Veterinarians

Veterinarians typically perform the following tasks: • Treat sick or injured animals by prescribing medication, setting bones, dressing wounds, or performing surgery. • Inoculate animals against various diseases, such as rabies or distemper. • Examine animals to detect and determine the nature of diseases or injuries. • Collect body tissue, feces, blood, urine, or other body fluids for examination and analysis. • Operate diagnostic equipment, such as radiographic or ultrasound equipment, and interpret the resulting images. • Educate the public about diseases that can be spread from animals to humans. • Counsel clients about the deaths of their pets or about euthanasia decisions for their pets. • Advise animal owners regarding sanitary measures, feeding, general care, medical conditions, or treatment options. • Euthanize animals. • Attend lectures, conferences, or continuing education courses. • Train or supervise workers who handle or care for animals. • Perform administrative or business management tasks, such as scheduling appointments, accepting payments from clients, budgeting, or maintaining business records. • Plan or execute animal nutrition or reproduction programs. • Conduct postmortem studies and analyses to determine the causes of animals' deaths. • Specialize in a particular type of treatment, such as dentistry, pathology, nutrition, surgery, microbiology, or internal medicine. • Direct the overall operations of animal hospitals, clinics, or mobile services to farms. • Inspect and test horses, sheep, poultry, or other animals to detect the presence of communicable diseases. • Establish or conduct quarantine or testing procedures that prevent the spread of diseases to other animals or to humans and that comply with applicable government regulations. • Research diseases to which animals could be susceptible. • Provide care to a wide range of animals or specialize in a particular species, such as horses or exotic birds.