[SIZE=4][COLOR=blue]Vocation for animal lovers[/COLOR] [/SIZE]
[I]With a multiplying number of people adopting pets, going the Dr. Dolittle way could transform into a satisfying and increasingly rewarding career option[/I]
It’s unlikely to be recommended by high-profile career counsellors. But for the growing community of compassionate animal lovers, in both urban and rural areas, going the Dr. Dolittle way could transform into a satisfying and rewarding career option.
Interest in tending animals can be sparked at a young age, when a family pet is taken to a veterinarian or a vet visits the family farm. Individuals interested in veterinary medicine as a career path are expected to have enquiring minds, sensitivity, an interest in the biological sciences and a love and understanding of animals. Professional veterinarians tend to work long and irregular hours in animal hospitals and clinics. Those in a large animal practice also work out of specially equipped trucks or cars and may drive considerable distances to farms and ranches. Inevitably veterinarians have to be prepared to work outdoors in all kinds of weather.
To be admitted into an undergraduate study programme in the veterinary sciences, one should have completed 17 years of age by the month of December in the year of admission and the Plus Two or equivalent examination with English, physics, chemistry and biology and any other elective subject, averaging at least 50 percent in the five subjects.
Each vet college prescribes different criteria for admission which could be based on academic merit (Plus Two averages) or performance in an entrance examination conducted by the college. Moreover most state governments conduct common entrance tests (like Maharashtra’s MHCET) for admission into government veterinary colleges. The Veterinary Council of India also conducts an All-India common entrance examination each May.
img:23:Dalal: inestimable joy The bachelor of veterinary science and animal husbandry (BVSc and AH) course is of five years duration. The syllabus in the pre-clinical phase includes physics, chemistry, biology, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and allied subjects; and animal husbandry, veterinary medicine and surgery, veterinary hygiene and pathology in the clinical phase. Practical exposure to real life situations and field experience are inherent to the curriculum.
For higher studies in veterinary science, the Master’s degree programme — MV. Sc (two-years’ duration) offers several specialisation options: anatomy; animal nutrition; genetics and animal breeding; animal reproduction; microbiology; parasitology; pathology; pharmacology; physiology and biochemistry; surgery; poultry science; food, hygiene and veterinary public health; dairy cattle production etc. The minimum eligibility to enroll in an MV. Sc programme is a BVSc and AH degree.
Undergraduate and postgrad study programmes in veterinary science and animal husbandry are offered by specialist colleges in almost every state of the Indian Union. However inter-state admissions are difficult because most colleges impose domicile restrictions, except for 15 percent of seats which are reserved for those who top the All India Common Entrance Examination.
With the Indian economy growing at 6-7 percent plus per annum, employment opportunities for veterinarians are on the upswing. Jobs are available in government veterinary dispensaries and polyclinics, dairy units, poultry and stud farms, sheep and goat farms, piggeries, abattoirs, zoos, wild life sanctuaries and pharma companies. Coterminously commercial private sector firms offer excellent pay and perks to veterinary scientists in their research and development labs. Moreover in urban India, with a multiplying number of people adopting pets, private clinics are mushrooming and veterinary practice is becoming more lucrative.
Another new development is the several animal rights organisations which have sprung up. For example People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) works in close co-ordination with policy makers and educates people about animal rights. Other NGOs in this field are the All-India Animal Welfare Association (AIAWA), Karuna for Animals in Distress, Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) etc. With animal welfare organisations multiplying belatedly, veterinarians are in great demand.
“Working as a vet is psycho-logically very rewarding. Although this is not the profession for those who want big bucks, with people’s love for animals and awareness of their needs increasing, one can make a comfortable living out of private practice,†says Dr. Leena Dalal a graduate of the highly reputed Bombay Veterinary College who also acquired a Masters in animal surgery in the mid-1980s.
Marriage and raising a family distracted Dalal from her mission of helping and comforting animals. But ten years ago she started doing honorary work for AIAWA, and 18 months ago she inaugurated her own state-of-the-art clinic in Chuchgate, south Mumbai.
According to Dalal, vets in rural areas are also doing well as there’s growing animal practice and plenty of government jobs available. Moreover an increasing interest in pets across the country and concern for their welfare augur well for veterinarians in private practice. “Commercial organisations in the private sector offer good prospects to vets in their product research and development labs while horse breeding, stud farms and racecourses offer enviable pay packages,†says Dalal.
Quite evidently Dalal has no regrets about her career choice. “Personally, I thoroughly enjoy being a vet. It’s a gratifying profession as animals make nicer patients than humans. The joy one gets out of caring for animals is inestimable. But only those who genuinely love animals and delight in them should enter this profession,†she warns.
[B]Indra Gidwani[/B]