Zoological / Marine Mammal Vet

[Infamous]

How does one become a Zoo / Marine Mammal Vet? Is there a certain school that would be better than others in this particular field or is it just a matter of getting the right internship/residency? Im currently thinking of going off-shore for vet-school (SGU or Ross). Would this hurt my chances of realizing my dream of becoming a marine mammal vet?

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[Quaggi]

I'm pretty sure becoming a zoo vet (esp marine mammal) is incredibly competitive and difficult regardless of where you go to school. From what I've heard from wildlife/zoo vets is that it's really important to have prior connections before applying as a vet to a zoo/marine park etc. have you done any internships at zoos? or volunteer work at wildlife hospitals/ stranding networks? i think that's a great way to get your foot in the door, and also you really need that type of experience in order to get internships/residencies after vet school. doing an externship during vet school at a zoo is a good idea too, and if offered, doing clinical rotations at a local zoo etc. i'm sure it also can't hurt to go to a vet school with a strong wildlife/zoo program (tufts, UF, etc). that's my plan anyway good luck!

 

[HorseyVet]

I agree that "connections" are important for this.

You should also get yourself SCUBA certified. Go with PADI if you can, I did SSI which is not the international, but you learn the same stuff...it's just that almost everyone else will be PADI. Then try to become a volunteer diver (glorified tank cleaning) at your aquarium or zoo.....Start looking into this now b/c it really seems to vary about what's involved to become a volunteer....Some places have a really rigorous procedure and others don't.

Because you're likely not just be working on the mammals alone, I'd start developing a knowledge base on fish too. I highly recommend the magazine "Aquarium Fish" it's not a scientific journal but it's focus is on the science of fish keeping and it's the magazine that the least a slave to advertising.

Check out your college and surrounding colleges abroad programs...likely one of them will have a marine bio field study course which usually occurs at a site where they are doing marine bio field work. This is where I went through my school's abroad program: http://www.anthonyskey.com/english/about/about_rims.cfm

It was one of the coolest things I've done.

 

[snowyegret]

Just to echo what the others have said, the opportunities for zoo vets, especially marine mammal vets, are quite limited. The community is quite small, and wildlife/zoo vets that I've worked with here in California are very well known elsewhere, as I learned when interviewing with a wildlife vet at Tufts. The one marine mammal veterinarian I know engaged in marine mammal research as an undergrad and received his master's of science on top of the DVM. Despite all this, this vet spent several years as a small animal vet before breaking into the marine mammal field. I've been told by several wildlife vets that graduate degrees in relevant fields or board certification can help to distinguish one from the rest of the pack.

It is very important to gain experience in the field that you're interested in, but I would recommend still getting your "ordinary" experience in SA/LA medicine. The vast majority of your first years in vet school will be devoted to learning about SA/LA with the possibility for electives in the area of your interest. But on top of that, it's important to have a realistic view of the profession. I think admissions committees liked the fact that I wrote in my personal statement and stated in interviews that my plan was to work in small animal medicine while volunteering with wildlife on the side as a relief vet..with the eventual hope that I could work into a full-time position as a wildlife veterinarian. There isn't a huge demand for zoo/wildlife vets, so if there is an equally qualified candidate who wants to go into LA medicine, they might choose him/her over someone who wants to go into wildlife/zoo medicine.

All said, it's good to have focus, but it's also important to have realistic expectations. I think adcoms would raise an eyebrow to someone who thinks they're going to be a vet at Sea World their first year out. You can look at it as playing the admissions game...but once you get in you can do whatever you want in terms of choosing a particular track (or set of courses/experience if the school doesn't track). I think going to a particular school is only part of the equation. As was said before, connections in the field are key and a lot of patience is required....

 

[chickenboo]

I've heard the same advice snowyegret is giving from other people, too! I don't think I'm going to go into wildlife, but was toying with the idea at one time, and was told to track in either small or large animal medicine. It keeps your options open, AND you're going to see a MUCH higher caseload, which is going to benefit you far more than working with wildlife right off the bat. I know at Davis you have to have letters of support to even do the wildlife track, just because it's so hard to find a job in that area; they don't really encourage students to do it. And that's about the extent of my knowledge on the subject...

 

[wishes]

Computer glitch. Please see post below

 

[wishes]

Ditto to what everyone else has said, but to elaborate futher, I also was considering a career in zoo medicine, but a few people now have jokingly told me that "you have to kill somebody to get those jobs." As I understand, wildlife is a little easier to get involved with, but wildlife oriented jobs frequently pay little to nothing.
I hate to be too discouraging though. There are many opportunities to work with wildlife at regular clinics, for example the emergency clinic I work with frequently handles injured wildlife brought in by good Samaritans. You might also consider working with exotic or pocket pets, such as snakes, lizards, birds, sugar gliders, etc., as this is a somewhat up and coming area in veterinary medicine. A small animal track with electives in exotics/wildlife can prepare you for this career path.
If you go through veterinary schools and are still passionate about zoo medicine then I think you would definitely need to complete a residency in this area before you would be a job candidate simply because it is such a competitive path.
As far as which school to attend, some schools are stronger in zoo/wildlife/exotic medicine than others. I know that North Carolina State and Florida are known for their exotics programs. U. Penn works closely with the zoo (as does UC Davis I believe) and Tufts has excellent opportunities for people interested in wildlife. I suspect that if you are considering a residency in the U.S. that you would be better off attending school here as well (as opposed to Ross or similar programs), but I cannot say for sure as I really know very little about what foreign programs have to offer.
Good luck!

 

[verbal_kint]

another area that might interest you is laboratory animal medicine. It has a pretty high demand and you get to work with a great variety of animals.

I know it's not the same, but it's something to consider.

 

[HorseyVet]

another area that might interest you is laboratory animal medicine. It has a pretty high demand and you get to work with a great variety of animals.
I know it's not the same, but it's something to consider.

I did a lot of shadowing at a lab animal facility...IMO it's really boring...the only thing that made it neat were all of the experimental surgeries for human medicine (which pretty much nothing wakes up from)...but from the perspective of what the vets did....it's mostly paperwork. That's probably why there is a demand. The good thing about it is that you usually get paid more and have better benefits b/c you are employeed by a larger organization.

 

[mokadet]

I've been working in a research setting for the past year. I work at UVA that has a very large amount of research projects between the undergraduate school and the medical school.

As far as I know there are 2 vets that work here and you are right that they do a lot of paperwork, however, there are many other oportunities and perks to the job. The vet for my building (I work in the Biology Department) has a tiny little office with no windows and does have to spend a lot of time pushing papers, also the only animals we have in the building are rodents (rats, mice, hamsters) and a couple puffer fish. But, he also teaches Animal Physiology once a year and has an active lab working on research (He obviously has a DVM and a PhD). So he is a good example of what you can do with a DVM - teach, research, lab animal medicine - basically, he has three jobs.

The second vet is in charge of the vivarium at the medical school. As far as I know she doesn't do research, nor does she teach. But, she does have a huge vivarium to take care of. In this vivarium there are the usual mice, rats, hamsters, but there are also swine, rabbits, cats, dogs (yes - this makes me a little sad) and even primates. So, she does have the benefit of working with a diversity of animals. I think this is more of what intended when someone suggested lab animal medicine as an option for someone with an interest in zoo/exotics.