How to Become a Veterinary Doctor/ Veterinarian

About Veterinary Doctor/ Veterinarian

A veterinarian is a medical professional who provides treatment to animals. Veterinarians or veterinary doctor fulfil the healthcare requirements of pets, zoo, livestock and laboratory animals. There are various types of veterinary doctors such as those who work with small animals like dogs, cats, cattle, etc., those who work with large farm animals such as horse, cow, goat, etc., and those who work with wild animals such as wolf, lion, giraffe, etc. While veterinary doctors learn to treat all kinds of animals, some choose to take up the treatment of small animals while some become experts in looking after animals of farms and forests. Most of the veterinary practitioners work in private hospitals and clinics, laboratories or classrooms, but there are many who have to travel to farms and forests for the welfare of animals.

Responsibilities of a Veterinary Doctor

After become the Veterinary doctor, they entails handling the following responsibilities:

1. Animal health and wellness: Veterinarians are responsible for promoting the health and wellness of animals under their care. This includes conducting routine check-ups, administering vaccinations, and providing advice on nutrition, exercise, and other factors that can affect an animal's health.
2. Diagnosis and treatment: Veterinarians diagnose and treat illnesses, injuries, and medical conditions in animals. This involves evaluating symptoms, ordering and interpreting medical tests, and developing treatment plans.
3. Surgery: Veterinarians may perform surgeries on animals to treat injuries, remove tumors, or address other medical conditions.
4. Emergency care: In cases of emergency, veterinarians may be called upon to provide urgent medical care to animals.
5. Preventive care: In addition to treating illnesses, veterinarians also play a critical role in preventing disease. They may provide advice on parasite control, dental care, and other measures to help keep animals healthy.
6. Research: Some veterinarians may be involved in research to improve animal health and welfare or to develop new treatments for diseases.
7. Animal welfare: Veterinarians have a responsibility to ensure the welfare of animals under their care. This includes providing appropriate housing, nutrition, and medical care, as well as addressing cases of animal abuse or neglect.
8. Client communication: Veterinarians must communicate effectively with animal owners, providing information about their pet's health and treatment options. This may involve explaining medical conditions, discussing the risks and benefits of different treatments, and answering questions from clients.
9. Record-keeping: Veterinarians are responsible for maintaining accurate medical records for the animals under their care. This includes keeping track of medical histories, treatment plans, and any other relevant information.
10. Ethics: Veterinarians are held to high ethical and legal standards. They must ensure that they provide the best possible care to their animal patients while respecting their rights and welfare.

Eligibility to become Veterinary Doctor/ Veterinarian

Subjects Required to become Veterinary Doctor: Science - Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Some colleges may also require English as one of the compulsory subjects. 

Educational Qualification to Become Veterinary Doctor:

• In order to be eligible for pursuing a bachelor's degree in veterinary science, candidates must have completed their class 12 from a recognised board with Physics, Chemistry, and Biology as compulsory subjects.

• Those who wish to pursue a master's degree in veterinary science should've completed a bachelor’s degree with a good percentage of marks in the respective branch.

Entrance Exams for Veterinary Doctor:

Candidates are required to qualify entrance exams such as AP EAMCET, UP VETERINARY Entrance Exam, AAU VET, UPCATET, AIPVT, RPVT, OUAT, etc. admission to a degree in veterinary science.

Skills Required for Veterinary Doctor:

• Clinical skills

• A solid grounding in Medical Science

• Diagnostic skills (with no verbal interaction)

• Lab research skills

• Must possess soft skills to deal with upset pet owners

• Understanding of the scientific literature

• Team player (Vet Surgeons work with support staff)

• Keen to learn modern practices and advanced research and technology facilities

Note:

• Most of the institutes/ universities/colleges have their own eligibility criteria for admission to their undergraduate programmes. While some ask for a minimum of 50% in class 12, some institutions/universities/colleges ask for a minimum of 60%.

• Some colleges/universities also have age limit criteria .

Types of Job Roles Veterinary Doctor/ Veterinarian

After attaining the required qualification, skills, and training, there are various job profiles in this field that you can target based on your interest. Following are some of the popular job profiles for Veterinarians:

• Companion Animal Veterinarians: Companion animal veterinarians work in private hospitals or clinics and provide treatment to pets such as dogs, cats, birds, etc.

• Equine Veterinarian: Equine veterinarian is a horse veterinary and provides medical treatment to horses.

• Food safety and Inspection Veterinarians: They provide inspection for major animal diseases and, vaccines for the treatment of animals, test livestock, increase animal welfare, do research to improve animal health, and provide government food safety rules.

