#foryourveterinaryinterest

[savetstudent]

[savetstudent]

Compulsory Community Service for Graduate Veterinarians in South Africa

As a newly qualified veterinarian, are you required to do compulsory community service for your country before you can start practicing?  

In South Africa we do! 

Compulsory Community Service (CCS) is a fairly new initiative that was started by the South African government a few years ago with the aim of bringing veterinary services to some of the most rural parts of our country that otherwise would have no access to veterinarians or veterinary services.  

South African veterinary graduates are required to do a year of compulsory community service before they can register as full members with the country’s veterinary council and start practicing independently.

Statistics have shown that to educate a veterinary student can cost a university institute up to 4 times more than what the student pays in university fees.        

I am currently in the process of choosing my placement for my year of community service which I will do in 2019. We have to select 15 choices from the list of 150+ that we are provided. I am holding fingers, thumbs and toes to be placed in my home town!! 

I’m very interested to hear about your experiences of community service if you do it in your country or even what you think of our system if you don’t have it where you live.