I write In response to my learned colleague; Dentist
Dear writer while I appreciate your eye opening write up. I think you may have gotten some things wrong and i thought to shed light.

Are human medics and Dentists actually the only ones tagged health care providers in the traditional sense?
The answer is a big NO.
Veterinary Doctors today are as informed if not more informed than dentists and are also tagged health care providers and at par with only the human doctors(not dentists) in terms of knowledge and contributions to the society if not ahead. While I do admit that our immediate society lacks certain knowledge and orientation, it is important to bring certain basis to the fore. Now you rightly said, a Dentist isn’t a physician but a surgeon. A veterinarian is on the other hand both a physician and a surgeon.

Who is a veterinary doctor and what does it take to be one?

A veterinary doctor spends 6 years in the university to attain that title. In similarity to dentistry and human medicine 100 level is basically made up of basic science courses of physics, chemistry and biology. Subsequent levels see them study anatomy, physiology, bacteriology, virology, immunology, entomology, protozoology, helminthology, pharmacology and toxicology, theriogeniology and obstetrics, dentistry, optometry, internal medicine and surgery. After the pre-clinicals , a Veterinarian proceeds to clinics after the 4th year and they do clinic rotations in small animal internal medicine(dogs and cats), large animal internal medicine(ruminants, horses, all wildlife), microbiology, theriogeniology and production, surgery, parasitology, ambulatory medicine and poultry. Also like in human medicine, the final degree is unclassified and you either pass and graduate as a doctor or you fail and re-sit or repeat. Upon graduation you automatically become a member of the Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN) and register with the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association(NVMA) and you are then issued a license and a VCN Number identical to you only . licenses are renewed each year. In service (NYSC) Vets CANNOT teach. You are posted to Vet clinics or establishments and you are paid an allowance same as a human medics and usually above regular corps members. You can also do locum d private practice around to earn more.
What is the similarity between the veterinarian and a human medic/ dentist

They all bear the name DR. A lot of people may not know but animals share the same body anatomy and physiology with humans. All muscles present in humans are present in man and even a lot more in animals. The basic physiology and functioning of humans and animals are also the same with even more complexities and variations in animals. It is worthy to also note that all procedures carried out on humans are also done in animals. Veterinary establishments and teaching hospitals are able to do surgeries and procedures like x-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans, ECG, EMG, and similar tests. Laboratory tests involving blood , stool, urine, biopsies and the likes are also carried out on animals. Human and animal diseases are also similar and treated alike. All drugs used in humans are also used on animals and though not all human drugs are licensed for use in animals and not all animal drugs are licensed for human use. drugs are often shared between both professions. All other fields of dentistry, optometry, gynaecology and the likes are also similar. A vet studies as much medicine as a human medic and more.
Is Veterinary medicine more difficult?
The answer is more of a Yes than a maybe.

Why?
The reasons are numerous. You should know that all institutions that offer the course has veterinary medicine as the course with by far the highest number of credit units to pass before graduation in any Nigerian university. This means that the work load of a Veterinary Doctor is much more than that of a dentist or human medic. While human deals in a single specie, a veterinarian is able to study anatomy, physiology, reproduction and medicine of different species ranging from domestic animals like dog, cattle, chicken, horses to lions, tigers, crocodiles, ostriches e.t.c. The absence of supporting professions in Nigeria like veterinary nurse, pharmacists and dentists also mean a veterinarian does a lot of pharmacology/toxicology, microbiology , optometry and even dentistry. The risk involved in animals means additional techniques are taught. While a human medic graduates more as a physician with basic knowledge of surgery except during specializations, a Veterinary graduate is a certified physician/surgeon and can carry out complex surgeries from Caesarian sections, orthopedic surgeries, graft and basic plastic/cosmetic surgeries and the likes. A veterinarian is also thoroughly trained to determine cause of death at post mortem and is a trained gross pathologist. It goes on…
Do they know that much/ Do they use basic medical tools?

A veterinarian is a jack of all trade in medicine and knows a lot and YES, stethoscopes, thermometers, surgical wears and kits and other kits are also used by a veterinary doctor.

Can a Veterinary Doctor attend to a human?

A vet is not licensed to treat a human being however , he knows enough to advice and make recommendations. During the 2nd world war and in extreme conditions of human medic shortage, vets may be asked to help in various capacities.
Can a Human Doctor attend to an animal?

No, but a human medics knowledge of medicine means he also has a fair knowledge of certain things in animal medicine.
Is veterinary practice lucrative in Nigeria?

