BECOMING A VETERINARIAN
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME A VETERINARIAN?
Competition for acceptance to veterinary college in Canada is fierce. The Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, where most Manitobans will receive training, accepts only 15 Manitobans annually.
These 15 people are selected out of 350 applications received from students in Western Canada. Your veterinarian beat the odds to pursue this profession!
IT’S MUCH MORE THAN GOOD MARKS!
While good marks are taken into consideration, there are a number of other factors on which your veterinarian was evaluated before they gained entrance to the profession.
These include:
- motivation
- maturity
- experience with animals
- leadership qualities
- social awareness
- communication skills and presentation
- understanding and knowledge of the veterinary profession.
Your veterinarian would have been given extra consideration if they found opportunities to work with animals prior to applying to veterinary college. After all, all veterinarians need to enjoy working with animals.
AT LEAST SIX YEARS IN UNIVERSITY PLUS EXPENSES
A vet college candidate will have completed at least two years of pre-veterinary university courses including biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and English.
Candidates who are accepted to veterinary college will have at least another four years before they secure their Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree.
TRAINING
While in school, your veterinarian would have selected an area of specialization.
Most veterinarians seen by the public are either large animal practitioners who address livestock needs or small animal practitioners who attend primarily to pets.
Many vets working in rural Manitoba are mixed practitioners who take care of livestock and pet health care needs.
ADVANCED TRAINING
There are veterinarians who choose to invest additional time in education and training to secure advanced degrees in areas of specialty. These individuals earn the right to be called a diplomate.
Currently, Manitoba has nine practicing diplomates in the areas of veterinary internal medicine, surgery, dentistry, reproduction and obstetrics, pathology, microbiology and poultry veterinary medicine.
UNITED IN A COMMITMENT TO ANIMAL HEALTH CARE AND WELFARE
Our profession is as diverse as the animal world itself. You can be assured that the veterinarians working in Manitoba have successfully met the personal and professional qualifications to be accepted into the profession and practice in Manitoba. These individuals are united in their lifelong passion to provide animal health care and ensure animal welfare.