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Clayfield Veterinary Clinic

Supporting International Vets – Sabrina

Many of you will have met, and been very impressed by, Sabrina.

We were fortunate enough to employ Sabrina back in 2018 in the role of Veterinary Nurse. Sabrina, however, was, in fact, a fully qualified Veterinarian in her home country of Brazil.

She came to Australia with the intention of making this country her home. A common thing for many young professionals to do.

The process that Sabrina and her veterinary colleagues must complete to have their qualification recognised and achieve registration in Australia is unbelievably arduous and expensive.

Understandably, a competence in English is required and this requires passing an English Examination. Once this is passed, they can then register to sit the Preliminary Examination at a cost of $455. This is a written exam that covers all areas of Veterinary Science, comprising a paper on general knowledge and a paper that involves applying one’s specific knowledge and clinical judgement (across 6 animal species – dogs, cats, cattle, sheep, horses and pigs). It is held ONE day a year in April. The cost of sitting this examination is $3050. If you withdraw more than 4 weeks before the exam, you still get charged $760 and if you withdraw within 4 weeks you get nothing back.

The next step is the Final (Clinical) Examination which consists of multiple (16) examinations over 5 days. It tests knowledge and understanding of disease and animal management under Australasian conditions and includes assessment of practical skills including animal handling and basic surgical procedures, again across all 6 species. This examination is held, also, just once a year in November. The cost to sit this examination is $8240. If you withdraw more than 12 weeks ahead of the exam, you still need to pay $1900. If you withdraw within 12 weeks of the exam, you get nothing back.

Clayfield Veterinary Clinic - Supporting International Vets - Sabrina
So, in a nutshell, these fully qualified Veterinarians cannot hope to work as Veterinarians in Australia for a minimum of 1 year, assuming they manage to be able to afford and sit both examinations (and pass) within 12 months. Even though many of them will be small animal veterinarians only, they must educate themselves in Australian livestock production and keep themselves current across the range of species not only in terms of theoretical knowledge but also practical knowledge (there is a big difference between whelping a dog and calving a cow…). Covid put a further spanner in the works in terms of the candidate’s ability to attend exams (lockdowns) and to do the prac work necessary to keep oneself current across the range of species.

Sabrina’s tenacity, determination and hours and hours of study were rewarded when she learnt in July 2022 that she had passed everything and is now able to work as a Veterinarian in Australia. We are very happy for her but also sad to lose such a wonderful member of our team. She is now working with our neighbouring practice at Wilston and we know she will be amazing.

Clayfield Veterinary Clinic - Supporting International Vets - Carla
And, to our delight, we now have Carla, a veterinarian who graduated in Mexico in 2017. Carla has, like Sabrina, joined us in the role of Veterinary Nurse. It will be our pleasure to support her as she embarks on the journey to Australian qualification. In Mexico she worked mainly with horses, so she can definitely teach all of us a thing or two also!