I'm not sure which of the interested parties to address this to. In
regards to this "debate" concerning BVSc vs. DVM, I have some input.
First of all, my qualifications: I'm in veterinary school in the US
(at Oklahoma State University's College of Vet Med, halfway through
earning my DVM). Prior to enrolling there, I investigated several other
vet school options in other countries as I am fluent in French and
thought it might be a good experience to spend those years overseas.
So while I'm not an expert per se, I think my background gives me
some good footing for contributing. Okay, with that out of the way...

Sukie, in other countries, the Bachelor of Veterinary Sciences degree
IS the degree that qualifies people as a veterinarian. They have gone
through all of the medical training and are qualified to be called
doctors. What you are referring to is the path to being called a doctor
in academia and non-medical fields, where you need a PhD to be a
doctor. In the MEDICAL world right here in the U.S., the term "doctor"
does not require a PhD (ie doctorate). Indeed, I can tell you with
100% certainty that our own veterinary doctors here in the U.S. do
not go through the full sequence you listed (bachelors degree -->
undergraduate/bachelors --> graduate/masters --> doctorate/PhD.
Being almost through with the process, I know. I obtained my bachelor
of science in animal science (pre-veterinary subspecialty) and then,
the same as 90% of the people in my class, did not obtain a masters
degree but went straight into veterinary school and am in the process
of obtaining my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. Human doctors
do the same thing...you can go from an undergrad degree straight to
medical school. Once they are out of medical school, they are qualified
as doctors. (Yes, they do go on to get further training, but they ARE
doctors once they complete medical school.) It is NOT a sequence of
"did not obtain masters degree, do not pass go." In the MEDICAL field
(because this is the exception to what Sukie listed...outside of the
medical field, she was correct), you complete the appropriate schooling
program to obtain the medical knowledge and are then qualified as a
doctor. In the U.S. for veterinarians the degree is the DVM. In many
other countries, the degree is the BVSc. It is just a difference in the
way their system works. They do not, however, miss out on extra years
of schooling as Sukie was proposing. Their bachelor's degree (in the
BVSc program) is centered exclusively on veterinary learning. In the
U.S., your bachelor's degree could be in art history or some completely
irrelevant field and you can still get into vet school as long as you
do complete the basic prerequisites with exceptional grades. (There are
also basic prerequisites in these other countries to be admitted to the
BVSc program, by the way.) It is not until you get into the DVM program
that you actually get down to centering on veterinary learning. So
both ways, the veterinarian winds up with 4 years of exclusively
veterinary-centered learning. If it would make you more comfortable,
Sukie, you can just call someone with a BVSc degree a "veterinarian"
instead of a "doctor," but know that they are every bit as qualified
as our veterinarian doctors of vet med here in the U.S.

I hope this clears up some of the confusion.
-Jennifer

[Posted in FML 5632]