Veterinary Medicine

Academic Training: Completion of 4-year professional school program in veterinary medicine (minimum); often followed by residency or internship if specializing in a particular medical area.

Opportunities: Veterinary practitioner or specialist. Small animal veterinarians may choose to limit their scope of practice to several species or to a single discipline. A veterinary specialist, as recognized by the AVMA, is a graduate veterinarian who has successfully completed the training and examination process of board certification in an AVMA specialty board or college. At present, there are 20 recognized specialty boards in veterinary medicine. Two that are often of interest to companion animal enthusiasts are veterinary behaviorist and veterinary nutritionist.

Professional Associations: American Veterinary Medicine Association (AVMA), American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), Student American Veterinary Association (SAVMA)

Sources for Additional Information: University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine