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Veterinarian Job Description Template, Duties, and Requirements

By VeterinaryHire Team Published
A veterinarian in navy scrubs listens to the chest of a golden-brown mixed-breed dog on a stainless steel exam table while a veterinary technician in teal scrubs steadies the dog.

A veterinarian job description should name the practice type and species, say what the doctor will do on a typical day, state the license and DEA requirements, and give a real pay range with the pay structure spelled out. It should also say how much mentorship, CE, and on-call duty comes with the job, because those are the terms veterinarians compare between offers. The template below covers all of it. Copy it, replace everything in [brackets], and delete what doesn't apply.

This guide is mainly for practice owners, medical directors, and practice managers writing an associate listing. If you're a student or career changer who wants to know what veterinarians do and what it takes to become one, skip to the sections near the end on what a veterinarian does day to day and what it takes to become one.

Before you write: four decisions

Which species and caseload? Small animal general practice, emergency, mixed animal, equine, or exotics. Most veterinarians filter on this first.

New graduate or experienced? A new graduate needs a mentorship plan. An experienced associate wants to know how much surgery, dentistry, or internal medicine you'll hand over.

How will you pay? Straight salary, base plus production (often called ProSal), or straight production. Decide this before you post, because it changes the pay range you can advertise.

What's the schedule? Days per week, shift length, Saturdays, and whether the job includes on-call or emergency duty. Put it in the listing.

Associate veterinarian job description template

Job title: Associate Veterinarian, [Small Animal / Mixed Animal / Emergency], [New Graduates Welcome, if true]

Location: [Practice name], [City, State]

Pay: $[XXX,XXX] to $[XXX,XXX] base, or [XX]% production with a guaranteed base

Schedule: [Full-time, four 10-hour days, one Saturday in four / five 8-hour days, no on-call]

About us

[Two or three sentences a veterinarian would care about. Number of doctors and support staff per doctor on a typical day. Caseload and species. Anything specific: AAHA accredited, Fear Free certified, in-house specialists, a new building, doctors who have stayed more than five years.]

Example: "We're a three-doctor small animal practice with two credentialed techs and two assistants per doctor. We see about 18 appointments per doctor per day, plus a surgery day each week. Our newest associate joined two years ago."

What you'll do

  • Examine, diagnose, and treat dogs and cats [and other species] on wellness, sick, and urgent appointments
  • Perform [spays, neuters, mass removals, dental extractions, and other soft tissue procedures]
  • Interpret [digital radiographs, in-house bloodwork, cytology, and point-of-care ultrasound]
  • Prescribe medications, including controlled substances, under your own DEA registration
  • Explain diagnoses, treatment plans, and estimates to clients
  • Keep complete medical records in [practice management software], finished the same day
  • Direct and teach the technicians and assistants working with you
  • [Take part in the on-call rotation / see walk-in emergencies during business hours]

[Keep this to the six to ten things that fill most of the week. If the job includes dentistry or orthopedic surgery, say how much.]

Mentorship and support

  • [A structured mentorship program for the first [X] months, with a named mentor and weekly case rounds]
  • [Reduced appointment schedule for the first [X] weeks]
  • [Access to a board-certified specialist for case consults]

What we offer

  • Pay: $[XXX,XXX] to $[XXX,XXX] base, or [XX]% production with a guaranteed base. [Production is calculated on [collected / billed] revenue. No negative accrual.]
  • $[X,XXX] annual CE allowance plus [X] paid CE days
  • Professional liability insurance, state license fees, and DEA registration paid by the practice
  • [AVMA and state VMA] dues paid
  • Health insurance, with [XX]% of the employee premium paid by the practice
  • [Retirement plan] with [X]% employer match
  • [XX] days of paid time off per year
  • [Student loan repayment of $[X,XXX] per year / signing bonus of $[XX,XXX] with a [X]-year commitment / relocation allowance]
  • [On-call pay of $[XXX] per shift plus [XX]% of emergency production]

What you'll need

Required:

  • DVM or VMD from an AVMA COE accredited college, or ECFVG or PAVE certification
  • A [State] veterinary license, or eligibility to get one before your start date
  • A DEA registration for [State], or the ability to get one before you start prescribing

Preferred:

  • years of [small animal / emergency / mixed animal] experience [or: New graduates welcome, and we'll mentor you]
  • [Interest in dentistry, surgery, ultrasound, or another area you want to grow]
  • [USDA accreditation, if you sign health certificates for travel or interstate movement]

Physical requirements and work environment

This job requires standing for most of a [10]-hour shift, lifting and restraining animals up to [40] pounds alone and heavier patients with help, and working with sharps, anesthetic gases, radiation, and animals that may bite or kick. We provide [PPE, dosimetry badges, and low-stress handling equipment]. Reasonable accommodations are available for qualified candidates.

How to apply

[Apply through VeterinaryHire / email a CV to name@practice.com]. We reply to every applicant within [X] business days. Our process is a phone call with our medical director, then a paid shadow or working day.

Why each section matters

Pay range

Veterinarians compare offers on numbers, and many states now require them in the listing. Colorado, California, Washington, New York, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont, Hawaii, and Washington, D.C. require pay ranges in job postings, with employer-size thresholds that differ by state (Jackson Lewis, February 2026). Virginia (July 1, 2026), Maine (July 29, 2026), and Connecticut (October 1, 2026) joined them this year, and Delaware follows on September 26, 2027 (Bradley, July 2026; Jackson Lewis, September 2026).

To set the range, start with public data:

Benchmark Figure Source
Median annual wage, all veterinarians (May 2025) $130,100 BLS
25th to 75th percentile (May 2025) $101,460 to $166,120 BLS
90th percentile (May 2025) $215,700 BLS
Average starting pay, Class of 2026, full-time jobs $131,784 AVMA
Average starting pay, Class of 2026, private practice $133,056 AVMA

The BLS figures come from the OEWS profile for veterinarians. They cover employed veterinarians only, not practice owners or contract relief vets. The new-graduate figures come from the AVMA's 2026 Senior Survey, previewed in AVMA News on October 8, 2026. Adjusted for inflation, the Class of 2026 average was $127,046 in 2025 dollars.

State pay varies a lot. Use the BLS state and metro data, which our veterinary salary guide summarizes, rather than the national median.

Pay structure

Say how pay works, not just how much. Among 2024 graduates who took full-time practice jobs, 67.4% were paid a base salary plus a production bonus, 31.7% a salary only, and 1.0% straight production (AVMA, Economic State of the Veterinary Profession 2025). The AVMA says associates on straight production typically earn 18% to 21% of production, not more than 25%, and that under ProSal the base should be realistic, not a lowball number (AVMA).

If you pay production, state the percentage, whether it's based on billed or collected revenue, and whether there's negative accrual. A line like "no negative accrual" is a concrete reason to apply. Our guide to veterinary production pay works through the math.

Benefits veterinarians compare

The AVMA's 2026 Census of Veterinarians found that the most common benefits offered were CE expenses (80.0%), license fees (79.2%), paid vacation (74.6%), and association dues (71.4%). When asked which benefit they most wanted and didn't have, the top answer was student loan repayment (AVMA News, October 2026).

That last point matters for new graduates. The Class of 2026 averaged $227,588 in veterinary school debt among those who had any, and 43.3% owed $200,000 or more. Among graduates who took full-time jobs, 58.7% got a signing bonus, 34.6% a moving allowance, 19.9% student loan repayment, and 10.8% extra pay for emergency cases (same source). If you offer loan repayment, put the dollar amount in the listing.

Spell out these too:

  • CE. A dollar amount and a number of paid days. "CE support" without a number tells a candidate nothing.
  • Liability insurance. Say whether the practice pays for the doctor's professional liability policy. Coverage for AVMA members, long known as PLIT, is now offered through AVMA Insurance Services via the AVMA PLIT risk purchasing group, and the policy is not legally required but many boards and contracts expect it.
  • License and DEA fees. A DEA practitioner registration costs $888 and lasts three years (21 CFR 1301.13). State license fees and renewal cycles vary.
  • On-call terms. How often, whether it's phone only or in person, and what it pays. Only about one in ten 2026 graduates in full-time jobs got emergency case pay, so a practice that pays for call has something to advertise.

Mentorship

For new graduates, mentorship is the main reason they pick one offer over another. About 85% of new graduates surveyed by the AVMA said mentorship was why they chose the offer they took (AVMA News, November 2023). The AVMA economist who presented the data advised practices to put mentorship in the job ad. Say what it is: who the mentor is, how long it lasts, and whether the schedule is lighter at first.

Noncompete and other restrictive terms

If your contract includes a noncompete, it shapes who applies. The Federal Trade Commission's 2024 rule banning most noncompetes never took effect. A federal court set it aside, and on September 5, 2025, the FTC voted to drop its appeals (FTC). Five days later, the FTC sent warning letters to healthcare employers urging them to review noncompetes and make sure they're appropriately tailored, and called enforcement against unreasonable noncompetes a top priority (FTC, September 10, 2025).

State law decides what's enforceable. California voids noncompete clauses in employment contracts that don't meet a statutory exception (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 16600), and Minnesota voids most employee noncompetes (Minn. Stat. 181.988). The AVMA describes a common restrictive covenant as a radius covering 80% of the practice's patient base, for one to three years (AVMA). Have an employment attorney in your state review the contract before you post.

