Medicine or Veterinary Science: Which is 'harder'?

Scroll to see replies

Cassie89

Ok firstly I'm fairly sure that wouldn't happen, and if it did I would arrange for the dog to go to the RSPCA/a dog shelter first. Secondly, I'd find that easier to deal with than accidently killing a human, or helping decide which patient gets an organ transplant, or dealing with someone who refuses life saving medication due to religious reasons etc etc

it happens quite often actually.
and the dog is the owners property so you cant send it anywhere.

Reply 41

Cassie89

Annaconda

it happens quite often actually.
and the dog is the owners property so you cant send it anywhere.

Surely if the owner is giving his/her dog away to be killed you can recommend it be sent somewhere else as an alternative, I'd be interested to see if any vet meds know any details of this. Apart from anything else it takes time and money to see a vet, so I don't see why someone who wants their dog put down purely cos they don't want it anymore would make an appointment.

And you completely ignored/did not understand the point of my post- that the medical ethicals of medicine are far more complex than that of vet med

Reply 42

Eilidhc90

Going by entry grades vet med is harder as the entry grades are higher!

The dog is the owners property and you can only recomnd to send it to be rehomed if the owner wants it euthanased and refuses to rehome it vets are legaly required to euthanase it or face redundancy/ prosecution

ethics of medicine are undoubtably difficult but so are the ethics of vet!

Reply 43

JennyB

Sometimes vets can suggest that they give their dog up instead of euthanising it, but i'm fairly certain that the owner has the final say, even if the dog is perfectly healthy. And how about huge RSPCA cases? A LOT of the dogs are put down if its a large case and they are not 100% sound.

I don't think you can really fully appreciate the choices a vet comes across daily regarding ethics until you've seen vets at work first hand.

Reply 44

Transatlanticdrawl_

If you go to somewhere like the Blue Cross, unwanted dogs get put down by the dozen every day, I'm sad to say

Reply 45

Transatlanticdrawl_

Cassie89

You're right, I would say. However there are still thousands of things in a vet's day of which there is simply no counterpart in a GP's day. I still dont really understand the thread because I don't know if it refers to the actual day-to-day work of the professional, the course, the demand for that course, whatever.

Reply 46

tia maria

Hello, ive just stumbled across this discussion and thought id like to contribute... wether or not any one sees my comment remains to be seen.
First of all i think its a little harsh that people are mocking Polymorphing for simply having a discussion with a friend about which is harder... Veterinary or Medicine.
I thought it was quite common that a of people draw comparisons between vets and doctors and i also have it on good knowledge that there is a lot of rivalry and joviality between vet and medical students at university...so therefore i dont think its an unreasonable question, i took it to be in jest!

Secondly, yes i do agree that studying Veterinary Medicine/ science is harder than studying medicine.
I think the grades that universities require are pretty much the same for both, but vet med applicants are expected to do a hell of a lot of work experience BEFORE (if you want to stand a good chance of being accepted into vet school) and DURING their studies.
Also a Vet doesnt just learn the anatomy of one species (like a doctor) they will need to know several different types of anatomy... cat/dog, bird, reptile, cattle, aquatic animals etc.
My third and final point is that unlike humans, animals cannot talk, so unlike doctors its not as easy for a vet to find the location, cause, severity of the pain or even sometimes establish the symptoms of the condition (if the owner cant tell them for whatever reason).
Im not a Vet (yet) but i thought these points were pretty obvious, even to someone not planning to study Vet Med, or even Medicine for that matter! (and my grades arnt fantastic either, so im no brain box!)
hope that helped! :smile:

Reply 47

tia maria

Vazzyb

The way you talk to a patient suffering from cancer is different to the way you talk to a patient whoes come in with a cold. Medicine is a hell of a lot more subtle than Vet Med.

Besides, if you lose a sheep, like, who cares?

Im sure the farmer who gets up at 5am every morning, and who depends on the health of his sheep for a living cares!! who cares about some fat old bloke with gout!??

Reply 48

tia maria

anna_spanner89

Plus sometimes patients dont always give the full story- and its about interpreting what they're saying...etc

Exactly!!! so how do u think it feels for a vet!?, whos patient cant talk at all! or whos owner has died and cant give any background information on the animal!?

Reply 49

tia maria

Transatlanticdrawl_

If you go to somewhere like the Blue Cross, unwanted dogs get put down by the dozen every day, I'm sad to say

Im glad someone has pointed this out! i volunteered for a charity that took in dogs from the street and fostered them out or tried to rehome them, every tuesday the had to put a handful of dogs to sleep due to the huge influx of dogs they had coming in and the lack of people taking them out to rehome them... very upsetting! :frown:

Reply 50

7589200

tia maria

Im sure the farmer who gets up at 5am every morning, and who depends on the health of his sheep for a living cares!! who cares about some fat old bloke with gout!??

his wife? children? society?...there's just no argument in this. We (humans) are worth a lot more than animals.

My original post's second line was only a joke though; i do appreciate that animals have a very important role to play in certain things.

Reply 51

tia maria

I think we will just have to agree to disagree then! lol
Im not saying that we should value animals lives more than humans or vise versa, just that any living thing that has alife to loose is just as important as the next and we should never take it lightly or be biased.
But im afaid this arguement will always continue between vets and doctors, doctors think humans are more important, and vets have more of a passion for animals... but were all entitled to an opinion, and i respect yours... at least it keeps life interesting eh! :smile: