owners do not regret purchasing or starting their own practice, according to a 2020 survey of clinic owners. education and regulation veterinary students learning the dental treatment of a horse in order to practice, vets must complete an appropriate degree in veterinary medicine, and in most cases must also be registered with the relevant governing body for their jurisdiction. veterinary science degrees degrees in veterinary medicine culminate in the award of a veterinary science degree, although the title varies by region. for instance, in north america, graduates will receive a doctor of veterinary medicine (doctor of veterinary medicine or veterinariae medicinae doctoris; dvm or vmd), whereas in the united kingdom, australia, new zealand or india they would be awarded a bachelor of veterinary science, surgery or medicine (bvs, bvsc, bvetmed or bvms), and in ireland graduates receive a medicinae veterinariae baccalaureus (mvb). in continental europe, the degree of doctor medicinae veterinariae (dmv, drmedvet, dr. med. vet., mvdr.) or doctor veterinariae medicinae (dvm, drvetmed, dr. vet. med.) is granted. the award of a bachelor's degree was previously commonplace in the united states, but the degree name and academic standards were upgraded to match the 'doctor' title used by graduates. comparatively few universities have veterinary schools that offer degrees which are accredited to qualify the graduates as registered vets. for example, there are 30 in the united states, 5 in canada, 1 in new zealand, 7 in australia (4 of which offer degrees accredited by the american veterinary medical association (avma)), and 8 in the united kingdom (4 of which offer degrees accredited by the american veterinary medical association (avma)). due to this scarcity of places for veterinary degrees, admission to veterinary school is competitive and requires extensive preparation. in the united states in 2007, approximately 5,750 applicants competed for the 2,650 seats in the 28 accredited veterinary schools, with an acceptance rate of 46%. with competitive admission, many schools may place heavy emphasis and consideration on a candidate's veterinary and animal experience. formal experience is a particular advantage to the applicant, often consisting of work with veterinarians or scientists in clinics, agribusiness, research, or some area of health science. less formal experience is also helpful for the applicant to have, and this includes working with animals on a farm or ranch or at a stable or animal shelter and basic overall animal exposure. in the united states, approximately 80% of admitted students are female. in the early history of veterinary medicine of the united states, most veterinarians were males. however, in the 1990s this ratio reached parity, and now it has been reversed. preveterinary courses should emphasize the sciences. most veterinary schools typically require applicants to have taken one year equivalent classes in organic, inorganic chemistry, physics, general biology; and one semester of vertebrate embryology and biochemistry. usually, the minimal mathematics requirement is college level calculus. individual schools might require introduction to animal science, livestock judging, animal nutrition, cell biology, and genetics. however, due to the limited availability of these courses, many schools have removed these requirements to widen the pool of possible applicants. registration and licensing following academic education, most countries require a vet to be registered with the relevant governing body, and to maintain this license to practice. according to the bureau of labor statistics, veterinarians must be licensed to practice in the united states. licensing entails passing an accredited program, a national exam, and a state exam. for instance, in the united states, a prospective vet must receive a passing grade on a national board examination, the north america veterinary licensing exam. this exam must be completed over the course of eight hours, and consists of 360 multiple-choice questions, covering all aspects of veterinary medicine, as well as visual material designed to test diagnostic skills. postgraduate study the percentage electing to undertake further study following registration in the united states has increased from 36.8% to 39.9% in 2008. about 25% of those or about 9% of graduates were accepted into traditional academic internships. approximately 9% of veterinarians eventually board certify in one of 40 distinct specialties from 22 specialty organizations recognized by the avma american board of veterinary specialties (abvs). abvs recognized veterinary specialties source: anesthesiology and analgesiaanimal welfareavian practice bacteriology and mycologybeef cattle practicebehavior canine and feline medicinecardiologydairy practice dentistrydermatologyexotic animal medicine emergency and critical careequine medicineepidemiology laboratory animal medicineorthopaedicsinternal medicine pathologypharmacologypoultry medicine reproductive medicineradiation oncologyradiology shelter medicinesurgeryswine health management toxicologyvirologyzoological medicine curriculum comparison with human medicine the first two-year curriculum in both veterinary and human medical schools are very similar in course names, but in certain subjects are relatively different in content. considering the courses, the first two-year curriculum usually includes biochemistry, physiology, histology, anatomy, pharmacology, microbiology, epidemiology, pathology and hematology. some veterinary schools use the same biochemistry, histology, and microbiology books as human medicine students; however, the course content is greatly supplemented to include the varied animal diseases and species differences. in the past, many veterinarians were trained in pharmacology using the same text books used by physicians. as the specialty of veterinary pharmacology has developed, more schools are using pharmacology textbooks written specifically for veterinarians. veterinary physiology, anatomy, and histology is complex, as physiology often varies among species. microbiology and virology of animals share the same foundation as human microbiology, but with grossly different disease manifestation and presentations. epidemiology is focused on herd health and prevention of herd borne diseases and foreign animal diseases. pathology, like microbiology and histology, is very diverse and encompasses many species and organ systems. most veterinary schools have courses in small animal and large animal nutrition, often taken as electives in the clinical years or as part of the core curriculum in the first two years. the final two-year curriculum is similar to that of human medicine only in clinical emphasis. a veterinary student must be well prepared to be a fully functional veterinarian on the day of graduation, competent in