Variations

Emergency veterinarian. Add triage, stabilization, CPR, transfusions, and hospitalized case management to the duties. State the shift pattern (for example, three 12-hour overnights), the number of doctors on the floor, whether specialists are on site, and how production works on emergency fees. Give the overnight or holiday differential and a typical caseload per shift.

Mixed animal veterinarian. Split the duties by species and give the rough share of each. Say whether the job includes farm calls, which truck and equipment you provide, how after-hours calls are shared, and whether you need the doctor to hold USDA Category II accreditation for herd work and health certificates.

Relief or part-time veterinarian. Give the day rate or hourly rate, minimum shift length, how shifts are offered, and whose DEA registration covers controlled drugs on shift. Our relief veterinarian guide covers contractor status and the DEA questions to settle before the first day.

Medical director. Keep the clinical duties and add the leadership ones: setting medical protocols, running doctor meetings, mentoring associates, controlled substance oversight, and working with the practice manager on staffing. State the split between clinical and administrative time, any stipend on top of production, and who the medical director reports to.

What a veterinarian does day to day

Veterinarians care for the health of animals and work to protect public health. Most work in private clinics and hospitals. Others travel to farms or work in laboratories, classrooms, or zoos (BLS).

In a small animal general practice, a typical day includes:

  • Appointments. Wellness exams, vaccines, and sick visits, with a technician or assistant helping.
  • Surgery and dentistry. Usually in the morning on surgery days, with technicians running anesthesia.
  • Diagnostics. Reading radiographs, bloodwork, urinalysis, and cytology, and deciding what to run next.
  • Client communication. Explaining findings, giving estimates, and calling owners with results.
  • Records and callbacks. Writing up each case and handling prescription refills and follow-up questions.
  • Hospitalized patients and walk-ins. Checking on patients in the treatment area and fitting in urgent cases.

The hours are long for many. In O*NET's survey of veterinarians, 56% said their typical work week is more than 40 hours (O*NET).

The outlook is strong. BLS projects employment of veterinarians to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,100 openings a year (BLS).

What it takes to become a veterinarian

A veterinary degree. You need a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from an accredited college. The University of Pennsylvania awards the equivalent VMD. The AVMA Council on Education (COE) accredits DVM programs in the U.S. and Canada, plus some colleges abroad, and keeps the official list of accredited colleges. Graduates of non-accredited schools enroll in the AVMA's ECFVG or the AAVSB's PAVE program and pass its first exam before a board will approve them for the NAVLE (ICVA).

The NAVLE. The North American Veterinary Licensing Examination is required for licensure in every U.S. and Canadian jurisdiction. It has 360 multiple-choice questions and is offered during set testing windows each year (ICVA).

A state license. A veterinarian needs a license in each state where they practice (AAVSB), and each state board sets its own requirements on top of the NAVLE. Employers can verify a license through the AAVSB lookup, which points to each state board.

DEA registration. To prescribe, administer, or dispense controlled substances, a veterinarian needs a DEA registration. It's tied to a state license, and a separate registration is required for each principal place of practice where controlled substances are dispensed (21 CFR 1301.12). A registration based on one state's license doesn't cover practice in another state (DEA). Check whether your state also requires its own controlled substance registration.

USDA accreditation, where relevant. Veterinarians who perform accredited duties for the USDA, such as issuing health certificates for pets traveling abroad (APHIS), need accreditation through the National Veterinary Accreditation Program. Category I covers mainly companion animals, and Category II covers all animals, including livestock, horses, and birds (APHIS). Accreditation is renewed every three years with three units of approved training for Category I or six for Category II (9 CFR 161.3).

Optional: internship, residency, and board certification. Some veterinarians do a one-year internship and a residency to become board-certified specialists. The Class of 2026 interns averaged $59,436 and residents $54,988 (AVMA News), well below private practice pay.

Common mistakes

  • "Competitive salary" instead of a range and a pay structure
  • Production pay with no percentage, no basis (billed or collected), and no word on negative accrual
  • "Mentorship available" with no detail on who, how long, or how
  • No schedule, or on-call duty that only comes up in the interview
  • A generic duty list that doesn't name the species or caseload
  • A noncompete you haven't checked against your state's law

Next steps

When your description is ready, post it on VeterinaryHire. You can write and preview the listing before you choose a plan, and it goes live as soon as checkout finishes. For the rest of the process, from sourcing to the offer, see how to hire a veterinarian and where to post veterinary jobs. For pay benchmarks by state and practice type, see our veterinary salary guide. For production terms, read veterinary production pay explained. To book short-term coverage while you hire, see the relief veterinarian guide.

If you're a veterinarian or a new graduate comparing practices, browse veterinary jobs on VeterinaryHire.

Sources

This is practical hiring guidance, not legal advice. Pay transparency, noncompete, licensing, and controlled substance rules differ by state, so confirm them with your employment attorney and state board before you post. Sources checked October 16, 2026.