How to Be a Veterinarian, Part 2: Make sure it's what you want!

SO, do you really want to become a veterinarian? A vet is in charge of the decision making for the animal's health, and often it's the techs that do most of the hands-on (though, if the animal is particularly hard to handle, the dangerous work is usually up to you!) The health and well-being of your patients is YOUR responsibility, and you will be held accountable if something detrimental happens to the animal if you or your staff make wrong decisions. There is a lot of paperwork involved, and you have to be able to make a living even though people often don't/won't have the means to pay for the services they need.

School is rigorous and not cheap. About a 3.8 average GPA will get you in, and then you will spend years of your life consumed is study. Starting out pay for vets is between $40K-&60K, but school can cost $150K to upwards of $250K. I graduated in 2005 owing $230K, and my first job paid $57K. This means I owe close to $1900 a month just in student loans. I am incredibly limited by my job choices due to the amount of money I owe! Here's a very pertinent article from the New York Times in 2013:

High Debt and Falling Demand Trap New Vets

I Love My Job!!! But I had the wrong Idea about what my life was going to be like, make sure you don't make that mistake! There are many ways to work with animals that may be just as, if not more, satisfying than being a veterinarian depending on what you want to do!

Monday's How To Be A Veterinarian, Part 1: Careers in Veterinary Medcine

There are many types of veterinarians; the field is much more versatile than a lot of people know! Some depend on if you get board certification, which usually requires a residency; more on that later. There are also military positions available, private industry, and many others. Here's a list of some of the fields you can enter.

DVM

Small animal veterinarians
Equine veterinarians
Food animal veterinarians
Food safety and inspection veterinarians
Research veterinarians
Professors, etc
DVM with Board Certification (for specialization)

Alternative medicine
Anesthesiology
Animal behavior
Animal welfare
Birds (pet and ornamental)
Bovine
Canine
Cardiology
Chiropractic
Clinical pathology
Clinical pharmacology
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diagnostic imaging
Equine
Emergency and critical care
Exotics
Feline
Internal medicine
Laboratory animal medicine
Microbiology
Neurology
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Parasitology
Pathology
Poultry
Preventive medicine
Radiology
Reptile and amphibian
Shelter medicine
State veterinary medicine
Sports medicine
Surgery
Theriogenology
Toxicology
Zoo animals and wildlife
You can make a veterinary career as rewarding as you like! There are so many ways to be a vet that just about any personality type would fit in. My colleagues are all very different but we mesh so well.

Monday's How to Be a Veterinarian: Intro & Symbol Explanation!

I get a lot of questions about this, and I think the better question is should I be a veterinarian! I'll answer the how to be a vet question first, and then we can discuss! I think every Monday I'm going to continue this section of the blog. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments, or if you're a vet, if you have anything to add!

I'll start with the explanation of the veterinary symbol. The "Rod of Aesculapius" is known as the more "correct" and traditional symbol of medicine, and has a single snake entwined around a staff. Aesculapius was a Greek deity associated with healing and medicinal arts. He was the son of Apollo and a student of Chiron, the centaur. Aesculapius carried a cypress staff with a single snake wrapped around it when he was in his human form. He was given the divine rank of the god of medicine. Hippocrates, the "father of medicine," is thought to begin his career in one of Aesculapius's temples.



The Caduceus, which is more often used as the symbol of medicine, has its roots in Hermes. Hermes was a diplomat and ambassador, and known to be a bringer of peace. Wings are associated with him because he was a swift messenger. The caduceus seems to have arisen by Hermes' links in alchemy. The myth is that Hermes threw his staff between two fighting snakes and stopped their quarrel. Therefore RD's ("Real Doctors," my term for MD's ;) use a rod with 2 snakes wrapped around it with wings, the "caduceus."

Where I graduated from! This is the veterinary symbol. The snake always looks to the left.

So again, any questions, answers, comments, etc you can message me!Talk to ya next Monday!!! Have a great week!

Thanks to the following for the info:

http://www.vet.k-state.edu/handbook/general/aesculapius.html

http://drblayney.com/Asclepius.html