Nigeria is still growing and the profession like many others has challenges. However, in government, Veterinary doctors are employed at the same entry level and paid the same salary as Human medics ahead of all other allied health courses like pharmacy and optometry (Not sure of dentistry). In the academics, a Veterinarian usually earns more than human medics based on certain hazard and risk allowances. In private practice however, it is a lot tougher for a Vet as Nigerians are only beginning to learn to value animals , but vets are millionaires from handling Fulani cattle and large farms with birds, and other commercial far. Even dog and cat practice can fetch lots of cash. A Vets knowledge also means that various pharmaceutical companies employ vets as reps. Pet feed companies, poultry feed companies, banks with agric loan schemes, colleges of agriculture and NGOs are others. NAFDAC(vet drug dept.) , the Nigerian armed forces (Military horse units and bioterrorism unit),Police /Civil Defense (police dog unit), Prisons (Prison farms) are amongst vet employers. A vet is always employed on one or two levels above a normal degree holder which is the same for human doctors. All universities with veterinary medicine have teaching hospitals and are employers of labour. In the last 2 to 3 years, many federal institutions are opening vet faculties in addition to what was available(over 8 veterinary faculties before)and are looking at the future prospects(UNILORIN, UNIJOS, UNIBEN, some Universities of Agriculture and Private universities). No school wants to be left behind. Countries in Africa e.g. south Africa, Botswana , Kenya survive on wildlife and animal farming. Oil is falling, agriculture is on the rise. Self employment is the inn thing , Veterinary knowledge makes you a potential farmer and business man/woman as you can raise you own animals. Only a Veterinary and a Pharmacist license is recognized for drug imports for animals and humans respectively. Human medic licenses are not used for drug import.
Do Vets only treat animals?

No, veterinarians are also core indirectly human health providers. Most countries have animal and human health agencies working side by side. Over 70% of diseases in humans in the last decade have come from animals and Vets play huge roles. Today in some EU countries, even in human hospitals for every few number of human doctors a Vet Dr. is attached(e.g. 5:1) to assist with handling zoonotic diseases(i.e. disease from animals). Vets are also needed in health agencies and public health institutions like WHO, CDC, FAO, OIE and the likes both home and abroad. In Nigeria each state has veterinary clinic and each abattoir in a state has a Vet Dr. attached to inspect slaughtered meat and prevent disease transfer to humans. Diseased animals are condemned or diseased body parts removed to prevent disease, so a veterinarian is out there saving our lives every-day. You will be surprised at how many diseases like tuberculosis a Veterinarian sees every day and saves someone from getting. Asides these, food processing agencies, environmental health and sanitation and water process inspections and supervision are roles veterinarians handle. Public health, Disease surveillance and eradication are other roles. Most significant medical researches done in Nigeria emanate from Veterinary medicine. You will find more Veterinary professors in universities that human medic professors due to this (factor in no of institutions offering the course). Today, the bigger world approach medicine as “one health”; Human health, Animal health and Environmental health. That is the only way to succeed in health issues(You can Google the “one health” concept)



Finally,Always take your animals to a vet for check up. dogs should be routinely vaccinated and livestock handled properly. an unhealthy animal means you are at risk too and animals have feelings you should consider.

Veterinary medicine is a noble profession. The title is DVM (doctor of veterinary medicine) and you are a doctor in your own right, respected in the society and can make a lot for yourself. No job is a bed of roses, nor perfect but certain professions give you self-dignity respect and can make you comfortable. So much to still to say

You may reach me on Adah Ogwuche(Facebook) or adah.ogwuche@gmail.com for further enquiries.
[b][/b]

Wow! It seems every negleted discipline is now rising up from the mud. . Nice one op, but please arrange your topic.

An enlightening and articulate post adahogwuche .Thank you very much for making the public aware of what Veterinary Medicine is.I would just add a few words.
First and foremost, I believe every profession is important and we all need each other.Veterinarians
are in charge of animal welfare i.e every animal. A veterinarian is as important as any other medical professional who takes care of humans only.
The general public needs vets in order to prevent the spread of zoonotic diseases to humans.
Zoonotic diseases are diseases that are transmissible from animals to humans and vice versa. e.g Ebola, Lassa fever, Rabies, Avian flu (Bird flu ) etc.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there are over 200 zoonotic diseases.
The meat, eggs, fish, milk , we eat all come from animals.Veterinarians are striving every day in laboratories and abattoirs all over the country to ensure that the food that reaches our table is disease free.
We also need vets to take care of companion animals I.e pets e.g dogs, cats, horses, pigeons,parrots, monkeys etc.
What about our wildlife ? Who is in charge of their welfare?
Veterinarians treat animals in the zoo and game reserves.
If I may ask, are animals less important than humans?
Veterinary Medicine may not yet be receiving the recognition it deserves in Nigeria, but it is definitely a respectable profession.I am proud to be a Veterinarian.

Nice one doc!
Veterinary medicine is a noble profession.
Proudly Vet!...

nice article.....

really learned alot about veterinary medicine...

I am a medical doctor, and I can say that dentists are also physicians as well as surgeons.....

