Updated December 21, 2022
Are you looking for the ways & means as how to become a veterinary doctor? If Yes, then you have reached to the right destination. This blog has covered all the essentials details which you wish to know. The blog will give you comprehensive overview on how to become a veterinary doctor.
I think you know that every profession requires complete commitment to oneself. Similarly, a career as a veterinary doctor requires ardent commitment and compassion from the aspirants.
It would take many years and arduous study from the applicants. Completing a graduate degree to obtaining licensure to practice veterinary medicine are the steps to becoming a veterinary doctor. Let’s explore all the procedures and steps detailed below:
What Veterinary Doctor Refers to?
In a simple and straightforward words, veterinary doctors are the medical professionals involved in alleviating severe to acute issues or complications, usually different species of animals or birds encounter. In fact, veterinarians diagnose and treat domestic and wild animals experiencing diseases, sickness, and other medical conditions.
Apart from diagnosing animals, veterinary doctors also monitor and inspect the safe supply of food-producing animals for the people around the corner of the world. You might have heard the words VET, another precise terminology for veterinary and animal doctors.
These highly specialized medical professionals would possess comprehensive and scientific knowledge of Veterinary medicine or Veterinary Science. Talking about the same, the veterinarians are well equipped with the basic sciences to clinical sciences of veterinary medicine.
How to Become a Veterinary Doctor in India?
The journey to becoming a Veterinary doctor is long and requires arduous study for the same. Like other reputable and lucrative job profiles, the aspirants would also have to follow certain procedures to become veterinary doctors.
Aspirants’ journey for veterinarians begins with intermediate education. It is to be noted that though aspirants do not learn the scientific knowledge of veterinary medicine at a 12th schooling, the foundation of the same begins from 10+2. For this, students must study in the science stream, comprising physics, chemistry, and biology as the compulsory subjects.
Apart from this, there are many crucial decisions that students need to make along the journey to becoming Veterinary doctors. Here are the most significant and vital steps for the aspirants:
(a) Obtaining a Basic Education qualification
Undoubtedly, the major step of the aspirants towards becoming a veterinary doctor starts with intermediate education. Therefore, in order to be on track to becoming a veterinary doctor, you must have obtained intermediate education with a science stream consisting of BiPC or Biology, Physics, and Chemistry as the main subjects.
(b) Qualifying NEET Entrance Exam
For the unversed, the All India Pre-Veterinary Test was conducted to offer admission into various reputable colleges before 2017, but NEET has replaced AIPVT since then. And NEET has become a gateway to studying BVSc and AH courses.
Therefore, candidates aspiring to become a veterinary doctor would be necessarily important to take National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test to get a seat in a recognized university/college.
There is also an alternative way of getting admission into a reputed institute and studying for a Bachelor of Veterinary Science. Talking about the same, several institutes conducted their own entrance test and offered a bachelor’s degree in veterinary.
(c) Obtaining Necessary Bachelor Degree in Veterinary
When you secure stipulated marks in the NEET entrance exam, you become eligible to select a bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Science at the university recognized by the Veterinary Council of India.
The BVSc and Animal husbandry courses would let you gain sufficient skills and knowledge about veterinary medicine, comprising infectious and noninfectious diseases, veterinary anatomy, veterinary physiology, veterinary diagnostic and clinical pathology, veterinary pharmacology, public health, and so forth.
The bachelor’s degree is a foundational curriculum for highly advanced and specialized veterinary science. Essentially, it covers several aspects of the specialty. In order to be specialized in any one particular, you will have to pursue higher education like a Master’s degree and Ph.D.
(d) Pursue a Master’s Degree
Upon completing your bachelor’s degree, you can go for a Master’s degree or MD in veterinary science. Getting a master’s degree has a significant advantage for the aspirants wishing to become veterinary doctors. Under the curriculum, you will undergo different special training and theoretical knowledge. Essentially, participants embrace requisite crucial skills, experiences, and acumen for treating different species of animals.
(e) Registering Veterinary Council of India to Obtain Licence
An aspirant who wishes to become a veterinary doctor must also be familiarized that veterinary students should have a license to practice medicine. So, in order to be a professional veterinary doctor, participants would have to register with the Veterinary Council of India and receive a license by fulfilling the requirements.
The exam licensure requirements vary depending upon where you plan to practice veterinary medicine. You can get a regional or national level licensure to practice medicine.
It is to be noted that you do not necessarily need to take up a master’s degree to obtain the license. Upon completing your bachelor’s degree, you can apply for a practitioner’s license from the government and start practicing as a Veterinary Doctor. Usually, master’s or other advanced level degrees are obtained to enhance competency & skills in the field.
How to Become Veterinary Doctor in USA?
The procedures for becoming a veterinary doctor in the United States of America are quite the same as in India. To help you familiarize yourself with how to become a veterinary doctor in the USA, here we have listed down the process of attaining a degree in Veterinarian Science by breaking it down into four steps:
Step: Pursue 12th from Science Background
Individuals aspiring to become a Veterinarian must possess an intermediate certificate in science background covering major subjects like physics, chemistry, and biology. It is the basic qualification to pursue BVSc or undergraduate degree in veterinary medicine.
Step 2: Pursue BVSc Degree
You would have to pursue graduation in veterinary Science in order to explore the DVM course. Numerous bachelor’s degrees offer programs comprising veterinary Science like BVSc in Veterinary Pathology, BVSc in Animal Nutrition, BVSc in Animal behavior, etc. It is essential to explore this before entering the DVM course.
Step 3: Obtain DVM Degree
You must take the GRE exam and submit your results to the admissions office in order to be admitted to a DVM school abroad. Essentially, it tests your verbal, mathematical, and analytical skills.
Therefore, you, as an aspirant, make sure to get the minimal stipulated score required to secure a seat. Apart from the GRE test, some colleges and universities may also accept the MCAT or VCAT, which are entrance exams for medical or veterinary schools.
The DM in Veterinary Science course lasts for 4 years which includes 3 years of pre-clinical instruction, and the final year comprises clinical training. It covers various particulars, which include Gross Anatomy, Parasitology, Ophthalmology, Food Animal Medicine, and others.
Step 4: Obtain Licence in Veterinary Medicine
The final step in the journey of becoming a Veterinary doctor is securing licensure to practice veterinary medicine. Upon completing the DVM degree, you become eligible to take the entrance exam offering license. In the USA, NAVLE (North American Veterinary Licensing Examination), administered by the International Council for Veterinary Assessment, is an examination that concerns practice licensure.
Step 5: Look for an Additional Certification
If you plan to practice veterinary medicine, you definitely want to explore specializing in a field like surgery, internal medicine, dentistry, radiology, behavior, laboratory animal medicine, nutrition, emergency care, and others. These kinds of specialties usually demand 3-4 years of experience as a Veterinarian or additional training from the candidates. However, it is not compulsory for the students.
Courses to Become Veterinary Doctor
If you are haunting the web page for the courses essential to becoming a doctor, there are many courses for individuals that help them embrace veterinary medicine and explore career opportunities. Depending on the level of education, we have compiled the list of courses for studying veterinary programs:
Veterinary Courses After 10th
There are several courses for the students who have just completed 10th and wish to move towards the space of caring for animals & providing treatment. Depending on your choice, you can opt for different Diploma courses in Veterinary Medicine. Here are the top diploma courses to become a Veterinary Doctor after the 10th:
(a) Diploma in Veterinary Assistant
(b) Diploma in Veterinary Pharmacy
(c) Diploma in Veterinary Lab Technician
(d) Diploma in Animal Husbandry and Dairying
After completing the diploma course, you can sit for NEET or AIPVT entrance examination and pursue a bachelor’s degree in veterinary science or medicine.
Veterinary Courses after 12th
Aspirants can jump into the field after obtaining an intermediate certificate from a science background covering major subjects like BiPC or Biology, physics, and Chemistry. Here are vital veterinary courses after the 12th:
(a) B.V.Sc
(b) B.V.Sc (Animal Genetics & Breeding)
(c) B.V.Sc (Veterinary Pathology)
(d) B.V.Sc (Veterinary Parasitology)
(e) B.V.Sc (Animal Nutrition)
(f) B.V.Sc (Veterinary Surgery & Radiology)
(g) B.V.Sc (Veterinary Microbiology)
(h) B.V.Sc (Veterinary Gynaecology & Obst.)
Veterinary Programs After Bachelor’s Degree
After graduating with a degree in veterinary medicine, you will require to study a higher & advanced curriculum to boost knowledge, clinical skills, and even experiences that are utmost in the concerning field. Listed below are master’s degrees that have a significant role in shaping and making professional veterinary doctors.
