Becoming a Veterinary Doctor/ Veterinarian: Education and Training Requirements

Do you love spending time with animals in farms, oceans, and the wild, and making the world a better place by keeping them safe and healthy? Check out what it’s like to have a career as a Veterinary Doctor!

Veterinarians are doctors for animals. As a veterinarian, you can work in the healthcare of different types of animals. You will evaluate, diagnose and treat any medical conditions from which animals suffer. These animals could be domestic pets, animals that participate in sports like horses, and even wild animals. You will treat and dress their wounds, perform surgeries, vaccinate animals, and also educate their owners/caretakers about general care and medical conditions.

Why become a Veterinary Doctor/ Veterinarian?

Veterinarians are doctors for animals. As a veterinarian, you can work in the healthcare of different types of animals. You will evaluate, diagnose and treat any medical conditions from which animals suffer. These animals could be domestic pets, animals that participate in sports like horses, and even wild animals. You will treat and dress their wounds, perform surgeries, vaccinate animals, and also educate their owners/caretakers about general care and medical conditions.

You can also choose to become a doctor for specific types of species or animals such as exotic animals, marine animals, or livestock/farm animals. You can opt to specialize based on a field such as anesthesiology, clinical pathology, veterinary dermatology, and even veterinary microbiology.

Another way to specialize is by species such as canine specialists (domestic dogs, wolves, foxes, etc.), avians specialists (birds), equine specialists (horses, donkeys, zebras, etc.), and even feline specialists (cats, leopards, tigers, etc.).

Popular Specialization in Veterinary Doctor/ Veterinarian Career

1. Veterinary Pathology is an area of medicine that diagnoses diseases and conditions by examining body tissue and fluids. Through the findings, you can understand the animal’s health condition better and determine how to care for it. As a pathologist, you must be level-headed since you may not always be dealing with living animals. Sometimes, you will be collecting and evaluating specimens from dead animals as well.
2. Animal Nutrition: As an animal nutritionist, you will be in charge of charting down what are the nutrition requirements for the animal and which are the best foods to feed it. To calculate the animal’s nutritional and caloric requirements, you will use a method called body condition scoring to account for its physical activities such as reproduction and lactation, and check if any nutrients are missing from its diet from before.
3. Veterinary Dentistry: A veterinary dentist takes care of oral hygiene for animals. Ensuring the animal has strong jaws and teeth not only enables it to chew, but it can also prevent the risk of any brain conditions that are caused by infection. As a veterinary dentist, you can also specialize in streams such as Endodontics, Oral and maxillofacial surgery, Prosthodontics, and Orthodontics.
4. Veterinary Radiology: A veterinary radiologist’s duty is to create images to locate where the animal’s illness or injury and use the scans as a source to create treatment plans. These images or scans of the animal are X-Rays, CT scans, MRI scans, Ultrasounds, and Radiographs. Radiologists also write detailed reports and use various software applications to interpret the images. Radiologists also use Teleradiology to transmit images online to deal with cases across the world.
5. Veterinary Dermatology: A veterinary dermatologist is an expert in the treatment of animal skin for parasitic infection, hair loss, skin cancer, and any other type of skin allergies. As a dermatologist, you can also diversify your career options by getting involved with teaching, publishing research material, and manufacturing animal healthcare products.
6. Veterinary Cardiology: Veterinary cardiologists focus on detecting and treating illnesses related to the heart and circulatory system such as coughing and breathing problems, congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, and heart muscle diseases. Some methods of diagnosis include sonograms, radiography, implanting pacemakers for regulating heart rates, and doing a blood pressure evaluation.
7. Veterinary Neurology: As a veterinary neurologist, your primary focus areas of animals will be the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and muscles. Animals can suffer from various neurological illnesses such as paralysis, seizures, balance issues, and spinal pain, and since animals cannot voice their concerns, it is up to you as a neurologist to determine which parts have been affected due to the illness and identify the exact cause of it.

Explore the best Veterinary Colleges in India here!

What does a Veterinary Doctor/ Veterinarian do? 

If you choose the career of a veterinary doctor, the following will be some of your roles and responsibilities:

• Doing regular medical and physical checkups to monitor the animal’s health. Checkups and examinations can either be done at the animal farm or at your clinic.
• Detecting the illness or condition of the animal by conducting tests and examinations. You must create treatment plans as per the specific case. A treatment plan must consider factors such as the living conditions of the animal, its breed and age, food intake, hygiene, and other such factors. Animals could suffer from various illnesses such as skin diseases, food indigestion, infection, or other communicable diseases.
• Performing surgeries and emergency care for the animal whenever needed.
• Educating and informing the pet/animal owner about the best practices to care for their animal: This could include tips on how to administer prescribed medicines, how to study animal behavior and monitor for signs of diseases and maintain a healthy and clean environment.
• Suggesting or offering to euthanize (the painless killing of an animal that is suffering) the animal when it is the best course of action: This is one of the hardest parts of this job, but you must suggest and handle this process when medication fails to work, or the animal is in too much pain.
• Conducting an autopsy on an animal to determine the specific disease: This is usually done if the disease is serious and might put other animals at risk.
• Keeping logs, medical reports, and forms of each patient and expanding your knowledge by reading new publications and keeping yourself updated with the latest medical techniques and treatments.
• Notifying the public health department if any disease is detected that can be passed on to other animals as well as humans. You can provide biological samples and data to prove your suspicion.
• Adhering to the code of ethics of being a veterinary doctor: This includes operating with a license, ensuring professional behavior, ethical treatment of animals, and client privacy. In case a client switches to another doctor, you must also transfer all the treatment records to ensure a smooth transition for the client.

