Veterinary Medicine Merit Badge Requirements

Requirements

1. # Copy link to requirement 1
   Discuss with your counselor the roles a veterinarian plays in the following:
   1. # Copy link to requirement 1.a
      Companion or small animal medicine, and equine medicine
   2. # Copy link to requirement 1.b
      Food animal or large animal medicine
   3. # Copy link to requirement 1.c
      Exotic animal medicine
   4. # Copy link to requirement 1.d
      Marine animal medicine (mammal and fish)
   5. # Copy link to requirement 1.e
      Poultry medicine
   6. # Copy link to requirement 1.f
      Wildlife medicine and aquaculture medicine.
2. # Copy link to requirement 2
   Discuss with your counselor the roles a veterinarian plays in the following:
   1. # Copy link to requirement 2.a
      Public health medicine and zoonotic disease surveillance and control
   2. # Copy link to requirement 2.b
      The military
   3. # Copy link to requirement 2.c
      Food safety and inspection
   4. # Copy link to requirement 2.d
      Laboratory animal medicine and research
   5. # Copy link to requirement 2.e
      Teaching and government.
3. # Copy link to requirement 3
   Describe the training required to become a veterinarian. Where is the veterinary medical college in your state or nearest to you? Describe the prerequisites for applying to veterinary school.
4. # Copy link to requirement 4
   Tell your counselor what a registered veterinary technician (R. T. V.) or animal health technician (A. H. T.) is. Describe the training required to become an R. V. T. or A. H. T. Where is the school or facility for R. V. T. or A. H. T training in your state or nearest to you? Describe the role an R. V. T. or A. H. T. would play in assisting a veterinarian working in three of the practice types listed in requirement 1.
5. # Copy link to requirement 5
   Discuss with your counselor the role a veterinarian plays in the human-animal bond.
6. # Copy link to requirement 6
   Do ONE of the following:
   1. # Copy link to requirement 6.a
      Visit a veterinary clinic, hospital, or veterinary referral teaching hospital that does work in one of the practices listed in requirement 1. Spend as much time as you can observing the veterinarians and their staff. Prepare a presentation on what you observed and learned at the facility and share with your counselor.
   2. # Copy link to requirement 6.b
      Spend as much time as possible with a veterinarian who works in one of the fields listed in requirement 2. Learn what special training beyond veterinary medical school may have been required for that position. Learn about any special or unusual activities required of this position. Prepare a presentation and share what you have learned about this field of veterinary medicine with your counselor. Include how this field serves the needs of the general public.
7. # Copy link to requirement 7
   Select one career from any of the lists in requirements 1 or 2. Discuss the following with your counselor:
   1. # Copy link to requirement 7.a
      Why would one choose this particular career field?
   2. # Copy link to requirement 7.b
      What would you like about this job?
   3. # Copy link to requirement 7.c
      What would be the biggest challenges in doing this job?
   4. # Copy link to requirement 7.d
      What to you has been the most surprising aspect of this job?
   5. # Copy link to requirement 7.e
      What continuing education requirements are required to maintain certification for this job?