The Importance of Grades for Getting Into Vet School

It is unfortunate that grades, as well as GRE scores, are weighed so heavily on admittance into vet school. People that have good GPAs but not 4.0s are not getting into schools solely based on a numbers game. So to help your chances good you need to keep your grades up. I had a 3.5 GPA, 1100 GRE, 2,500 hours of vet experience and didnt even get an interview for any US vet school. Dont get depressed by reading these numbers. There is always an exception to the rule. People get in with other things that could weigh heavily on their application. Such things could be your age, obstacles overcome, or personal disabilities. I will say that being only 22 upon applying probably had hurt me. People going back to school with more life experience are more likely to get accepted, in my opinion, than others straight out of undergrad.

So here are some admissions statistics from a select few vet schools:
UC Davis

• Average GPA’s: Accumulative (3.48), Required Science (3.33), Last 45 semester units (3.61) 
• Average GRE scores: Verbal (79% - 583 scaled score), Quantitative (76% - 721), Analytical Writing (65% - 4.72)
• Average Age: 24 (age range 20-40)

University of Georgia 

• Average GPA’s: Accumulative (3.57), Required Science (3.47), Last 45 semester units (3.63) 
• Average GRE scores: V + Q (1170), Analytical Writing (4.3)

University of Florida

• Average GPA’s: Accumulative (3.51), Required Science (3.56), Last 45 semester units (3.60) 
• Average GRE scores: Verbal (524), Quantitative (679) 1203

So not every school's statistics are easy to find. These are just three that came first to me. But as you can tell there is a similar trend. The averages of these scores is something like this:

• Overall GPA: 3.51
• Science GPA: 3.47
• Last 45 GPA: 3.61
• Overall GRE: 1225

So in order to increase your chances at getting in grades are the most important part of the application. Its sad that it comes down to numbers, its partly due to people going back to school because of the economy. Some advice would be to do the absolute best you can your last 45units because it seems schools rely a lot on those scores as you can see they are higher than the rest. 

As for the GRE? I have a hate, hate relationship with it. I honestly dont know what a test about vocabulary words has to do with veterinary medicine and why it matters how well you score on this particular test. But it is something that you can never change and must accept it. So I recommend getting a book probably a year in advance and study all the time. In addition to taking prep class. It may seem like a lot but if you score really well on the GRE you will probably get into school with an average GPA.

Here are the links to the webpages of the US and International vet schools. Some link to the admissions pages so play around and search for statistics and any advice on their FAQs. 

Please choose the appropriate link to go to that school's website:

Veterinary Medical Schools in the United States
Auburn University	North Carolina State University
University Of California - Davis	Ohio State University
Colorado State University	Oklahoma State University
Cornell University	Oregon State University
University of Florida	University of Pennsylvania
University of Georgia	Purdue University
University of Illinois - Urbana	University of Tennessee
Iowa State University	Texas A&M University
Kansas State University	Tufts University
Louisiana State University	Tuskegee University
Michigan State University	Virginia - Maryland Regional College
University of Minnesota	Washington State University
Mississippi State University	Western University
University of Missouri	University of Wisconsin
International Veterinary Medical Schools
University College Dublin (Ireland)	Murdoch University (Australia)
University of Edinburgh (Scotland)	University of Prince Edward Island (Canada)
University of Glasgow (Scotland)	Royal Veterinary College (U.K.)
University of Guelph (Candada)	University of Calgary (Canada)
Massey University (New Zealand)	University of Saskatchewan - Western College of Veterinary Medicine (Canada)
University of Melbourne (Australia)	University of Sydney (Australia)
Universite de Montreal (Canada)	Utrecht University (Netherlands)
AAVMC Affiliate Member Veterinary Medical Schools*
* Accreditation & Licensure Information
National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)(Mexico)	St. George's University (Grenada)
Ross University (St. Kitts)	St. Matthews University (Cayman Islands)

Veterinary Symbol a Caduceus or Staff of Aesculapius?

There has been some debate about whether the Veterinary Symbol below is called the Cadeceus, the same as human medicine, or Staff of Aesculapius, which has 1 snake.