• Food Animal Veterinarians: Food animal veterinarians treat diseases and injuries of farm animals such as cattle, pig, ships, livestock, and educate people about food and other health practices.

• Research Veterinarians: Research veterinarians usually work in laboratories and are always involved in research to find new surgical techniques.

• Veterinary Dermatologist: The duty of the veterinary dermatologist is to diagnose any skin disease that an animal may have and perform biopsies, cultures and skin scrapings.

• Veterinary Pharmacologist: The duty of the veterinary pharmacologist is monitoring an animal's progress in veterinary hospitals kept under care.

Employment Sector/Industry for Veterinary Doctor/ Veterinarian

Employment opportunities for veterinary doctors are available in both government and private hospitals. They can also start their own clinic/hospitals by proving medical treatment for animals. Veterinary doctors can be employed with:

• Private clinics

• Hospitals

• Laboratories

• Slaughterhouses

• Shelter houses

• Farms and ranches

• Social advocacy organizations

• Pharmaceutical industry

• University lecturer

• Animal Nutritional Center

• Food supplement industries

Top Recruiting Hospitals for Veterinary Doctors

Some of the popular recruitment hospitals for veterinary doctors have been mentioned below:

• Pets care center, Akola

• Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad

• Dog and Cat Clinic, Noida

• ARK Veterinary Clinic, Chennai

• Veterinary Dispensary Blue Cross of India, Chennai

• Veterinary Hospital, Khurda

• The Salvation Army Catherine Booth Hospital, Kanyakumari

• Centre for Advancement of Higher Education, Paschim Medinipur

• Sant Dnyaneshwar Medical Education Research Centre, Pune

• Canwad Dog and Cats Clinic, Gurgaon

• Dog Clinic- Faridabad, Faridabad

Pay Scale/Salary of Veterinary Doctor/ Veterinarian

A veterinary doctor's pay level may depend on the type of expertise, experience and the organisation where he/she is working. Mentioned below is a salary break-up for different types of veterinarians in India:

Note: The above-mentioned figures are an estimate and may vary from individual to individual and company to company.

Books & Study Material to Become Veterinary Doctor/ Veterinarian

Here's a list of some of the top books to increase your skills and knowledge in the Veterinary field.

• Pradeep's Class 11th and 12th Biology

• P. Bahadur's Physical Chemistry

• Previous years sample papers by Arihant

• J.D Lee's Inorganic Chemistry

• Morrison Boyd's Organic Chemistry

• Truemen’s Elementary Biology

• Previous years sample papers by Arihant

• Objective Biology by Pradeep

• Pradeep's Physics of 11th and 12th

• DC Pandey's Physics

• Arihant’s Objective Biology

• O.P Tondon's Inorganic Chemistry

• H.C Verma's Physics for Class 11 and Class 12

• I.E Irodov's Physics (For morin-depthth practicing)

Some other books recommended for the preparation of veterinary medicine are:

• Dawn E. Christenson's Veterinary Medical Terminology

• William R. Fenner's Quick Reference to Veterinary Medicine

• Abdel Khalek El – Sheikh, Hamed Attia, Hatem Selim's Text Book of Veterinary Internal Medicine

• Janet Amundson Romich's An illustrated guide to Veterinary Medical terminology fourth edition

• Andrea J. Fascetti's Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition

• For Veterinary Medicine: Otto M. Radostits' A Textbook of the Diseases of Cattle, Horses, Sheep, Pigs, and Goats

• For Veterinary Microbiology: J. Glenn Songerby's Bacterial and Fungal Agents of Animal Disease first edition

Pros of becoming a Veterinary Doctor/ Veterinarian

• A veterinary doctor has the flexibility to work in a diverse set of environments.

• A highly experienced and skilled veterinary doctor is paid well in India.

• The number of job opportunities is very high.

• The nobility of the work provides self-satisfaction and mental peace.

• Flexible working hours

Cons of becoming a Veterinary Doctor/ Veterinarian

• Hazardous working conditions, in some cases.

• Dealing with difficult pets often tests your patience.

• May involve long working hours.

Career path for Veterinary Doctor/ Veterinarian

In order to become a Veterinary Doctor, a student must plan his/her career from the 12th standard. For this, a student should have a strong background in class 12 with subjects including Chemistry, Biology, and Physics. The admission to most veterinary colleges/institutes is solely done on the basis of marks secured in the entrance examination organised by the concerned authority.