Veterinary education

Along with veterinary medicine, veterinary education, faces major changes and new challenges. Owners of pet animals and farm animals are becoming more and more demanding over the years. Many diagnostic and therapeutical techniques only used in human medicine, have become available for veterinary use. Techniques such as echography, scintigraphy, arthroscopy & laser surgery are commonly used in today's veterinary medicine. As for farm animals the treatment of the herd is gaining interest over the individual animal. Consumers of food of animal origin demand high quality. Concepts such as "stable to table quality assurance" and "total quality control" are quite new to the veterinary profession.

The main objective of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Ghent University is to provide academic education and professional training so that veterinarians easily adapt their services to the fast changing demands of society.These services include the medical care of animals and the research into all domains related to medicine and animal welfare.

Because of the wide variety of the studies veterinarians can be employed in many different branches of professional life:

As a veterinary practitioner for pet animals or horses, emphasizing examination and treatment of the individual animal.
As a farm animal practitioner, where treatment of groups of animals and herd health control are of major importance.
As a veterinarian in the field of pharmaceutical industry and animal feed industry.
As a veterinarian serving public health
As a veterinarian in diagnostic laboratories (private and public).
As a veterinarian in research and education.

At the faculty, veterinary medicine is taught to an average of 1400 students over the six year curriculum. In the sixth year students can choose one out of five different options: Small animal medicine, Horse medicine, Ruminant medicine, Pig, Poultry and Rabbit medicine and Research & Industry.

The research activities at the faculty in the different disciplines of Veterinary Medicine receive both strong national and international recognition. The different research topics can be found at the description of the different departments.