Lydia is a final year veterinary student, and in one of her last articles for us she talks about her training, what she’s learnt, and about the costs involved. With a new cohort of potential vets getting ready to go to vet school – or eagerly awaiting/dreading exam results! – we thought we’d ask her for an overview to help you to prepare!
What it costs
Spending £9250 a year on tuition fees over a five-year veterinary degree sounds like a lot of money. However, modern vet students learn an awful lot and to a very high standard, making tuition costs great value for money. Compared to non-medical undergraduate degrees, veterinary students spend a lot more time on campus and have access to all the expertise, modern medical technology and high-quality training facilities the university has invested in.
Taking out a student finance loan is highly recommended for funding your studies. Whilst you accrue a large amount of student debt by the end of the 5 years, you pay it back in the same way and at the same rate as someone who has only studied for 3 years. Try to see student finance more as a form of graduate tax, an investment for your future career. The things you will learn will be of greater value than your student debt and your time spent at university can be priceless.
Most veterinary students will spend the first 3 years attending lectures and practical sessions (preclinical years). The last 2 years are normally the clinical years, where you begin to apply your knowledge and gain more hands-on experience in a clinical setting. Building on layers of knowledge ensures veterinary students are aware of the underlying and fundamental science behind applied veterinary medicine.
The Preclinical Years
The preclinical years tend to run from years 1-3, but this and the exact teaching structure will depend on the veterinary school. These years focus on building our theory-based knowledge and cover all domestic species, as well as wildlife and zoological species. Some of the topics covered by teaching include:
- Anatomy
- Physiology
- Disease mechanisms
- Parasitology
- Pathology
- Animal welfare
- Animal husbandry
These topics are taught through a combination of lectures (usually 25 hours a week minimum), practical sessions, and exams. Lectures usually consist of a presentation, showcasing evidence-based medicine, with practice questions and examples of cases to work through. The course has a lot of material to cover, so juggling studies with sport, socialising, and any paid work helps to develop great time-management and organisational skills! Over time, students learn how to adapt their study techniques, often forming study groups or using flashcards to handle the workload ahead of exams.
Top Technology
From the very start of the course, veterinary students have access to state-of-the-art laboratories, specialist imaging equipment, and medical simulation technology. For example, models exist to allow students to practice blood sampling and even perform an ovariohysterectomy. These models provide a safe way to learn complex or intricate tasks that require fine motor skill practice. This equipment usually comes at a significant cost for a university and having access to it all should not be taken for granted. Even the software and online infrastructure we use day-to-day to access online materials have been paid for by the university!
The Clinical Years
The last 1-2 years of vet school focus on the theory behind clinical application and completing clinical rotations. The theory of clinical application concentrates on diagnostics and disease management, including treatments. Case-based learning is used to help students practice their clinical application of veterinary knowledge, before coming face-to-face with patients and clients during rotations.
Rotations are the part of vet school that everyone has been waiting for. They take place at teaching hospitals, which are designed to operate as a business whilst also letting vet students have a go under supervision. Rotations are the perfect opportunity for students to work as a team to practice their clinical skills and apply their veterinary knowledge to real cases with real patients and clients.
What does a day on rotations look like?
Each rotation block is spent with either small animals, farm animals, or horses. Each week is spent in a new department (cardiology, youngstock management, or public health etc) and every day is different! Most days will start between 8 and 9 am where you meet with your group and teaching staff to begin the day. Some faculties begin with rounds to review inpatient status and plan for the day. Cases are then divided up between the students, where it is your responsibility to read up on the case before taking the consultation with the owners and patient.
Following a consultation, you report back to senior members of staff, who will provide you with feedback. The rest of the day is spent performing the necessary diagnostic tests for your case, such as bloodwork or imaging, and coming up with a treatment plan. At the end of the day around 5 pm, evening rounds are done to update the team on inpatient status and reflect on what you learnt that day.
So, the days are busy! But you’re finally applying all that knowledge you built up over the preclinical years to an actual patient with real owners. This can be daunting at first, but practice makes perfect, and you soon develop your consulting style, which makes the real world of work a bit less scary. As you can imagine, many staff are needed at the teaching hospitals. Specialist equipment and fewer, longer consultation times mean profit is often sacrificed to allow students to learn in a safe and calm work environment.
Transferrable skills
Whilst the bulk of teaching is about animal health and welfare, vet students develop a long list of transferable skills through professional skills training. This aims to improve our employability and communication skills, which can be used beyond a veterinary career. Most people dread the challenging communication role-play sessions, but they are a useful tool in handling conflict that can be used in many walks of life. Students also build emotional resilience, learn to lead teams under pressure, and practise ethical decision-making. Sessions on how to build a good CV and how to prepare for an interview are highly valuable for getting any job after university.
Life after university
After all this, most universities provide graduates with support for life after university, through an alumni association. Being an active part of the alumni can provide you with networking opportunities, career support, and financial contributions towards post-graduate studies.
For many, university offers the chance to move away from home. Many continue to live independently after university, now equipped with general life skills, such as how to make pesto pasta and boil an egg – the ultimate student essentials.
Are there any additional costs?
In comparison to other undergraduate courses, veterinary students get great value for their tuition fee bill. However, there are several unavoidable additional costs associated with completing the course.
Funding placement
Extra-mural studies (EMS) are compulsory and self-organised placements, which must take place during the university holidays. Firstly, there is the cost of fulfilling these placements, which predominantly comes down to travel and food costs. Secondly, completing EMS during the holidays reduces the opportunity for many veterinary students to be able to work and save money.
Equipment
Appropriate clothing, decent stethoscopes (~£80) [more than 20 years on, I still have my vet school one! – Editor], a laptop, and a car are all vet school necessities. Having a car is not compulsory, but it makes on-call rotations safer and makes seeing various EMS locations more accessible. Seeing practice at more than one EMS location enables students to see multiple species, compare practice standards, and network with more veterinarians.
Covering these hidden costs
There are many bursaries and grants available, which can help veterinary students cope financially. For example, the Vets4Pets EMS bursary provides successful applicants with a generous contribution to help cover the costs of attending EMS during the holidays. These schemes along with other bursaries can be found online and on university websites. EMS must be done, and it does hold a lot of value, but the financial implications are something to be made aware of. Budgeting eventually becomes an essential skill that most veterinary students manage to develop!
Conclusion
Vet students do get great bang for their buck, particularly in comparison to other undergraduate courses. The breadth of knowledge, clinical skills, and transferable skills that vet students develop over 5 years is nearly unfathomable. But remember, full engagement with the course teaching is the best way to make the most out of your tuition fees! Taking out a student finance loan is the best way to cover tuition fees and will be paid back as a form of graduate tax once you start working. The vocational nature of the course means you are primed and ready to work as a veterinarian as soon as you graduate, so the debt is more than worth its while. If you are concerned about the hidden costs in addition to tuition, contact the university to ask for more information on the grants and bursaries on offer.
Even if you decide to change career paths later down the line, a veterinary degree acts as a passport allowing you to do so. Employers from all sorts of industries will admire and acknowledge the work you did at vet school, and the wide range of skills you have to offer.
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