Veterinarian
By: Emma Burkel
What is a veterinarian?
A vet can work with small or large animals. They make 39.44 per hour and that adds up to about 82,040 per year. They deal with the wellness of animals and the cleanness of them. They also can diagnose an animal if they have a problem or a disease. Like if an animal has rabies a vet can provide a shot for it. Vets have to perform surgery and treat wounds and scraps. Veterinarians also give vaccinations and shots to animals that need them. They also consult people about behavior issues and other problems that their pet may have. Most vets work 60-80 hours a week but a part time vet job will have people work about 40 hours a week. There are 2 types of vets. Large and small. The small animal vet deals more with cats, dogs, bunnies, etc. They normally work at a clinic with other people. Some can work as receptionists and others can just do check-ups. Most check-ups will be in an exam room. They will diagnose things and can give shots, treat wounds, etc. Some small animal vets will work in a variety of different places and environments. They can also spend time giving out medications, drawing blood and other things like that. Large animal vets deal more with horses, cows, tigers, etc. Large animal vets make visits to a persons house rather then the person taking the animal to the vet. They will perform surgery to the persons house and can monitor a animal that's in heat or is pregnant. Large animal vets have a specially designed car/truck to hold all the equipment they need. Some equipment that a large animal vet will be the same as what a small animal vet will use only bigger. Some things will be completely different and other things will be completely the same like the stethoscope.
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What experience is need and the degree needed
You need to be able to make a good connection with animals. They need to know that they can trust you. Also you need to know the basic needs of an animal. You need to know what they need to eat, drink and when they need to go to a vet. Also if they have a disease, infection, or if they are sick you need to know the proper way to handle it. If vets perform surgery they need to be used to needles. It's not a good idea to perform surgery if they are afraid of blood and need to be stable enough around the internal organs of the animal. If they take x-rays they need to know how to read one and give out the right instructions if there is a fracture, broken bone, etc. If an animal is recovering from surgery they need to know the proper instructions to take care of the animal. Also if they deal with larger animals they need to be comfortable around animals like tigers, elephants and such other things. When they are on call they need to be ready to go to a farm asap because it could be serious, but even if it's just an appointment they need to be ready to show up on time to show common courtesy. Vets also must be able to handle it if a pet has to be put down or dies. When a vet performs surgery they need to take safety precautions and make sure everything they are using is clean and safe to use on that individual animal. The degrees a vet will need are a doctors degree or a professional degree. There are 3 levels to a professional degree. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The first level requires 4 years of collage, the 2nd requires 6 years, and the 3rd requires 8 years.
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Why I chose this career
I chose this career because I like being around animals. I own many pets. I have a dog named Suzie, a horse named Bess, 2 cats named Lucky and Magic, and cows named Jill, Lily, Zelda, Domino, Abby, Lacie, Mudpie, and countless others. I have been around animals my whole life. Training animals comes very easily to me and I enjoy bonding with them. If I had the chance I would volunteer at the humane society. My cat Magic is from the humane society and I got him for my birthday after I witnessed the death of my kitten about a month before. Also my cousin Mark and his dad Dan work at the Animal Hospital of Howard and I think that's very cool. With having so many animals I would like to know more of the safety precautions to take with them. Behavior patterns are something I would like to know more about too. Knowing when an animal is angry or in pain is something that all pet owners should know. Knowing when an animal is in pain is obvious but knowing why is something I would like to know more about.
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What branch of science this falls under
This falls under life science because it deals with the wellness of animals. Veterinarians can perform surgery, give shots and many other things. The definition of life science is any of the branches of natural science dealing with the structure and behavior of living organisms (definition from here). At the humane society they have special tests to see if the pet is stable enough to be adopted one of which being behavior. Also being a vet deals with the anatomy of an animal. You deal with all the internal organs and the way they function. Another thing they need to know how to do is to diagnose when an animal is ill. They have to be able to instruct what to do to it and need to be able to tell the owner whats wrong with it and how to treat it.
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Somethings I found interesting about being a vet
I found it interesting that 80% of the graduates from veterinary school are females. Most of the heart surgeons and other surgeons at hospitals are mostly male so I find it interesting that a lot of vets are female. A vet and a human surgeon are almost the same thing only with different body parts. Also I found it interesting that 61-68% of vets will suffer from an animal related injury during their career. Something that really caught my attention was that a veterinary specialist has a starting salary of 150,000 a year. The first 2 women that graduated from veterinarian schools graduated in 1910. I found it interesting that it took so many years for a women to graduate because now most of the vets are women. One more thing I found interesting was that vets have to deal with all this: anatomy, treatment, physiology, etc. of a lot of different animals. Also vets have to be able to talk to pet owners with care to make sure they don't take it too hard and to make sure they understand the vets diagnoses.
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Pictures
This foal is in an equine neonatal unit (iv and monitor) and is probably being treated for some kind of infection.
AVS 407 splint wrapping.
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Pet surgery
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Surgery preparation
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Below are the website url's that I used
-http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinarians.htm
-http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_a_veterinarian_do
-http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_hours_does_a_veterinarian_work_per_week
-http://animalcareers.about.com/od/Health/a/Small-Animal-Veterinarian.htm
-http://animalcareers.about.com/od/Health/a/Large-Animal-Veterinarian.htm
-http://factspage.blogspot.com/2010/10/interesting-facts-about-veterinarians.html
-http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_some_interesting_facts_about_veterinarians
-http://fun.yukozimo.com/facts-about-veterinarians/
-http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_a_veterinarian_do
-http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_hours_does_a_veterinarian_work_per_week
-http://animalcareers.about.com/od/Health/a/Small-Animal-Veterinarian.htm
-http://animalcareers.about.com/od/Health/a/Large-Animal-Veterinarian.htm
-http://factspage.blogspot.com/2010/10/interesting-facts-about-veterinarians.html
-http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_some_interesting_facts_about_veterinarians
-http://fun.yukozimo.com/facts-about-veterinarians/