Dr Harry or James Herriot?
By James Anthony
 Most
people will have had some contact with vets - either through
the family pets, or on TV in the form of James Herriot or
our own Dr Harry.
The work they do - helping sick creatures - will tug at the
heartstrings and while these guys make it look easy, becoming
a vet is seriously hard work. In fact getting into a veterinary
career is harder than becoming a doctor!
You have to pass Year 12 with very high marks as getting
into a university course is a cut-throat business with only
the best applicants being accepted.
The University of Sydney, for example, will only take a Year
12 graduate with a University Admission Index of 98.2. Medical
science courses only need a 95.45 mark!
The school subjects you must have studied include English,
Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics and you need to have
passed them at HSC, ACT, QSC, NTCE, SACE, TCE or VCE level.
Not only does your brain need to be switched on to be a vet,
but the selection process also checks if have full use of
your hands and fingers, are able to stand for lengthy periods,
have high observation skills and an eye for detail.
Other requirements are being interested in animals, their
health and wellbeing, being a good organiser and being able
to talk to people.
Five years study
Once accepted into a course, though, it gets tougher. Ahead
of you there is five years of full-time study towards your
Bachelor of Veterinary Science degree.
When you graduate you then have to work out which part of
the veterinary world you want to be a part of. The large majority
of vets will end up working in private practice - small operations
of between one and four animal doctors - where family pets
will be the mainstay of these businesses.
If small animals don't grab your fancy then you can look
at rural veterinary work, which heavily involves cattle, sheep,
pigs and larger animals such as horses.
Other potential careers involve work with governmental agencies
controlling livestock diseases, eradication of outbreaks or
infected herds, quarantine inspection and research into various
forms of animal diseases.
Other animal welfare careers
If you don't think you can become a vet, then there are other
careers within the animal welfare profession you can look
at, such as being a veterinary nurse, receptionist or animal
attendant.
Even becoming a vet's receptionist or animal attendant requires
qualifications and the first step along that path is a Veterinary
Studies course.
It has a Certificate II in Animal Studies course (152 hours)
and you need to have completed Year 10 - with English and
Science - and have regular access to a vet clinic on a paid
or voluntary basis to get in.
The Certificate III course requires the successful completion
of Certificate II and an additional 220 hours of study, Certificate
IV needs CIII and 170 hours study.
Once you have completed Certificate III in Animal Studies
you can choose to branch out into veterinary nursing, which
offers the chance to become hands-on in the daily examination,
treatment or surgical side of animal welfare.
You can also get into Veterinary Nursing by studying that
speciality straight away.
Veterinary Nursing
Veterinary nursing is a challenging career with hands-on
requirements that bring you into contact with animals and
their owners.
The Veterinary Nursing Council of Australia says its members
are a valuable and essential part of the veterinary healthcare
team and vets depend upon their skills in all areas of examination,
diagnosis treatment and surgery.
Whatever your level of career ambition, if you love animals
then there are many different levels of participation in the
industry that can meet your abilities and desires.
University Veterinary Studies Courses:
NSW: University of Sydney - Camperdown/Darlington Campus & Charles Sturt University; Wagga Wagga
Victoria: University of Melbourne - Parkville Campus.
WA: Murdoch University - Murdoch Campus.
Queensland: James Cooke University - Townsville.
South Australia, Tasmania and the NT:
There are no courses available so students need to look at
Australian universities in other states. Murdoch University
(WA), University of Melbourne, University of Queensland, University
of Sydney.
Here are some of the requirements -
Queensland: Sound Achievement or higher in Queensland
Year 12 (or equivalent in other States) prerequisite subjects
English, Chemistry, Maths 1/B & Physics.
Victoria: VCE or Australian Year 12 equivalent. Units
3 and 4. A study score of at least 35 in each of English,
Chemistry, and one of Mathematics or Physics.
New South Wales: Applications are judged on performance
in the 2004 HSCE will be ranked on their scaled aggregate
University Admission Index. The University of Sydney will
select Year 12 students solely on their UAI. The minimum aggregates
required for HECS entry for the past three years were as follows:
98.2 (UAI)
Western Australia (Murdoch): Admission requirements
are successful completion of secondary education with Physics
(and/or Biology), Chemistry and Discrete Maths.
Links:
ava.com.au
acvs.org.au
vetbiomed.murdoch.edu.au/
vet.unimelb.edu.au/
uq.edu.au/study/program.html?acad_prog=5069
vetsci.usyd.edu.au/
vnca.asn.au/
usyd.edu.au/
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