(a) M.V.Sc. (Animal Nutrition)
(b) M.V.Sc. (Animal Statistics)
(c) M.V.Sc. (Animal Biochemistry)
(d) M.Sc (Veterinary Medicine)
(e) M.Sc. (Veterinary Public Health)
(f) M.V.Sc & A.H (Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry)
(g) M.V.Sc. (Animal Biotechnology)
(h) DM in Veterinary Science (DVM)
Skills Required to Be a Veterinary Doctor
A veterinarian’s job is to treat animals with tender and utmost care and eventually cure ailments and injuries animals face. If you also have an affinity for animals’ well-being and want to transform it into a dream career, you must get conversant with the skills desirable for a Veterinarian.
Since Veterinarians work on the front connecting with different species of farm and domestic animals and interacting with owners, it is essential to imbibe considerable skills for veterinarian doctors. The following are the crucial skills essentially required while performing veterinarian tasks:
5 Important Skills for Veterinary Doctor
Animal handling:
As a veterinarian, it is absolutely correct that you will not interact with calm and patient animals every time. Some are fierce, while others are aggressive or downright cheeky; therefore, being skilled in handling is a must for the vets.
Good Communication Skills:
While you work at the forefront, it is vital to have better communication skills. You, as a vet, will have to listen to owners’ concerns about the animals and eventually apply them to the treatment procedures. You will also communicate the message with owners about several kinds of medications connected with animals. Therefore, having good communication skills is a must.
Empathy:
If you are in the field, empathy plays a significant role in treating animals. By understanding their stress and fear, you can use a comforting, relaxed, and assuring attitude to calm them down, which puts them in a safer position to receive treatment.
Efficient Time management and an Organizational Personality:
It ensures the veterinarians’ complete medical operations within the time frame by effectively organizing themselves.
Technical Aptitude:
Technical aptitude has become a must for vets. In this modern era, specialized machinery and lab equipment for diagnostics and accuracy have been established to deal with injured and sick animals.
Apart from these skills, several other aptitudes and skills are required to become a proficient veterinary doctor. These are Practical skills, Scientific talent, Problem-solving skills, and Critical thinking.
Where to Study Veterinary Medicine?
Selecting suitable colleges & universities in the journey to becoming a Veterinary doctor also has a significant role. Essentially, reputed institutes offer the perfect ambient to groom practitioners of veterinary medicine. Below are the top-ranked institutes for veterinary programs:
Top Ranked Institutes Abroad
(I) Cornell University
(II) Ohio State University
(III) Royal Veterinary College, University of London
(IV) University of California, Davis
(V) Utrecht University
(VI) University of Guelph
(VII) Ohio State University
(VIII) University of Sydney
Veterinary Science Colleges in India
(I) Mumbai University (MU)
(II) Benaras Hindu University (BHU)
(III) Annamalai University (AU), Chidambaram
(IV) Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh
(V) National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal
(VI) Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly
(VII) Govind Ballabhpant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar
(VIII) Veterinary College and Research Institute (VCRI), Chennai
(IX) College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (CVAS), Bikaner
Salary of a Veterinary Doctor
The annual salary of a veterinary doctor working in the govt. sector is quite handsome. According to Glassdoor, veterinarian earns around 53,000 per month. However, the maximum earning of a veterinarian could go up to a maximum of INR 3,74,729 per month. Undoubtedly, one working in the USA as a veterinary doctor could earn many folds compared to the vets in India. In the USA, the average annual income of animal doctors or Vets is somewhere $1,129,93 per month.
Questions Mostly Asked About Veterinary Doctor
Ans- Graduating with Veterinary science is a must for the aspirants wishing to make a career as a veterinarian. Later on, you as an aspirant, would also have to pursue a master’s degree or DVM to become a veterinary doctor.
Ans- The fees for veterinary bachelor’s degree programmes is from 1.5 to 2 lakhs in India but can be as high as 20 to 30 lakhs abroad. Depending on the university and programme, the annual tuition for MD programmes might start at two lakhs in India and 10–20 lakhs abroad.
Ans- In the previous year, the minimum marks needed in NEET for veterinary medicine was in between 300 to 450.
Ans- Yes! The NEET entrance test is one of the requirements in the journey of becoming a veterinary doctor.
Ans- Veterinary stream has lesser career scope in India and abroad than MBBS. So, if you are to choose between the two, go for MBBS. However, if you are passionate about the discipline of vets, going for a veterinary doctor is no less rewarding.
Ans- In India, you must first complete a 4-year bachelor’s degree and then spend an additional 4-years studying for a DM in Veterinary Medicine, totaling 8-10 years before becoming a veterinarian.
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