This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

vet title

i know that once you've graduated, after studying to be a doctor, you get the title Dr. in front of your name, but do vet's get anything ? i think they should also get Dr.

Reply 1

Minnie Magic

AFAIK In the U.S. the qualification is DVM (doctor of veterinary medicine), which goes after the name, e.g. A Smith DVM.

In the UK it's a bachelor degree. Each institution has a different vet title. I think they are as follows:

Edinburgh: BVM&S
Glasgow: BVMS
Cambs: BA Vet MB
RVC: BvetMed
Liverpool BVSc
Notts: BVM BVS
Bristol BVSc

Also when you graduate you become accredited with the royal college of veterinary surgeons, and you get the MRCVS too (M=member).
E.g. I hope to go to Edinburgh so I would look something like this:
Minnie Magic BVM&S MRCVS :biggrin:

Obviously you can get other qualifications too. If you have done a degree previously you would have BSc and then the rest, or after vet you can do diplomas, phds etc.

I’m sure someone can correct me if I’m slightly out on any of this :p:

Reply 2

steffi88

OP

V Vet med does sound good, although i still think doctor sounds better, after all, vet is a 'docotr of animals' shame can't get Dr.

Reply 3

Minnie Magic

I suppose it is weird that some one can study a phd in history and get "doctor" but someone spending 5 years studying for a vet medicine degree doesn't.

Reply 4

steffi88

OP

i forgot that people who study history get the title, makes me feel even stronger that vets should get the title Dr !

Reply 5

blondey

1

i heard a rumour that it was being talked about by the government whether or not to give vets the Dr title.

also at the rvc you can do a Dvetmed, after you've done Bvetmed, not really sure what the course entails, may be just a phd of vet med. But it gives you the Dr title (because its a doctorate).

as i beleive (u may correct me, if i am wrong) medical doctors only have the title doctor, because their degree is a doctorate. this explains why in the US both vets and medics have the Dr title - they both do doctorate degrees of veterinary medicine and medicine respectively.

slightly off topic i kno, but personally i am against honourary doctorates being given out by universities - i feel this undermines ppl who put a lot of hard work in to achieve the title the hard way!

Reply 6

blondey

1

Minnie Magic

I suppose it is weird that some one can study a phd in history and get "doctor" but someone spending 5 years studying for a vet medicine degree doesn't.

in response to this, if someone were to do a phd in history (or any other subject for that matter), they are going to have to do a Bsc/BA in that subject then a Msc/MA and then do a phd... in total i believe this would be 3yrs for the bachlers, 1yr for the masters and then 3 or 4 yrs for the phd.. so in total they would do atleast 7 years. So comparing this to 5/6 years we will do to be vets is not a valid arguement.

but i do agree that vets should have the title of Dr, because its like saying that a medical degree is harder/more advanced than a vet medical degree.. which it is not. they are the same (fundamentally) and should be awarded the same accredation.

Reply 7

Minnie Magic

blondey

in response to this, if someone were to do a phd in history (or any other subject for that matter), they are going to have to do a Bsc/BA in that subject then a Msc/MA and then do a phd... in total i believe this would be 3yrs for the bachlers, 1yr for the masters and then 3 or 4 yrs for the phd.. so in total they would do atleast 7 years. So comparing this to 5/6 years we will do to be vets is not a valid arguement.

but i do agree that vets should have the title of Dr, because its like saying that a medical degree is harder/more advanced than a vet medical degree.. which it is not. they are the same (fundamentally) and should be awarded the same accredation.

i think you got the wrong end of the stick, i totally think that it's right that people studying doctorates should get that. i also think they put in a hell of a lot of work and contribution to their field e.g. through research than you would get from vet med students. (also i'm a graduate so i will have studied for 8 years when i graduate as a vet!)
vet's not having the "dr" doesn't really bother me :smile:

hopefully in 5 years i'll be able to say "i'm a vet" and that's all that matters :smile:

Reply 8

Miaoow

steffi88

V Vet med does sound good, although i still think doctor sounds better, after all, vet is a 'docotr of animals' shame can't get Dr.

I like to think that vets not having Dr is something to do with all vets being surgeons for animals as when medics specialise in surgery they revert to Mr, Miss or Mrs :-)

Reply 9

two22

Miaoow

I like to think that vets not having Dr is something to do with all vets being surgeons for animals as when medics specialise in surgery they revert to Mr, Miss or Mrs :-)

I know....it makes me laugh. Some people spend vast amounts of their lives trying to become a 'Dr' doing a bachelors, then a masters, then a pHD, and medical doctors spend the rest of their lives after they qualify trying to get rid of the 'Dr'. :rolleyes:

Reply 10

)(--becca--)(

I think you can buy titles off the internet - Gillian McKeith bought the title Dr! Personally, I'd go for Your Royal Highness or Dame.....haha!

