Veterinarians: Voices for the Voiceless

Rachel Mutch

Mr. Alburger

English III Honors

22 February 2018
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Rachel Mutch

Mr. Alburger

English III Honors

22 February 2018

Veterinarians: Voices for the Voiceless

On a dark and rainy Friday night, Elena drove home from work anxious to see her

husband to tell him the good news of her promotion. Elena took a sharp turn on the street before

her neighborhood, when suddenly, she noticed a dog in the middle of the road. By the time she

noticed, she had already hit the dog. Without thought, she rushed out of her car to aid the animal

but she realized that the dog would die if it did not receive immediate care. Luckily for Elena, the

town just outside of her neighborhood contained a veterinary hospital. Veterinary medicine

encompasses revolutionary ideas that increase the care for animals all around the world. The

field of veterinary medicine provides care for animals, medicinal treatments for diseases, and a

veterinarian certification and license to practice.

Veterinary medicine allows for insight into the complex study of animal behavior and its

basic needs. “Veterinarians are physicians who protect the health of both animals and humans,

veterinarians may have their own practice caring for companion animals” (“Veterinary

Medicine”). The market for medicine increases yearly because of the increasing need and desire

for animals to live healthier and longer lives. Due to population growth, pets have become more

popular, leading to an increased need for veterinarians, also called vets (Schwabe). Veterinarians

started off their research from the studying human medicine. As the research developed,

scientists found that veterinary medicine and medicine in humans contain some similarities such
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as genetic testing equipment and methods, medicine to treat diseases, and other equipment for

normal check-ups (Schwabe). Most people associate veterinarians with dogs and cats, but

veterinarians care for many other animal, including reptiles and larger mammals. Veterinary

medicine involves much more than just caring for pets, it consists of research and

experimentation. Vets can choose their further career path once they graduate with all the basic

requirements (“Veterinary Medicine”). Along with that, one main focus for veterinarians consists

of treating an animal, whether that means they give an animal an annual check-up or they treat an

injured emergency animal.

The evolution of veterinary medicine continues to change and develop. Veterinary

medicine has existed for centuries, but people first started to notice and discover it further in the

eighteenth century. This medicine originated in France in the late eighteenth century where the

first school of veterinary medicine began. Claude Bourgelat created the first veterinary school in

1761 (“History”). Horses, the most common animal in the early eighteenth century, inspired

humans to look into a possible treatment for animals (“History”). Horses carried belongings, as

well as shipments before cars or trains existed and therefore had several chances to injure

themselves. While treating horses, veterinarians soon realized the similarities between humans

and animals and the possible treatments they could use on animals (“History”). Around the end

of the eighteenth century, veterinary medicine has spread to other countries like Great Britain.

Since then, the practice has travelled to the United States, as well as several other countries

around the world (“History). The development of veterinary medicine continues to spread all

over the world through ideas and other methods of treatment.

Most vets receive a salary above the average American salary. The average veterinarian
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makes roughly $88,000 a year, while the average American makes around $51,000

(“Veterinarians”). Veterinarians that make below average wages have about the same income of

the average American. The average vet salary appears higher, since the increasing desire of

veterinarians over other common jobs, like a sales consultant (“Veterinarians”). With the

growing need for veterinarians, there comes an increase in overall salary. This depends on the

hours in which a veterinarian works along with the animals that they work with. The medium

wage for a vet remains around $40 per hour, which depends on status and experience as well

(“Veterinarians”). The daily income also depends upon how many hours a person works each

week and year in order to achieve their desired income. Veterinarians work full-time jobs, which

clarifies for their daily income, as well as yearly income, to consist of a much larger amount than

that of someone who works part-time.

Veterinarians’ salaries depend upon where, in the United State or in another country, a

person lives. In the United States, the annual income for veterinarians ranges at a much higher

rate than in other countries, because of the higher population of people and animals. In states

with a larger animal population, such as North Carolina, California, and Alaska, veterinarians

make more compared to those in states with a smaller animal population (“Veterinarians”).

Along with a high salary, those states also have a drastically larger yearly employment rate for

vets. Northern states have a higher salary than southern states, due to the industrial expansion of

northern cities, however, some southern states fall into the same category (“Veterinarians”).

States like North Carolina, which have a higher salary and population, offer more economic

opportunities for veterinarians, which justifies why animal population continues to increase.
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Schooling for veterinary medicine requires four years in addition to a bachelor’s degree.