I have researched this after a colleague brought it to my attention that it is not necessarily a Cadeceus. According to the AVMA the symbol is the Staff Aesculapius as stated in the following:

"The official seal of the Association Comprising the letter V super-imposed on the staff of Aesculapius encircled by the words American Veterinary Medical Association, and with a line encircling all of those elements, shall be registered with the U.S. Patent Office as a registered mark and shall be used by no other organization or individual without written permission of the Association" (AVMA Bylaws, Article X). 

This symbol was approved by the AVMA in June 1970 as the associations trademark. It was not until November 21, 1972 that the symbol was officially a registered trademark as decided by the USPTO. The AVMA has the following copyrighted as their logos to denote membership to the association:

Either with the circle and AVMA around the symbol or without.

Now from the research I have done there is no clear distinction that the Veterinary symbol of the single snake and staff is strictly for animal medicine. I have seen it noted as the symbol of medicine in general but most veterinary sites, schools, and hospitals agree that their symbol is the Staff of Aesculapius rather than Caduceus.

Caduceus

Now the Caduceus is generally a staff with 2 snakes and wings. This arose from the Greek God Hermes the Messenger which later turned into the Roman God Mercury. The staff was attributed to Hermes from the story of Tiresias:

In "Les Mamelles de Tiresias" (The Breasts of Tiresias) tells how Tiresias--the seer who was so unhelpful to Oepidus and Family- found two snakes copulating, and to separate them stuck his staff between them. Immediately he was turned into a woman, and remained so for seven years, until he was able to repeat his action, and change back to male. The transformative power in this story, strong enough to completely reverse even physical polarities of male and female, comes from the union of the two serpents, passed on by the wand. Tiresias' staff, complete with serpents, was later passed on to Hermes...

This magic used to transform Tiresias was also seen later on in time in the use of alchemy. Alchemy had some connections to medicine, chemistry, and metallurgy which were attributed to Hermes (Mercury) and described using the image of his two snaked staff.


Staff of Aesculapius
The staff with one snake arose again from the Greek God Aesculapius. He was most likely a skilled physician who practised medicine in Greece around 1200BC (even described in Homer's Iliad). Through myth and legend he came to be worshipped as Asclepius, the Greek God of Healing. Now the origin of the staff has a much more grotesque beginning. 

In ancient times infection by parasitic worms was common. The filarial worm Dracunculus medinensis aka "the fiery serpent", aka "the dragon of Medina" aka "the guinea worm" crawled around the victim's body, just under the skin. Physicians treated this infection by cutting a slit in the patient's skin, just in front of the worm's path. As the worm crawled out the cut, the physician carefully wound the pest around a stick until the entire animal had been removed. It is believed that because this type of infection was so common, physicians advertised their services by displaying a sign with the worm on a stick.

So the single snake staff could have been started from a worm underneath the skin. Stiff think thats a better symbol than changing from male to female and back like some kind of Mrs. Doubtfire action.

Let the debate rage on but I am taking the side of Staff of Aesculapius.

Roman sculpture of Aesculapius with single snake staff.

Sources:

http://www.drblayney.com/Asclepius.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_of_Asclepius

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=7946

http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/staff%20of%20aesculapius

http://www.answers.com/topic/caduceus

The Origins of Veterinary Medicine

So you want to be a Veterinarian, yes? Is it because you have always loved animals and want to work with them? If so that is a good start but you need to understand a little more about the profession to really commit to the large amount of schooling and debt needed to do so. Its not all just giving puppies vaccines, there are some hard parts. 


If you are not up to perform euthanasia for animals then this is not the profession for you. Depending on the type of practice you will be performing this gift to suffering creatures. My advice is to get a job or volunteer with a local vet to get some first hand experience with euthanasia. It is extremely sad but you might be surprised at how you can handle it. This should be a good indicator of whether or not you really want to go through with the long path to become a veterinarian. Now an important thing is to not base it off personal experiences with pets. Go in with a open mind and just be the fly on the wall seeing the whole process and how helpful it really is to the animals. If I based this off of the 1st, and only time, I have watched Marley and Me then I would not be going to vet school. Because everyday would be the saddest day of my life.  


