Periosteal elevators
Personal computers
Portable veterinary x ray equipment
Prophylaxis angles
Protective face shields
Pulse oximeters
Radiation detecting film badges
Respiration monitors
Safety gloves
Safety goggles
Semiautomated or automatic external defibrillators AED
Single dose syringes
Skin staplers
Specimen collection containers
Sponge forceps
Staple removal forceps
Stationary x ray equipment
Steam autoclaves
Surgical bone saws
Surgical calipers
Surgical gloves
Surgical magnifiers
Surgical masks
Surgical retractors
Surgical scalpels
Suture needles
Tablet computers
Tattoo equipment
Thoracic drainage catheters
Thyroid collars
Tissue forceps
Tourniquets
Towel clamps
Ultrasonic aspirators
Ultrasonic blood pressure monitors
Ultrasonic dental scalers
Ultrasonic instrument cleaners
Urinary catheters
Veterinary anesthesia machines
Veterinary dental impression trays
Veterinary dental mouth props
Veterinary dental x ray equipment
Veterinary immersion hydrotherapy equipment
Veterinary obstetrical forceps
Veterinary oral specula
Veterinary orthopedic splints
Veterinary patient warming systems
Veterinary rehabilitation treadmills
Veterinary suction equipment
Veterinary surgical mouth gags
Veterinary ultrasound equipment
Veterinary vaginal specula
Visible light curing units
Volumetric glass pipettes
X ray film processors
X ray intensifying equipment

Technology Skills required for Veterinarian

Adobe Acrobat
American Data Systems PAWS Veterinary Practice Management
Complete Clinic
Eklin Information Systems VIA
Henry Schein ImproMed
IDEXX Laboratories IDEXX Cornerstone
IDEXX Laboratories IDEXX VPM
ImproMed Infinity
InformaVet ALIS-VET
IntraVet
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Word
Mobile Data Software VetInfo
Sneakers Software DVMax Practice
Vetport
Web browser software

US Universities

How to become Veterinarian in 2024