Before graduating with the full list of requirements, students must take prerequisite courses such

as: chemistry, biology, physics, anatomy, math, and more all before they apply to veterinary

schools (“Veterinary Training”). In vet school, students must complete several courses and gain

enough experience and hours in order to graduate with a degree. One task requires learning the

anatomy of common animals, and for the first few years, most aspiring students do not receive

any hands-on experience (“Veterinarians”). With these courses, one can graduate with a major in

biology, chemistry, or animal science.

Along with the extensive courses, once a student has graduated, he or she goes on to

veterinary school, which costs a great deal of money and time. North Carolina State University

offers the only vet school in North Carolina. Other schools that offer the study of veterinary

medicine include Ohio State University, Cornell University, the University of Minnesota, Texas

A&M University, Colorado State University, University of California, Davis, the University of

Wisconsin, the University of Vermont, along with others (“Veterinary Training”). Schools that

offer veterinary medicine in the United States offer far less schooling options compared to other

medical careers. Since fewer veterinary colleges exist compared to other careers which require

additional schooling, the acceptance rates appear much lower than normal rates and require more

intensive labor to get into a veterinary college. After graduating from a veterinary school, a new

veterinarian will receive a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and can then practice

medicine.

With four years of additional schooling comes debt. The average total cost for veterinary

school can range anywhere from $150,000 to $200,000 (“Veterinarians”). With the high price,
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depending on the school, each year costs anywhere between $40,000 to $60,000

(“Veterinarians”). Although costly and intensive, veterinary schooling produces around 3,000

veterinarians each year (“Veterinarians”). The schooling involved in this career path allows for a

broader understanding of the basic veterinary requirements and studies that each vet continues on

with throughout their career (Prior). Within each field of medicine, there comes a variety of

salaries, which all depend upon the job type that a veterinarian has to complete.

Veterinary medicine provides several different titles of careers that a person can choose

from. These careers include veterinarians, veterinary technicians, veterinary assistants, dentists,

behavioral studies, or anesthesia (“Veterinary Medicine”). Veterinary technicians aid with the

basic procedure of a normal check-up in the veterinary office. The veterinary technicians brings

back animals, weigh them, takes their temperature, and act as a nurse would in a hospital.

Veterinary assistants aid the veterinary technicians in the work that they do so they can care for

more animals in a day than if a vet did not have their aid (“Veterinary Medicine”). The more

unspoken or not mentioned paths in the field of veterinary medicine, such as vet dentists and

behavioral studies, provide a vital role in by studying areas where an animal has mouth cancer or

depression and can not receive treatment from a normal veterinarian. Food supply veterinarians

help to ensure the safety and protection animal products, for example, milk or eggs (“What”).

These fields help narrow down decisions towards a further path of the practice.

In addition, more broad job titles of veterinary medicine include becoming a clinical

scientist, an epidemiologist, a pathologist, or the involvement in the equine practice. A clinical

scientist focuses on research, while an epidemiologist’s expertise involves the chronic and or

infectious diseases (“Veterinary Medicine”). A person involved in the equine practice has a large
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amount of work with treating horses. Finally, a pathologist examines tissue samples and checks

lab results (“DVM”). The most sought after career in the path of veterinary medicine for most

people comes down to a veterinarian because they have the most interactions with animals, make

the most money, and gain more overall experience than veterinary technicians or veterinary

assistants.

Another major field of veterinary medicine involves research. Most veterinarians

incorporate research in their daily lives to keep up to date on current problems or solutions, but

some people specifically choose research as their career of choice (Prior). Ohio State University

offers veterinary research and has the highest level of a leading institution for research (“Fast”).

Veterinary research includes research of treatments of diseases and tracking the spread of them.

Through veterinary research comes the discovery of new pathogens and host-pathogen

interactions (“About”). Researchers also study the behavior and processes of different types of

animals. Amongst these animals, people research the effectiveness of drugs and track the success

and proficiency of the drug and disease.

Along with the different fields in which a person can choose from comes the choice of

where a person wants to work and how they want to work. Possible careers in veterinary

medicine include private practice, government practice, private industry, or academia (Office).

Private practices consist of self-employed workers who care for all animals or certain animals.

