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When I first decided to become a veterinarian, people often asked me: “Why don’t you want to be a real doctor?”  Nothing infuriated me more, until I realized, people often do not know or understand what the veterinary profession is all about.  First of all, becoming a veterinarian is a very similar process to becoming a medical doctor.  There are 3 to 4 years of undergraduate studies and then 4 years of professional school.  Unlike medical students, veterinarians do not have to continue on into internships and residencies unless they choose to.  However, in the same 4 years that a medical student is learning human medicine, veterinary students are learning canine, feline, equine, ruminant, and swine medicine (and more!) and all the while learning a smattering of human medicine for our roles in public health.    What this training prepares graduates for is to practice “comparative medicine.”  Veterinarians that you commonly encounter are general practitioners who own or work at clinics where you might bring your dog or cat for their yearly checkups.  These veterinarians on any given day might be an internist, gastroenterologist, cardiologist, dentist, ophthalmologist, surgeon, and psychologist.  In such a setting, the veterinarian is equipped to deal with common problems, and when more complicated diseases and illnesses present, there are “specialists” to which they can refer.  Veterinary specialists focus on one area of medicine, just as medical doctors do at hospitals and the like.  They are board certified in their particular field and work at large referral centers or veterinary teaching hospitals.  In addition, there are many veterinarians employed by the government in the USDA and CDC and other branches.  There are veterinarians that work as pathologists (sort of like medical examiners and coroners) or are even elected officials.  The American Veterinary Medical Association has a Governmental Relations Division that operates in Washington, DC to help pass laws relating to animals.  As you can see, this is quite a diverse list of occupations, and is by no means is exhaustive.  Having learned a little bit about the veterinary profession, I think you would agree that you can’t be more of a “real doctor” than being a veterinarian!