And errr, we can never compare saving the life of one's child to saving the life of bingo the dog....

but seriously, very nice article

academics, a Veterinarian usually earns more than
human medics based on certain hazard and risk allowances

LIE. EVEN IN HUMAN MEDICS SPECIALTY DETERMINE HW MUCH U EARN. VETS EARN SOMETHING BETTER IN NIGERIA BUT NOT AS MUCH AS HUMAN MEDICS( I MEAN CONSULTANTS).

Very interesting piece of writing, My take is we need a lot of awareness about this profession, there a lot of unqualified "vets" outthere giving Vets bad name.

We have a pig farm somewhere in ogun state and I have people knocking on our gates claiming to be Vets with no credentials at all and they expect me to give them an audience.


I quickly shut the gate and tell them we are covered. Although we need a very capable Vet for the welfare of our animals.

Please we need a Vet in ogun state than can be on call with a 24 hours notice or less. Experince handling swine will ideal.


Many thanks.

adahogwuche:
I write In response to my learned colleague; Dentist
Dear writer while I appreciate your eye opening write up. I think you may have gotten some things wrong and i thought to shed light.

Are human medics and Dentists actually the only ones tagged health care providers in the traditional sense?
The answer is a big NO.
Veterinary Doctors today are as informed if not more informed than dentists and are also tagged health care providers and at par with only the human doctors(not dentists) in terms of knowledge and contributions to the society if not ahead. While I do admit that our immediate society lacks certain knowledge and orientation, it is important to bring certain basis to the fore. Now you rightly said, a Dentist isn’t a physician but a surgeon. A veterinarian is on the other hand both a physician and a surgeon.

Who is a veterinary doctor and what does it take to be one?

A veterinary doctor spends 6 years in the university to attain that title. In similarity to dentistry and human medicine 100 level is basically made up of basic science courses of physics, chemistry and biology. Subsequent levels see them study anatomy, physiology, bacteriology, virology, immunology, entomology, protozoology, helminthology, pharmacology and toxicology, theriogeniology and obstetrics, dentistry, optometry, internal medicine and surgery. After the pre-clinicals , a Veterinarian proceeds to clinics after the 4th year and they do clinic rotations in small animal internal medicine(dogs and cats), large animal internal medicine(ruminants, horses, all wildlife), microbiology, theriogeniology and production, surgery, parasitology, ambulatory medicine and poultry. Also like in human medicine, the final degree is unclassified and you either pass and graduate as a doctor or you fail and re-sit or repeat. Upon graduation you automatically become a member of the Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN) and register with the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association(NVMA) and you are then issued a license and a VCN Number identical to you only . licenses are renewed each year. In service (NYSC) Vets CANNOT teach. You are posted to Vet clinics or establishments and you are paid an allowance same as a human medics and usually above regular corps members. You can also do locum d private practice around to earn more.
What is the similarity between the veterinarian and a human medic/ dentist

They all bear the name DR. A lot of people may not know but animals share the same body anatomy and physiology with humans. All muscles present in humans are present in man and even a lot more in animals. The basic physiology and functioning of humans and animals are also the same with even more complexities and variations in animals. It is worthy to also note that all procedures carried out on humans are also done in animals. Veterinary establishments and teaching hospitals are able to do surgeries and procedures like x-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans, ECG, EMG, and similar tests. Laboratory tests involving blood , stool, urine, biopsies and the likes are also carried out on animals. Human and animal diseases are also similar and treated alike. All drugs used in humans are also used on animals and though not all human drugs are licensed for use in animals and not all animal drugs are licensed for human use. drugs are often shared between both professions. All other fields of dentistry, optometry, gynaecology and the likes are also similar. A vet studies as much medicine as a human medic and more.
Is Veterinary medicine more difficult?
The answer is more of a Yes than a maybe.

Why?
The reasons are numerous. You should know that all institutions that offer the course has veterinary medicine as the course with by far the highest number of credit units to pass before graduation in any Nigerian university. This means that the work load of a Veterinary Doctor is much more than that of a dentist or human medic. While human deals in a single specie, a veterinarian is able to study anatomy, physiology, reproduction and medicine of different species ranging from domestic animals like dog, cattle, chicken, horses to lions, tigers, crocodiles, ostriches e.t.c. The absence of supporting professions in Nigeria like veterinary nurse, pharmacists and dentists also mean a veterinarian does a lot of pharmacology/toxicology, microbiology , optometry and even dentistry. The risk involved in animals means additional techniques are taught. While a human medic graduates more as a physician with basic knowledge of surgery except during specializations, a Veterinary graduate is a certified physician/surgeon and can carry out complex surgeries from Caesarian sections, orthopedic surgeries, graft and basic plastic/cosmetic surgeries and the likes. A veterinarian is also thoroughly trained to determine cause of death at post mortem and is a trained gross pathologist. It goes on…
Do they know that much/ Do they use basic medical tools?