I digress. The main reason for this post was to give a little concise history of what it is to be a Veterinarian as well as the history behind the profession. 


The Veterinarian's Oath:

Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health, the relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge.

I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics. I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence.

This oath was adopted by the AVMA in July 1969 by the House of Delegates. It was slightly modified in 1999. A key point is the relief of animal suffering for which i mentioned early about euthanasia. Its in the Oath you pledge upon graduation to end suffering if no other means can help the animal. Once again get experience with euthanasia if you are hesitant and you will understand that it is a good thing for the suffering of animals.  


Ancient Veterinary Medicine History
Veterinary medicine dates back to 3500BC in Egypt (in hieroglyphics), China, and Mesopotamia. The domestication of livestock was the first sign of humans tending to animals. In China between 4000-3000BC there are records of herbs used for curative effects but the true healing of animals was thought to have begun in Mesopotamia around 3000BC with the first known veterinarian, Urlugaledinna.


A little closer to our time comes Alcmaeon, he was the first recorded person to dissect animals for scientific reasons, this happened around 500BC. Few hundred years later the first animal hospitals were recorded in 273-232BC during the reign of King Ashoka in Indian history during the Brahman era. 


Semi-modern Veterinary Medicine History
The first official veterinary school was in 1762AD by Claude Bourgelat in Lyons. Lyon College was created by the work of Bourgelat. This led to a new veterinary teaching schools in the 1770s in Hanover, Sweden, Denmark, and Vienna. The Royal Veterinary College in London was founded in 1791. The first American veterinarian school was not established until 1879, more than a century after the first European schools. 


Modern Veterinary Medicine History
This brings us to the present. There are currently 28 Veterinary Schools in the United States. There are many schools abroad in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Senegal, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Libya Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Phillippines, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Uganda, Ukraine, U.K., West Indies, and Jordan. As you can see the world of Veterinary Medicine has grown quite a bit. 


The next post will deal with the different areas that Veterinary Medicine has grown into. There are many specialties to choose from which will be discussed next time. For now enjoy the Universal Veterinary Symbol:

Veterinary symbol (staff of aesculapius). Best medical symbol ever? yes.

From Film Student to DVM?

I have started this blog to chronicle my journey through school. I am attending St. George's University in Grenada in about a month and decided to start this site to chronicle my journey which could hopefully help people as they try to get into the profession. The picture to the left is of SGU, just to show you where I will be doing my studies. Jealous yet?

Some background information on me. I am 23 years old with a B.S. in Biology w/ emphasis in Zoology. I got the degree at San Diego State University (Photo on the right) in December 2009. I decided that I wanted to become a veterinarian at the end of my freshmen year at SDSU. The film program I was in did not hold up to my expectations. It felt like I was wasting my time in college learning about filmmaking. It was like I didn't need to take classes to do what I wanted. So I was upset with my classes and decided to take a fun class for the spring semester. This class was The World of Animals, taught by the wonderful Dr. Bradford Hollingsworth. He really is the professor that showed me the amazing diversity of life on the planet. After realizing I liked this biology class much better than any of my film classes I decided to switch majors to Biology. This was the best decision I made in college to counter the many bad decisions. ha.

While in school I worked at Rose Canyon Animal Hospital in the Claremont area of San Diego. It was here where I got my first experiences in a vet clinic. The job really helped me learn how to interact with people, which turns out is probably the most difficult part of being a veterinarian. My three years of experience at Rose Canyon helped me gain a great appreciation for the work a veterinarian does by seeing how it helps the clients. The owners of our patients generally care more for the wellbeing of their pets than themselves. So seeing them get so happy after healing their loved one is quite an amazing thing. The team of Rose Canyon Animal Hospital is shown in the photo above. I am the guy on the far left. The white coats are the DVMs, Dr. Michael (next to me) and Dr. Barre (far right).

More to come from this blog will be steps to prepare yourself for the application process. Applying for Vet school is much more complicated than it seems. I will have some tips and tricks I have learned on how to get into the US Schools. Another option I will be recommending is going a different route and applying to the Caribbean Vet schools. With the current need for new veterinarians, and the US's lack of schools, the Caribbean supplies the most viable option for some people to solidify their dream.