 Veterinarians
play a major role in the healthcare of pets, livestock, and zoo,
sporting, and laboratory animals. Some veterinarians use their skills to
protect humans against diseases carried by animals and conduct clinical
research on human and animal health problems. Others work in basic
research, broadening the scope of fundamental theoretical knowledge, and
in applied research, developing new ways to use knowledge.
Most veterinarians
perform clinical work in private practices. More than 50 percent of
these veterinarians predominately, or exclusively treat small animals.
Small-animal practitioners usually care for companion animals, such as
dogs and cats, but also treat birds, reptiles, rabbits, and other
animals that can be kept as pets. About one-fourth of all veterinarians
work in mixed animal practices, where they see pigs, goats, sheep, and
some nondomestic animals in addition to companion animals. Veterinarians
in clinical practice diagnose animal health problems; vaccinate against
diseases, such as distemper and rabies; medicate animals suffering from
infections or illnesses; treat and dress wounds; set fractures; perform
surgery; and advise owners about animal feeding, behavior, and breeding.
According
to the American Medical Veterinary Association, 77 percent of
veterinarians who work in private medical practices treat pets. These
practitioners usually care for dogs and cats but also treat birds,
reptiles, rabbits, ferrets, and other animals that can be kept as pets.
About 16 percent of veterinarians work in private mixed and food animal
practices, where they see pigs, goats, cattle, sheep, and some wild
animals in addition to farm animals. A small proportion of
private-practice veterinarians, about 6 percent, work exclusively with
horses.
Veterinarians who work with food animals or horses usually drive to
farms or ranches to provide veterinary services for herds or individual
animals. These veterinarians test for and vaccinate against diseases and
consult with farm or ranch owners and managers regarding animal
production, feeding, and housing issues. They also treat and dress
wounds, set fractures, and perform surgery, including cesarean sections
on birthing animals. Other veterinarians care for zoo, aquarium, or
laboratory animals. Veterinarians of all types euthanize animals when
necessary.
Veterinarians who
treat animals use medical equipment such as stethoscopes, surgical
instruments, and diagnostic equipment, including radiographic and
ultrasound equipment. Veterinarians working in research use a full range
of sophisticated laboratory equipment.
Veterinarians
can contribute to human as well as animal health. A number of
veterinarians work with physicians and scientists as they research ways
to prevent and treat various human health problems. For example,
veterinarians contributed greatly in conquering malaria and yellow
fever, solved the mystery of botulism, produced an anticoagulant used to
treat some people with heart disease, and defined and developed surgical
techniques for humans, such as hip and knee joint replacements and limb
and organ transplants. Today, some determine the effects of drug
therapies, antibiotics, or new surgical techniques by testing them on
animals.
Some veterinarians are
involved in food safety and inspection. Veterinarians who are livestock
inspectors, for example, check animals for transmissible diseases such
as E. coli, advise owners on the treatment of their animals, and may
quarantine animals. Veterinarians who are meat, poultry, or egg product
inspectors examine slaughtering and processing plants, check live
animals and carcasses for disease, and enforce government regulations
regarding food purity and sanitation. More veterinarians are finding
opportunities in food security as they ensure that the nation has
abundant and safe food supplies. Veterinarians involved in food security
often work along the country’s borders as animal and plant health
inspectors, where they examine imports and exports of animal products to
prevent disease here and in foreign countries. Many of these workers are
employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service division, or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s
Center for Veterinary Medicine.
Note: Some resources in this section are provided by the US Department
of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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