Aug. 26, 2021

The Path to Becoming a Veterinarian. Our Guest Today is Dr. Jonathan Dear, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine

The Path to Becoming a Veterinarian. Our Guest Today is Dr. Jonathan Dear, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine

#060 – Becoming a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine is a goal that requires full commitment and dedication.

Our guest today is Dr. Jonathan David Dear, professor of medicine and epidemiology at one of the premier veterinary programs in the world, the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Dear is also very involved in the SVM’s admission board. That is the group of people who are in charge of selecting the applicants who will become part of the veterinary medicine program for a given academic year.

He shared extremely important details related to the path to becoming a veterinarian and tips students should follow in the admission process. Although the information is related to the doctor of veterinary medicine program, the information provided can be used by students who will pursue other majors and educational programs.

Dr. Dear talked about the steps to becoming a veterinarian, pre-requisites to apply for the program, and the traits veterinary medicine schools are looking for in applicants.

Additionally, he highlighted the one thing all applicants should do, which a lot of them do not do, and as a result miss a great opportunity to stand out. Dr. Dear also shared the steps he took while in high school to prepare for a career in veterinary medicine.

These included a volunteering opportunity that eventually became a job, and which played an important role as he applied to college. This was an interview and conversation in which we covered a lot of important information, useful for students interested in veterinary medicine and other majors.

Dr. Dear received a Bachelor of Science degree from Emory University, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Georgia, and a Master of Applied Science degree from UC Davis, and a certificate from the University of California Extension at Davis.

During my episode introduction, I introduced information related to veterinarians, including median pay, typical level of entry-level education, number of veterinary jobs in 2019, and job outlook for the ten-year period between 2019 and 2029.

Links mentioned on this episode:

Guest Bio: Dr. Jonathan David Dear

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Veterinarians

UC Davis Department of Veterinary Medicine Criteria for Admission

UC Davis Department of Veterinary Medicine Curriculum

UC Davis Department of Veterinary Medicine Educational Goals

UC Davis Department of Veterinary Medicine Curriculum Design Overview

UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Accreditation

California Veterinary State Board Examination and the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE)

UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Publications

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