both surgery and medicine. the graduating veterinarian must be able to pass medical board examination and be prepared to enter clinical practice on the day of graduation, while most human medical doctors in the united states complete 3 to 5 years of post-doctoral residency before practicing medicine independently, usually in a very narrow and focused specialty. many veterinarians do also complete a post-doctoral residency, but it is not nearly as common as it is in human medicine. in the last years, curricula in both human and veterinary medicine have been adapted with the aim of incorporating competency-based teaching. furthermore, the importance of institutionalized systematic teacher feedback has been recognized and tools such as clinical encounter cards are being implemented in clinical veterinary education. impact on human medicine some veterinarians pursue post-graduate training and enter research careers and have contributed to advances in many human and veterinary medical fields, including pharmacology and epidemiology. research veterinarians were the first to isolate oncoviruses, salmonella species, brucella species, and various other pathogenic agents. veterinarians were in the forefront in the effort to suppress malaria and yellow fever in the united states. veterinarians identified the botulism disease-causing agent, developed a widely used anesthetic induction drug, produced an anticoagulant used to treat human heart disease, and developed surgical techniques for humans, such as hip-joint replacement, limb and organ transplants. occupational hazards veterinarians work with a wide variety of animal species typically in hospitals, clinics, labs, farms, and zoos. veterinarians face many occupational hazards including zoonotic diseases, bites and scratches, hazardous drugs, needlestick injuries, ionizing radiation, and noise. according to the u.s. department of labor, 12% of workers in the veterinary services profession reported a work-related injury or illness in 2016. veterinary practices need a health and safety plan that addresses infection prevention and other hazards. workplaces should utilize engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment to keep their employees safe. ppe such as gloves, safety goggles, lab coats, and hearing protection should be readily available with mandatory training on proper usage. raising awareness is the most important step in promoting workplace health and safety. biological and chemical hazards needlestick injuries are the most common accidents among veterinarians, but they are likely underreported. needlesticks can result in hazardous drug or bloodborne-pathogen exposures. unlike human medical professionals, veterinarians receive minimal training on safe handling of hazardous drugs in school. also, a large percentage of veterinarians are women of reproductive age and drug exposures put them at risk of infertility or other adverse health outcomes. additionally, some antibiotics, steroids, and chemotherapy drugs are known to have negative effects on male fertility. the u.s. national institute for occupational safety and health has issued guidance on the safe handling of hazardous drugs for veterinary workers. animal bites and scratches are another common injury in veterinary practice. the close interactions with animals put veterinarians at increased risk of contracting zoonoses. a systematic review of veterinary students found that between 17–64% had acquired a zoonotic disease during their studies. the animal species, work setting, health and safety practices, and training can all affect the risk of injury and illness. physical hazards noise can be a prominent exposure, in which case a hearing loss prevention program may be recommended. a niosh study on kennel noise found that noise levels often exceeded osha's permissible exposure limit. reducing noise is beneficial for animal and human health. psychosocial hazards veterinarians have high suicide rates in comparison to the general population. a study by the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention found that male veterinarians are 2.1 times and female veterinarians are 3.5 times as likely as the general population to die by suicide. some reasons for this could be long hours, work overload, client expectations and complaints, poor remuneration, euthanasia procedures, and poor work-life balance. a survey of more than 11,000 vets found 9% had serious psychological distress, 31% experienced depressive episodes, and 17% had suicidal ideation. online support groups, such as not one more vet, have been established to help veterinarians who may be experiencing suicidal thoughts. another driver of stress can be student loan debt. a 2013 national survey found that average debt for veterinary medicine graduates was as high as $162,113. veterinarian lifelong earning potential is less than a physician, so it can take a lot longer to break even. in popular culture reality televisions shows featuring veterinarians include: bondi vet, an australian factual television series. it follows the lives of veterinary surgeon chris brown at the bondi junction veterinary hospital. the incredible dr. pol, a us veterinarian reality show. produced by national geographic wild, a disney channel. it follows the life of dr. jan pol and pol veterinarian service in michigan. e-vet interns (1998–2002), a us show filmed at alameda east veterinary hospital in denver, colorado. emergency vets, filmed at alameda east veterinary hospital in denver, colorado. rookie vets (2005), featuring students at massey university in new zealand. vet school confidential (2001), following students at michigan state university college of veterinary medicine in the us. vets in practice (1997–2002), a british series. fictional works featuring a veterinarian as the main protagonist include: james herriot's series of books containing fictionalized stories of his career as a farm animal veterinarian in england, which was adapted as the bbc television series all creatures great and small. the three lives of thomasina about andrew macdhui, a veterinarian in a village in scotland. the doctor dolittle series of children's books, which have twice been adapted into movies, doctor dolittle (1967), dr. dolittle (1998), and dolittle (2020). the movie beethoven, featuring the evil veterinarian dr. herman varnick. veterinary malpractice most states in the us allow for malpractice lawsuit in case of death or injury to an animal from professional negligence. usually the penalty is not greater than the value of the animal. some states allow for punitive penalty, loss of companionship, and suffering, likely increasing the cost of veterinary malpractice insurance and the cost of veterinary care. most veterinarians carry business, worker's compensation, and facility insurance to protect their clients and workers from injury inflicted by animals.