Academic, certification, and licensing requirements all apply to veterinarians. Pre-veterinary courses must be taken undergraduate students who want to become veterinarians, and they must apply to an accredited graduate veterinarian school. Veterinarians must also meet national certification requirements after graduation. Veterinary qualifications also include meeting licensing requirements, which are set the state or territory in which the veterinarian wishes to practice.
Graduate students can improve their veterinary qualifications gaining real-world experience working with animals before applying to graduate programs. Working as an assistant at a veterinarian’s office or an animal shelter, as a research assistant at a facility that uses animals, or even on a farm or ranch are all examples of experience. Positions that require applicants to work with animal owners prepare them for later management of a private veterinarian practice.
Applicants to veterinarian graduate schools may not be required to have a bachelor’s degree, depending on the schools to which they apply. However, having a bachelor’s degree makes an applicant more competitive, as the majority of those who apply have earned or are about to earn a bachelor’s degree. Pre-veterinarian courses must be completed, which include a variety of life science classes such as biology and zoology. Some veterinary schools also require students to take business management and humanities classes.
Another part of veterinary qualifications is passing a standardized entrance exam before being considered for admission to a veterinarian program. A general graduate admissions test, such as the Graduate Record Examination, is required for most veterinarian programs (GRE). Other veterinarian programs require applicants to take either a graduate medical school admissions test or a graduate veterinarian admissions test.
After graduating from veterinary school, a person must meet the national veterinarian board’s requirements for veterinarian qualifications. Successful completion of a four-year residency could be one of the certification requirements. Veterinary residency qualifications allow veterinarians to specialize in fields such as nutrition or dentistry, allowing them to become specialists. These requirements must be met in order for a new veterinarian to become certified, which can lead to higher-paying job opportunities.
The state, territory, or province in which a veterinarian chooses to practice regulates veterinary qualifications licensing. Applicants must have graduated from an accredited graduate veterinarian program and passed the national board’s licensing exam in order to be licensed. Before receiving a license, veterinarians may be required to take a separate examination on local laws and regulations, depending on the state, territory, or province.