Like human physicians, veterinarians in private practice have certain duties (responsibilities) as well as "duties of care" as outlined by their licensing board.
General / daily duties (responsibilities) of veterinarians include:
- to assess well (healthy) animals
- to provide routine health protective measures, such as vaccines
- to provide routine grooming that can have health consequences to animals, such as cutting claws to allow for normal walking on the foot pads
- to guide, assist, and educate owners in how to keep pets healthy
- to assess for in-bred or genetic deformities or health issues
- to assess the effects a genetic defect will have on the future health of an animal
- to treat conditions related to a genetic defect
- to assess ill (sick) animals
- to diagnose and treat illness from conditions or diseases
- to treat acquired conditions such as kidney failure after ingestion of a poison
- to treat acquired diseases, such as Diabetes
- to use diagnostic tools and interpret diagnostics (lab work, X-Rays)
- to know how to prescribe common medications in correct doses
- to know when to collaborate with other veterinarians
- to refer to another veterinarian or Vet Specialist when needed
"Duties of care" and "routine daily duties" (which are two separate things), often overlap or are entwined. For example, a veterinarian who failed to do a particular test (diagnosis is a routine duty) when the clinical picture is unclear (i.e. he can't decide what's wrong by examining the animal) may also breach his professional "duty of care".
Veterinarians who are not in private practice can have a variety of duties, from ensuring humane handling of animals to verifying the food safety program of a slaughter plant to investigating disease outbreaks to performing sound research.