Within a private practice, a veterinarian can choose a specific focus, such as exotic animals, food

animal practice, or companion animals. Private practices also include common veterinary jobs

like anesthesiologists, dentists, dermatologists, or microbiologists (Office). If a person wishes to

own their own practice, veterinary schooling does not fully prepare one for the complete
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responsibility of the veterinary practice. A person interested in private practice often takes

business classes to better prepare themselves (Prior). Government practices do not always work

directly with animals, but rather with food products or maintenance (Office). People who work in

government practices do things such as food inspections, public health, animal importation,

wildlife medicine, or food and drug administration (Office). Private industry workers usually

work with veterinarians and they typically include researchers, animal trainers, product

developers, or zoologist medicinal workers. Academia workers instruct other people about

veterinary medicine, and often times perform research and teach courses at veterinary schools

(Office). All careers within veterinary medicine include the same general information and

knowledge of the medical world in order to practice and carry on with a their career.

The day-to-day routine can vary depending on what type of veterinarian a vet will

become. If a vet works in a hospital or clinic, they usually have appointments for animals, with

the occasional occurrence of emergencies. Veterinarians have heavy work loads, with limited

flexibility of schedules (Prior). Most doctors work Monday through Friday. Depending on where

they work, they have the option to work weekends or choose which weekend days they wish to

work. Similar to other medical jobs, vets can switch shifts to help out other doctors, or fill in for

someone if they call in sick (Prior). Often times, the average vet works around 50 hours a week

or more (“Veterinarians”). Based on the career path a vet a choses, the daily schedule differs. Dr.

Prior, a vet at Lakewood Veterinary Hospital, says, “I usually get to work 30-40 minutes before

my appointments begin so I can review charts for the patients on my schedule, and to go over lab

results from the previous day. I may also spend some of that time looking up information

regarding cases” (Prior). The extra time that a vet puts into their work reflects upon on their job,
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similar to most careers, and makes their day easier. The workday usually ranges from nine to five

depending on the field a vet works in. Most days, vets can see animals for instances such as

regular appointment check ups, annual exams, vaccinations, injuries, or serious cases (Prior). For

large animal vets, the doctor often times travels to the animal instead of the animal coming to

them, as a result of size and room availability (“Veterinarians”). On average, veterinarians

perform mostly common check-ups where they weigh the animal and make sure the animal

carries on a healthy life.

Even with the increasing desire for veterinarians, there comes struggles and difficulties in

the work environment as well as in the economy. When the economy falls, pet owners do not

find any value in paying for their pets because they use their money elsewhere (Weisbaum).

Since most people do not have pet insurance, they fall further behind with pet care if the

economy falls. Insurance remains a factor that affects most medical decisions when it comes to

caring for a pet or animal. This costs around $300 a year and most people cannot afford it

(Weisbaum). Since most people cannot afford it, they do not pay for the treatments that their

veterinarian recommends. With the help of research, some treatments have become more

affordable and alternative paths for treating an illness have opened up, but it still continuously

factors down to whether or not a person wants to spend money on their pet (Prior). One difficulty

pet owners face when deciding if they should buy insurance narrows down to if they think that

treatment has any worth to it due to the unknown fact of whether or not their pet will face illness,

so they result in not having insurance at all (Weisbaum). Insurance continuously presents itself

as a problem in the veterinary medical field and customers do not find any value in it.
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Since the option for the choice of career paths exist in this field, each person must decide

which path he or she would like to continue on during their schooling experience. The care of

small animals, such as dogs and cats, in a veterinary hospital where each vet can see a certain

number of patients each day makes becoming a veterinarian an attractive choice. The job

continues to evolve every single day and displays several qualities and studies similar to that of

human medicine (Prior). With these continued studies on animals, treatments evolve at a faster

rate for some common diseases. Oftentimes, treatments come from human medicine, since its

origin comes from humans (“History”). The origin of the tools used for treatments display

similar qualities as well.

Emergencies do occur, and with smaller animals, people can find treatment easier.

Accidents in smaller animals cover anything from breathing difficulty, weakness, vomiting,

diarrhea, bleeding, seizing, or exposure to toxins (“Small”). Any qualified veterinarian can treat

these common emergencies, but most commonly small animal doctors treat these diseases in

local hospitals. In animal hospitals, specialists also focus on oncology, the treatment of animal

cancer in dogs, cats, or other smaller animals (“Small”). During an oncology appointment, one

can expect evaluation of the tumor or cancer cells through the extraction of tissues. Cancer

treatment involves extensive chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, or bone marrow transplants

(“Small”). Other small animal doctors study the serious health problems of dogs and cats.

Similar to surgery in humans, treatment and medical equipment constantly evolve and new

surgeries form.

