OK . . . I decided I like this videoconferencing thing. Today I went with students at my school to a video conference with Dr. Donna Angarano,
who is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. 
By the way, Dr. Angarano is a veterinary dermatologist. Imagine that! I didn’t even know there was such a career option. How cool is that? I am, after all, a dog . . . so it is time I found out how my doctor got trained.With me during the conference were freshmen, sophomores and juniors from my school as well as a couple of classroom teachers. Here is what we found out about becoming a vet.
• Who exactly is a vet? A vet, according to Dr. A, is a biomedical scientist with a plethora of career options. In fact, there are about 75,000 practicing vets in the U.S. and they all work in areas that relate to both animal and human health. She noted that we could think of a vet as a doctor whose practice is not limited to one species. She also noted how important people skills were to vets. After all, most animals don’t show up at a vet’s office on their own! Clients–those human types–bring animals to the vets. Vets also frequently have to work as team members–while training, in running an office or practice, and/or in conducting research, etc.
• Dr. A also talked about the need for vets to learn wisdom–how to use knowledge to solve problems–how to internalize facts so as to have a breadth and depth of understanding based on those facts. Being a vet is far more than being able to name bones, identify animals and give vaccinations.
Some vet schools track students into large or small animal paths. Auburn does not. In vet school, as a senior, a student would participate in clinical rotations. Although about 80% of vet school grads go into private practice, there are tons of other possibilities for vet grads to pursue. Biomedical research is an option. Working for the FDA is an option as is working for the military. Vets can also be teachers. Vets can specialize by discipline too. Just about every field you can practice in medicine on humans is also available to vets as a specialization. You can be, for an example, a vet anesthesiologist, oncologist, surgeon, radiologist, dermatologist (like Dr. A☺☺☺), or a parasitologist, etc. You can even specialize in veterinary physical therapy, rehab or holistic medicine. All the meat we eat in the U.S. is certified by USDA vets. Vets can also be involved in public health practices–especially in relation to terrorist threats to water and food supplies. When U.S. troops are deployed all over the world, vets are involved in assuring water and food quality as well as controlling infectious diseases. Dr. A noted that Lab Animal Health is probably the highest paying career option for vet school grads.
Hmmmmmmmm . . . the thought of steak gave me an idea . . . it’s pizza on the porch day.
I’m going to get some of that pizza—maybe with USDA certified pepperoni. More to come on vet school.L8R,
Clyde
