Veterinary Medicine: Which school to choose, What are the career opportunities?

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  • Published: 26 June 2024

In recent years, as material life has increased, it means that people's spiritual needs have become more and more abundant. Pet ownership has become a trend for many families, and has even become a lifestyle for the younger generation. For those who love animals, studying veterinary medicine abroad has been attracting a lot of attention from students thanks to preferential policies and high job opportunities in the future.

In this article, let's find out in detail what veterinary medicine is, the teaching expertise of this major, and popular job positions!

1. What is Veterinary Medicine?

Veterinary Medicine is a discipline that revolves around disorders, diseases, and injuries in animals. You will learn a variety of clinical skills and how to care for animals, from cattle, poultry, pets, zoo animals, and wildlife. In addition, this field plays a huge role in caring for and protecting close family pets such as dogs and cats.

Once you study veterinary medicine, you will be equipped with knowledge of animal physiology, disease diagnosis, medication, veterinary laws, and regulations on the conservation of rare animals. Having a degree in veterinary medicine not only gives you the opportunity to work with pets but also the opportunity to work around the world with rare animals.

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2. What is Veterinary Medicine?

In each university, there will be a different teaching path for Veterinary Medicine, but basically, the early years of Veterinary Medicine will focus on teaching the body structure and function of each department. In the years that followed, you will gain an in-depth understanding of the diagnosis, treatment, and control of diseases that have a serious impact on animals.

Overall, the veterinary study program will last from 4-5 years. You will be taught typical specialized subjects such as:

  • Animal Biology

  • Cell and Molecular Biology

  • General pathology and the concept of infectious diseases

  • Animal Nutrition

  • Physiology and behavior of animals

  • Veterinary research and veterinary drugs

  • Veterinary hygiene

  • Veterinary Law

  • Population ecology and wildlife management

3. Training majors in the field of veterinary medicine

When pursuing the field of Veterinary Medicine, you can orient your work to focus on different specialties. Here are a few typical majors when studying Veterinary Medicine:

  • Veterinarian Major: This is one of the most popular majors when pursuing a veterinary field. Once you want to become a veterinarian, you will learn in-depth knowledge of pathology, surgery, anatomy as well as the prevention of infectious diseases originating from animals.

  • Animal Behavior Major: For those of you who want to become an animal trainer, this major will be the right choice for you. You'll study the biological and social reasons for animal behavior, as well as how these behaviors affect the world around us in terms of conservation, education, and the environment. You will have the opportunity to work with a variety of animals such as aquatic invertebrates, fish, mammals, reptiles, and birds.

  • Nutrition Major: You will learn how animals digest food and what kind of food is best for them. As you study this field, you will be equipped with the knowledge to build a diet for each type of animal to ensure their healthy growth and development, performance, and health.

  • Zoo Medicine Major: In addition to the above popular majors, you can pursue the Zoo Medicine aspect to become an expert in zoos, wildlife, and aquatic species.

In the industry, there are still many other majors you can choose from such as Dentistry, Dermatology, Anesthesiology & Pain Relief, Internal Medicine, and Ophthalmology, ... focus on treating each problem of animals

4. Qualities required to pursue Veterinary Medicine

For those of you who want to pursue a career in Veterinary Medicine, let's take a look at the qualities that a veterinarian or veterinary specialist should have. Once you possess the following qualities, you will be confident to pursue your studies and easily achieve success in your future career.

  • Compassion and love for animals: The first quality you need is love for animals, because you not only care for and treat pets, but even wild animals and other abandoned animals. Therefore, you must have love to be able to gently treat and understand their mood in each case.

  • Patience: Basically, patience is an essential quality of most professions. However, this quality is a must in veterinary medicine because animals are often scared and difficult to cooperate with during treatment. Veterinary medicine for women is considered an ideal profession when most women are careful and skillful when working.

  • Problem-solving agility: When encountering any problem, animals cannot tell the doctor about their own problem, but can only show it through behavior or squeaks. Therefore, doctors and specialists must be quick in recognizing the situation, diagnosing symptoms, and requesting necessary tests.

5. Which school does Veterinary Medicine study?

Veterinary Medicine is a very hot field today with a shortage of human resources that occurs quite frequently. In Vietnam, you can study Veterinary Medicine at schools such as:

  • Vietnam National University of Agriculture

  • Hung Vuong University

  • University of Agriculture and Forestry – Thai Nguyen University

  • University of Agriculture and Forestry, Ho Chi Minh City

  • Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

  • Can Tho University

You can choose to pursue Veterinary Medicine courses in developing countries such as Australia, the UK, the USA, Canada.

Search for a Veterinary course when consulting at IDP!

Hope the above article will help you understand more about Veterinary medicine as well as the skills needed to develop a job in this field. To refer to schools that teach this field in different countries, you can find out on the website IDP - Study Abroad Counsellingor contact IDP for advice.

In addition to chatting with consultants, IDP always organizes IDP Study Abroad Seminars throughout the year, creating opportunities for students and parents to meet directly with school representatives, hunt for Study Abroad Scholarships, and consider the dossier on the spot. To easily estimate the fees when studying Veterinary Medicine, you can actively calculate through Cost of Living Calculator of IDP.

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