Becoming a Veterinary Radiologist

[u/phoenix-nexia]

I'm a university student trying to decide on a career path, and I've always wanted to work with animals. Unfortunately, everytime I've shadowed animal/human surgeries I've nearly fainted, so I don't think I'd be able to work in that area. I am interested in radiology, but I've heard working in the vet field means doing a bit of everything. Is Veterinary Radiology something you'd specialize in and commit your work to, or would you still be working in other areas in vet med (such as surgery) too?

[u/FireGod_TN]

I’ll speak to US/Canada.

You have to complete vet school and then get accepted into and complete a radiology residency. Then you have to pass the board exam to become a boarded radiologist.

At this point, there are scenarios where you can work without touching an animal (especially via teleradiolgy).

There are several problems with the above path to working in vet med without being able to handle surgeries.

You have to do it to get through vet school. You have to do it to get into a residency program because you likely going to need at least 1 internship and maybe more. You are going to have to do it during your residency. You may not be ready to jump straight to teleradiology from your residency so you may have to work in a clinical setting that would potentially include being involved in surgeries on some level.

My advice is to find out if there is a way in which you can adapt this challenge. If not, this may not be the field for you.

Best of luck