Questions about Veterinary Medicine..

[BuckyBoy_DDS]

Hi,

I grew up in a ranching community in Texas and moved away when I was around 13...After that I kind of lost the idea of working with animals..Anyways, I thought I would go into Dentistry, but am having second thoughts. I started taking animal science courses and working in Dairy/Beef labs and am really enjoying what I am learning..

So now, I have a desire to do something with animals..I am either thinking about applying to vet school and work with animals, or doing dentistry and having a hobby ranch, more or less..I'd like to do some genetics/breeding projects as well.


So I guess my questions are.....What does a Large Animal Vet do? What is the structure of the work? Office or housecalls? Can a DVM get involved in research? Would you need a post-doc?

Also, what are the stats like to get in? Are they similar to human med and dentistry? Are the pre-reqs similar? I am majoring in Neuroscience but it seems like most pre-vets I know are ansci/dairy sci/an ag majors? Am I at a disadvantage?

One last thing, why are there so few males in vet med? I looked at UW's site and it was 66 female and 14 male..Is it like pharmacy, in that the hours are better than other health fields and more family oriented?


Sorry for the really long post, but I am a Senior and trying to figure out what the hell I want to do with my life.

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[HorseyVet]

I have a test tomorrow so this is the quick answer..

So I guess my questions are.....What does a Large Animal Vet do? What is the structure of the work? Office or housecalls? Can a DVM get involved in research? Would you need a post-doc?

The type of practice you go into really depends. You could specialize in cattle (either just as a focus or actually get board certification in food anima/LA), and do consulting which often pays pretty well and can allow for decent hours. Many LA vets though work longer/more on-call hours then the average SA vet, but again it depends on the setting and what your focus is. You do not need anyting after the 4 years of vet school, however about 20% of people do a one year internship and then a 3 year residency to become board certified in a particular speciality.

If you want to do more research there are ways to do a dual DVM/MA or DVM/PhD but they often involve at least an extra year (some do squeeze in the MA suring the summers).

There are board certified specialists in veterinary dentistry, so if you're trying to pick between DDS and DVM, that would certainly be something I'd look into. Generally specialist work on consult, in academia, or at a private speciality hospital. Those 3 types of practice can offer more regular hours and almost always a bit more money. Be advised though....you will never make as much money in vet as you will in dentistry.

Also, what are the stats like to get in? Are they similar to human med and dentistry? Are the pre-reqs similar? I am majoring in Neuroscience but it seems like most pre-vets I know are ansci/dairy sci/an ag majors? Am I at a disadvantage?

The GPA/GRE stats are similar (but usually higher) then med and dent. The pre-reqs are very similar. I was a biology major with various minors and I really think it has a LOT of advantages over the AS major. Everything for me except for some of the gross anatomy has been 95% review. There are pros to AS majors...and yes I think more so if you plan to do food animal. Basically because food animal is a production field, having those AS classes will help you when you are out of vet school; I think it helps you much less so in vet academics themselves. It's really your choice. You'll need to know it all at some point.

One last thing, why are there so few males in vet med? I looked at UW's site and it was 66 female and 14 male..Is it like pharmacy, in that the hours are better than other health fields and more family oriented?

There are many reason why veterinary med has become dominated by women (many which I don't agree with), however one of them is NOT generally b/c it has such great hours for family and kids. There is an old thread around here about the female trend you might want to dig up. So I don't re-ignite that subject I'll let you look at my opinions on that there.

Hope that gives you a start.