Reply 11

emuron

Two letters wont change your life.

People may respect you more but seriously being a 'Dr. X' Just makes you sound. I mean seriously, so many Doctors have been evil, Namely Dr. Evil.

That aside having Dr. wont let your preform your job better will it?

Reply 12

username43584

8

as i beleive (u may correct me, if i am wrong) medical doctors only have the title doctor, because their degree is a doctorate. this explains why in the US both vets and medics have the Dr title - they both do doctorate degrees of veterinary medicine and medicine respectively

A med degree is not a doctorate. In America it is (MD), but in the UK it is an undergrad course and only gives you a bachelors (MB BS and the equivalent stand for bachelor of medicine, bachelor of surgery) The Dr title is a historical thing and in the med profession, it is sometimes seen as more prestigious to be a Mr/Ms (only surgical consultants/obstetricians and gynaecologists get called this)

From Wikipedia:

Medical profession
From the nineteenth century onward, "doctor" has been commonly used as a synonym for "physician" in Anglophone and many other countries; this term is commonly used as a title of address for physicians, whether or not they hold a doctorate. The primary medical qualification in the UK and in many Commonwealth countries are the 'Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery' degrees (MB BS, MB BCh, MB ChB, BM BCh or MB BChir, depending on the University granting the award). In the UK the title "Dr" is officially conferred by the General Medical Council to graduates whose names are included on the list of 'registered medical practitioners', a prerequisite to medical practice in the UK. After qualification, medical practitioners may read for the postgraduate research degree of 'Doctor of Medicine'. By convention however, if a practitioner qualifies as a Surgeon she/he will drop the title Dr and revert to Mr/Mrs[2].

Reply 13

tiny_tiger

emuron

Two letters wont change your life.

People may respect you more but seriously being a 'Dr. X' Just makes you sound. I mean seriously, so many Doctors have been evil, Namely Dr. Evil.

That aside having Dr. wont let your preform your job better will it?

Well said!!!

Reply 14

Miaoow

emuron

Two letters wont change your life.

People may respect you more but seriously being a 'Dr. X' Just makes you sound. I mean seriously, so many Doctors have been evil, Namely Dr. Evil.

That aside having Dr. wont let your preform your job better will it?

When I got my PhD I put it on my credit card so the bank would be nicer to me but it didnt work. Somebody behind the counter at M and S called me doctor though. Ob]viously it means so much to me NOT that's why I'm giving up science to be a vet.

Reply 15

leggielass

Minnie Magic

AFAIK In the U.S. the qualification is DVM (doctor of veterinary medicine), which goes after the name, e.g. A Smith DVM.

In the UK it's a bachelor degree. Each institution has a different vet title. I think they are as follows:

Edinburgh: BVM&S
Glasgow: BVMS
Cambs: BA Vet MB
RVC: BvetMed
Liverpool BVSc
Notts: BVM BVS
Bristol BVSc

Also when you graduate you become accredited with the royal college of veterinary surgeons, and you get the MRCVS too (M=member).
E.g. I hope to go to Edinburgh so I would look something like this:
Minnie Magic BVM&S MRCVS :biggrin:

Obviously you can get other qualifications too. If you have done a degree previously you would have BSc and then the rest, or after vet you can do diplomas, phds etc.

I’m sure someone can correct me if I’m slightly out on any of this :p:

The above mentioned acronyms are postnominals, not titles, but the liverpool one lloks right. If you want to be known as doctor as well you'll have to do medicine as well or a doctorate. x

Reply 16

Miaoow

becca2389

A med degree is not a doctorate. In America it is (MD), but in the UK it is an undergrad course and only gives you a bachelors (MB BS and the equivalent stand for bachelor of medicine, bachelor of surgery) The Dr title is a historical thing and in the med profession, it is sometimes seen as more prestigious to be a Mr/Ms (only surgical consultants/obstetricians and gynaecologists get called this)

From Wikipedia:

Here in the US vets are called Dr but then so is everyone else. The education system here is "different". Veterinary science is a postgrad degree after pre-vet BUT on an undergrad course you only have to do a couple of pre-vet modules for it to be defined as such. I know a kid doing French and Linguistics at NYU but she is doing organic chemistry and biochem pre-vet modules so she gets to apply to vet school :confused:

and someone I work with is doing medicine as a graduate but her first degree was liberal arts!!!!! Wierd!

Reply 17

nessa7

I have heard of vets who got their degree in the UK (BVMS or BVM&S, etc) and who now work in the US. They go by Dr. X there, but they obivously do not put DVM at the end of their name

Reply 18

Tikanni

Minnie Magic

hopefully in 5 years i'll be able to say "i'm a vet" and that's all that matters :smile:

I agree! What does it matter what letters you have behind your name. Also technically a vet could treat a human but a doctor couldn't treat animals so why want to be Dr?

vet title

Related discussions

Articles for you