Why Become a Veterinarian?

Charlotte Lacroix, DVM, JD, editor-in-chief of American Veterinarian, discusses what drives veterinarians to be veterinarians.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability)

"What’s important to veterinarians, which is what’s always been important to veterinarians, what drives veterinarians to be veterinarians, what I think drives students to become veterinarians, or to enter into veterinary school, is love for animals and caring for animals, and helping pet owners and [helping forge] the human-animal bond. I think that’s what we’ve always been focused at, which is why it’s still one of the most fulfilling professions out there.

Some of the most important things for veterinarians is taking care of their patients, helping ensure that they have client compliance, also animal welfare in general, whether that’s dealing with pet owners [who] are disadvantaged and/or animals that are disadvantaged either because they’re abandoned or they’re rescues or [live] in animals shelters and we need to provide homes for them.

I do think that some of the greatest things about being veterinarians are some of the things that we’ve always done and we can certainly continue to do them. And we [take into consideration] the animal population issues, [the fact that] clients are more demanding than they used to [be], and medical care is far more expensive; as a result of that, sometimes it’s harder to provide the care that we really need to provide because the client can’t always afford the high technology that is required to provide some of the care that’s being provided."