With the production of more toxins, such as pesticides, in the environment comes the

introduction of cancers to some animals. The longer an animal lives, the more likely they will
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develop some type of illness, mostly cancer. Cancer in animals most commonly comes from

herbicides or other environmental factors in the air (“Cancer”). Common, and mostly treatable,

cancers in dogs include cutaneous mast cell tumors (tumors that originate in the immune system

located anywhere in the body), lymphoma (cancer that starts in the immune system), nasal

tumors, osteosarcoma (bone tumors), lung tumors, and soft tissue sarcomas (tumors of fibrous

tissue, fat, or smooth muscle) (“Types”). The most common cancers in cats consist of

injection-site sarcomas (tumor of connective tissues) and oral squamous cell carcinoma

(malignancy in the jaw or tongue) (“Types”). Treatments to osteosarcoma in dogs consist of

amputations or radiation on the infected area. For tumors, the most effective treatments include

radiation or complete removal of the tumor. In cats, the treatment mostly used for squamous cell

carcinoma consists of performing freeze-surgery, a method that kills the cancer cells by freezing

them off (“Cancer”). Most of these diseases result in death if the access to treatment does not

present itself. Although cancer can result in fatality, with the increasing research and knowledge

of these certain cancers, the treatments and life expectancies after treatment have increased and

become more affordable.

Veterinary medicine involves medicinal studies, treatments for common disease, career

paths, and the required schooling to become a veterinarian. It has evolved greatly from its

beginnings, in which veterinary medicine had only proven its effectiveness in horses or other

large animals, to the current practice in animals. The option for veterinary careers develops

through the choice of a person’s career and depends on what a person wishes to study in school.

The study of veterinary medicine provides further knowledge of the behavioral patterns of

animals and basic treatments of common diseases. Through medicine, the possibility for wildlife
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and pets to live a longer life has risen drastically and animals remain pets. Veterinary medicine

continues to evolve and grant treatment to several types of animals, and gives pets and families

an optimistic approach to medicine.

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Works Cited

“About Veterinary Research.” ​Veterinary Research​, BMC, 2009,

<veterinaryresearch.biomedcentral.com/about>.

“Cancer in Domesticated Animals.” ​Cancer Quest​, Emory Winship Cancer Institute, 2016,

<www.cancerquest.org/cancer-biology/cancer-domesticated-animals>.

“DVM Focus Area.” ​NC State Veterinary Medicine​, NC State,

<cvm.ncsu.edu/education/dvm/program/focus-areas/>.

“Fast Facts.” ​The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine​, OSU.edu,

<vet.osu.edu/cvm/fast-facts>.

“History of the Veterinary Profession.” ​RCVS Knowledge​, NetXtra,

<knowledge.rcvs.org.uk/heritage-and-history/history-of-the-veterinary-profession/>

Office of Animal Care Management. “Types of Careers.” ​Department of Animal and Veterinary

Sciences (ASCI)​, The University of Vermont, 17 July 2015,

<asci.uvm.edu/?Page=current/careers.html>

Prior, Dr. Ann. Pride Paper Interview. Email Interview. 5 February 2018.

Schwabe, C. W. “Veterinary Medicine and Human Health.” ​CAB Direct​, The Williams &

Wilkins Company,

<www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/19662704978>.

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<cvm.ncsu.edu/nc-state-vet-hospital/small-animal/>.

“Types of Cancer and Treatment.” ​UF Health,​ UF College of Veterinary Medicine,

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<smallanimal.vethospital.ufl.edu/clinical-services/oncology/types-of-cancer-and-treatme

nt/>.

“Veterinarians.” ​Bureau of Labor Statistics​, US Department of Labor, 24 Oct. 2017,

<www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinarians.htm#tab-5>.

“Veterinary Medicine Overview.” ​ExploreHealthCareers.org,​ Liaison International, 2017,

<explorehealthcareers.org/field/veterinary-medicine/>.

“Veterinary Training.” ​AVMA,​ AVMA, 2017,

<www.avma.org/public/YourVet/Pages/training.aspx>.

Weisbaum, Herb. “Pet Insurance: A Good Deal? Or a Rip Off?” ​NBCNEWS.com,​ NBC,

<www.nbcnews.com/id/43916934/ns/business-consumer_news/t/pet-insurance-good-deal

-or-rip/>.

“What Is Food Supply Veterinary Medicine.” ​AVMA,​ AVMA,

<www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Reference/Pages/Food-Supply-Veterinary-Medicine-wha

t-is-it.aspx>.
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