A veterinarian is a jack of all trade in medicine and knows a lot and YES, stethoscopes, thermometers, surgical wears and kits and other kits are also used by a veterinary doctor.

Can a Veterinary Doctor attend to a human?

A vet is not licensed to treat a human being however , he knows enough to advice and make recommendations. During the 2nd world war and in extreme conditions of human medic shortage, vets may be asked to help in various capacities.
Can a Human Doctor attend to an animal?

No, but a human medics knowledge of medicine means he also has a fair knowledge of certain things in animal medicine.
Is veterinary practice lucrative in Nigeria?

Nigeria is still growing and the profession like many others has challenges. However, in government, Veterinary doctors are employed at the same entry level and paid the same salary as Human medics ahead of all other allied health courses like pharmacy and optometry (Not sure of dentistry). In the academics, a Veterinarian usually earns more than human medics based on certain hazard and risk allowances. In private practice however, it is a lot tougher for a Vet as Nigerians are only beginning to learn to value animals , but vets are millionaires from handling Fulani cattle and large farms with birds, and other commercial far. Even dog and cat practice can fetch lots of cash. A Vets knowledge also means that various pharmaceutical companies employ vets as reps. Pet feed companies, poultry feed companies, banks with agric loan schemes, colleges of agriculture and NGOs are others. NAFDAC(vet drug dept.) , the Nigerian armed forces (Military horse units and bioterrorism unit),Police /Civil Defense (police dog unit), Prisons (Prison farms) are amongst vet employers. A vet is always employed on one or two levels above a normal degree holder which is the same for human doctors. All universities with veterinary medicine have teaching hospitals and are employers of labour. In the last 2 to 3 years, many federal institutions are opening vet faculties in addition to what was available(over 8 veterinary faculties before)and are looking at the future prospects(UNILORIN, UNIJOS, UNIBEN, some Universities of Agriculture and Private universities). No school wants to be left behind. Countries in Africa e.g. south Africa, Botswana , Kenya survive on wildlife and animal farming. Oil is falling, agriculture is on the rise. Self employment is the inn thing , Veterinary knowledge makes you a potential farmer and business man/woman as you can raise you own animals. Only a Veterinary and a Pharmacist license is recognized for drug imports for animals and humans respectively. Human medic licenses are not used for drug import.
Do Vets only treat animals?

No, veterinarians are also core indirectly human health providers. Most countries have animal and human health agencies working side by side. Over 70% of diseases in humans in the last decade have come from animals and Vets play huge roles. Today in some EU countries, even in human hospitals for every few number of human doctors a Vet Dr. is attached(e.g. 5:1) to assist with handling zoonotic diseases(i.e. disease from animals). Vets are also needed in health agencies and public health institutions like WHO, CDC, FAO, OIE and the likes both home and abroad. In Nigeria each state has veterinary clinic and each abattoir in a state has a Vet Dr. attached to inspect slaughtered meat and prevent disease transfer to humans. Diseased animals are condemned or diseased body parts removed to prevent disease, so a veterinarian is out there saving our lives every-day. You will be surprised at how many diseases like tuberculosis a Veterinarian sees every day and saves someone from getting. Asides these, food processing agencies, environmental health and sanitation and water process inspections and supervision are roles veterinarians handle. Public health, Disease surveillance and eradication are other roles. Most significant medical researches done in Nigeria emanate from Veterinary medicine. You will find more Veterinary professors in universities that human medic professors due to this (factor in no of institutions offering the course). Today, the bigger world approach medicine as “one health”; Human health, Animal health and Environmental health. That is the only way to succeed in health issues(You can Google the “one health” concept)



Finally,Always take your animals to a vet for check up. dogs should be routinely vaccinated and livestock handled properly. an unhealthy animal means you are at risk too and animals have feelings you should consider.

Veterinary medicine is a noble profession. The title is DVM (doctor of veterinary medicine) and you are a doctor in your own right, respected in the society and can make a lot for yourself. No job is a bed of roses, nor perfect but certain professions give you self-dignity respect and can make you comfortable. So much to still to say

You may reach me on Adah Ogwuche(Facebook) or adah.ogwuche@gmail.com for further enquiries.
[b][/b]

You can get open advice from reliable veterinary doctor across the country; It is a pet health discussion to health care providers Q & A site of everyone's pet online collection... http://www.idleexperts.com/public/article/index/id/120180

Am an aspirant of vet medicine...Any advice?

The veterinary space in Nigeria is more focused on agriculture than it is on dogs. But surely there is growth in both sectors. We have various new pet stores springing up and i know personally of www.kennelpride.com offering home veterinary services and kind of contracting out the jobs to veterinary medicine graduates. This is growth