A veterinarian is a medical doctor who has attended four years of veterinary school after college to obtain a doctorate. Your veterinarian also has passed a national examination and must acquire a license issued in by the state in which he or she resides.
Educational Requirements
A typical veterinary student spends about 4,000 hours in the classroom, laboratory, clinical study, and internships. Even after graduating from veterinary school, veterinarians continue to learn about animal health by reading scientific journals and attending professional educational seminars. Oregon requires veterinarians licensed in the state to receive a minimum of 30 hours of continuing education every two years, but most veterinarians get many more hours than this.
Veterinary Practice
Today’s veterinary practices, to a broad extent, parallel medical doctor practices and hospitals. Many veterinary practices are state-of-the-art facilities that use technologies such as ultrasound, endoscopes, CT scans, MRIs, and in-house lab equipment. Treatments such as chemotherapy are widely available for animlas and, much like in human medicine, advances in drug therapies help our animal companions lead longer and healthier lives. There are increasing numbers of veterinarians who practice physical therapy, acupuncture, and holistic and naturopathic medicine.
Veterinary Specialists
Some veterinarians extend their knowledge and expertise and become specialists in areas such as behavior, cardiology, internal medicine, oncology and surgery. This requires additional education, examinations, residencies and certification.
Veterinarians and Public Health
Veterinarians play a vital role in public health. They help to identify diseases so they cannot be transmitted from animals to humans. They also develop medications that can benefit both animals and people. Veterinarians are part of our first line of defense against zoonotic diseases, such as BSE (Mad Cow Disease), West Nile Virus and Avian Influenza (Bird Flu).
About 30 percent of the veterinarians in Oregon work in large or "mixed animal" practices. Aside from testing and treating livestock animals, which plays a role in keeping our food supply safe and clean, these practitioners provide owners and producers with technical expertise and consultations to help keep their businesses viable.
When natural or man-made disasters occur, veterinarians are part of the rescue and recovery efforts. Their efforts help to keep the public--and animals--safe from disease outbreaks.