How to become a Veterinary Doctor/ Veterinarian – Eligibility Criteria 

_{​​​​​​​}To be a Veterinary Doctor, you must do a Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry / Veterinary Medicine. After your Bachelor’s degree, you may also specialize by doing a Master’s degree in any of the following fields:

• Biostatistics (Veterinary Science)
• Livestock Economics
• Livestock Production & Management (Veterinary Medicine)
• Livestock Products Technology (Veterinary Medicine)
• Other Veterinary Sciences
• Veterinary & Animal Husbandry Extension Education
• Veterinary Anatomy & Histology
• Veterinary Bacteriology
• Veterinary Biochemistry
• Veterinary Clinical Complex
• Veterinary Clinical Medicine
• Veterinary Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine
• Veterinary Extension Education
• Veterinary Gynaecology & Obstetrics
• Veterinary Immunology
• Veterinary Medicine Practice
• Veterinary Medicine, Ethics & Jurisprudence
• Veterinary Microbiology
• Veterinary Nursing
• Veterinary Parasitology
• Veterinary Pathology
• Veterinary Pharmacology & Toxicology
• Veterinary Physiology
• Veterinary Preventive Medicine
• Veterinary Public Health
• Veterinary Sciences & Animal Husbandry
• Veterinary Surgery & Radiology
• Veterinary Virology

Educational Fees

The cost of becoming a veterinary doctor or veterinarian in India can vary depending on several factors such as the type of program, the institution, and the duration of the course.

Typically, to become a veterinarian in India, one must obtain a Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry (B.V.Sc. & A.H.) degree, which is a five-year program. The cost of this program can range from approximately INR 1 lakh to 10 lakhs per year depending on the institution and whether it is a government or private college.

In addition to tuition fees, other costs to consider may include accommodation, books, equipment, and other related expenses. It is also worth noting that some institutions may offer scholarships, financial aid, or other forms of assistance to help cover these costs.

Overall, the cost of becoming a veterinarian in India can vary widely, and it is essential to research different programs and institutions to determine the most affordable and suitable option for your needs.

Job Opportunities

• After a Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry/Veterinary Medicine, you can get a job as an Assistant Veterinarian Medical Officer. 
• After a Master’s degree in Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry/Veterinary Medicine, you can get a job as a Medical Officer (Veterinary) in Veterinary Medicine or Surgery department.
• After a Master’s degree in Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry/Veterinary Medicine, you may also get a job as a Tutor in a Veterinary college.

Salary of a Veterinary Doctor/ Veterinarian

When you start as a fresher, you can get a job as an Assistant Medical Officer (Veterinary) and earn about Rs. 55,000 – 60,000 a month. 

In a mid-level job as a Medical Officer (Veterinary), you can earn a salary of Rs. 80,000 – 90,000 a month. 

On a higher level as a Senior Medical Officer or a senior consultant, you can get a salary of Rs. 1,30,000 – 2,00,000 a month.

Those in private practice may expect to get about Rs. 200 – 500 per call. 

For surgeries, the rate may vary between Rs. 2,000 – 50,000 or even more depending on the complexity of the case.

Career Progression in Veterinary Doctor/ Veterinarian Profession 

A veterinary team consists of doctors with all sorts of different job titles:

• You can work as a Veterinary Technician if you have just obtained your bachelor’s degree. There are many roles for a fresher on an Assistant level such as a technician, a veterinary medical officer, or an assistant researcher.
• Once you gain a few years of experience, you can work as a technician, veterinary medical officer, or researcher on a mid-level payroll. If you choose to specialize and study further, you can get a higher-paying job as a veterinary technician specialist.
• After spending a few more years in this field, you can get promoted to a senior level while working as a technician, medical researcher, or medical officer.
• If you no longer want to work in a private or government hospital or a laboratory, you can set up a private practice of your own once you have all the experience and recognition you need.

What do industry trends say – Future Prospects

Animal husbandry is an integral part of the Indian economy alongside agriculture and occupies the top spot in milk production, as well as has the largest livestock population of around 512 million. 

All this is indicative of the immense opportunities that lie in the veterinary sector of the country and related services such as animal healthcare, veterinary polytechnics & dispensaries. 

While it can be said that India faces a lack of penetration of modern veterinary care in the market, the industry’s growth journey can only be upward. This is because of growing industries such as dairy, poultry, piggery & other related sectors, and the emergence of the pet-loving urban class. 

Data shows that The India Veterinary Healthcare market is expected to register a CAGR of around 10% during the forecast period, 2018 to 2023, and the vaccine segment is expected to lead the Indian market.

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