A Veterinarian's Role in Society Veterinary Science Program

A Veterinarian's Role in Society A veterinarian provides medical and surgical care to any and all creatures great and small. But should they? Specialists are more likely to provide care for more difficult cases in a particular field or for a particular species and can provide a skill set most general practitioners cannot

A Veterinarian's Role in Society 22 recognized specialty organizations in veterinary medicine that encompass 40 distinct specialties. American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Certifies large and small animal internal medicine Oncologists Cardiologists Neurologists

A Veterinarian's Role in Society All veterinarians must understand the intricacies between all the species they treat Must know important physiological and medical differences within each species For example: One kind of medication can easily kill a cat but is used to great effect in a dog Some breeds of dog can be treated with one medication, while other breeds of dog can be seriously hurt if given that same medication

A Veterinarian's Role in Society All veterinarians must know how to grieve with a client who just lost their pet one minute and focus on performing a surgery to save the life of another patient the next Veterinarians need to know which questions to ask because their clients may not know what's important

A Veterinarian's Role in Society Veterinarians must: Examine the animal carefully through a physical exam Decide which diagnostic tests need to be performed Figure out what treatments are best Monitor the treatment's progress Ensure owners comply with their instructions for the best possible outcome Provide a prognosis for the medical condition Ensure their patient's human friend cannot get sick from their beloved pet and that the pet owner knows how to handle potentially toxic drugs so they don't get hurt

A Veterinarian's Role in Society Veterinarians must often balance the need to properly diagnose and treat an animal with the financial constraints of the animal's owner Many veterinarians are also business owners who may need to handle their clinic's finances and office politics while practicing medicine

Other Roles of a Veterinarian Veterinary forensics Investigate horrific animal cruelty cases, testify in court, and enforce animal welfare laws Dual DVM/PhD program Life in research that benefits human and animal health DVM/MPH (Masters of Public Health) program Work as epidemiologists and as members of teams tasked with protecting human health Lawyers MBAs