Italian vet working in Switzerland..... is it possible?

Hi everyone,

Myself (English) and my partner (Italian) are looking at relocating from the UK, to Switzerland. We are wondering how easy and if it would be possible to work as a vet in Switzerland with an Italian veterinary degree?

My partner is desperate to move back to Italy to have a better quality of life, better weather, nicer food etc.... (he is fed up of the UK!) but there is little to no chance of working as a vet, successfully, in Italy; hence why we have decided to look into working and living in Switzerland close to the Italian border.

How much of a necessity is it to know the French or German language? Could we cope with only knowing English and Italian?

Also I am a veterinary nurse... Do these exist in Switzerland? Or would I have to look at doing something else

Any advice would be appreciated please!!!

Thankyou!

I guess it also depends on the reasons why he's got no chance of working as a vet in Italy, too. Switzerland is renowned for being sticklers for qualifications and bits of supporting paperwork.

If you are sticking to the Italian part then you should get by with just Italian as a language but elsewhere in Switzerland you would need at least French and/or German.

First off he would have to get his qualifications recognised here in Switzerland. This is the organisation to contact.

Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH)
MEBEKO
CH-3003 Bern
T +41 58 462 94 83
ww.bag.admin.ch
[email protected]

Whether you need to do the same I don’t know, but you can ask FOPH and they’ll be able to tell you.

If you move down to Ticino as Sandgrounder says you/he should be okay with just Italian and English, but again check with FOPH since language skills are part of the recognition process. But elsewhere in Switzerland you will need either French or German or possibly both depending on where you’re thinking of moving to.

Don't bet on it.

I would expect any doctor or vet to speak French or German as well, if not both.

Tom

Caveat: I am not a vet, nor do I in any way, shape, or form have any inside information. I'm just a customer. But because I have a lot of mutts and spend a great deal of time seeking veterinary care, I've met, and chatted with, a lot of vets.

Throughout the years we've been treated by several Italian-educated vets; I would guess finding work here likely boils down to your qualifications (and getting them recognized) your area of specialization, your language skills, your experience to date - and your network.

The Italian vets I've met were working at the Tierspital (Uni ZH) pursuing further specialization, at the AOIC (oncology specialist center) on an educational exchange, as outside specialists partnering with private practices, in the practice that serves as the area 24/7 ER, and as general vets in private practice.

FYI, of the many vets I have seen over the years I'd say at least half are not Swiss.

So the question for you to focus on - what do you bring with you that would be of interest to a Swiss practice? Concentrate on that.

As you no doubt know, language and communication skills are paramount in veterinary medicine. Your clients, the owners, want to speak in the language they are most comfortable in. For instance, although I speak German I insist on speaking English with my vets, to do the best for my dogs I must ensure that there is little chance for misunderstanding. Most of the vets I have met are multi-lingual for that very reason - it's good business.

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A veterinary nurse in the UK sense might be a bit different, but would likelyfall under TPA, Tierpraxisassistant. If I understand the system correctly, one can specialize or seek further qualifications as well. You can read up about what a TPA does here, see how closely this aligns with your education and experience: (In German and French.)

https://www.gstsvs.ch/de/tiermedizin...entin-tpa.html

By the way, the GSTSVS site would also have contacts/relevant information for your partner.

(I don't know any Italian, so I've used the German terms.)

German would be pretty useful for the tourists and the people who retire there.

Speaking from what I have seen with my daughter who studied and graduated here in Zurich she had a real problems getting a job.

Lots of vet practices here are 1 man practices so they might take another vet part time which isnt easy to live on the money that they are paid.

My daughter speaks English, German , Italian , French and Spanish

There are some vets that studied abroad so it's just a matter of having the diploma recognised by MEBEKO.

Veterinary assistant is the equivalent of your position I think ( https://orientamento.ch/dyn/show/1900?id=18 ), maybe you can have your diploma recognised as well.

It will be difficult to find work though, and opening a private practice comes with its own risks. But being a couple you could work together and cut down costs I guess.

Language-wise it would be better to know some german or you might lose some 5% of possible clients, but I wouldn't say it's essential like it is for a doctor.

Reality is that Swiss clients expect to be able to speak their own Swiss language with a doctor or other professionel.

Italian will work for most people here, but there are plenty of German speakers, and dialekt speakers (especially among farmers, who would be your main clients), and unless you are used to Lombardian Italian dialekt, you will be at a loss, so keep this in mind. (I am friends with a local farmer who is Swiss German, but who speaks to me in Italian dialekt)

Tom

Vets tend to specialize in either livestock or domestic animals and they don't usually cross functions.

A domestic animal vet should be fine with only Italian. A livestock vet as you say needs more specialized language skills.

Although overall there are fewer of those. So if they are desperate, they will take what they can get!

[QUOTE=miniMia;2854443]

A domestic animal vet should be fine with only Italian. A livestock vet as you say needs more specialized language skills.[QUOTE]

Can I ask where abouts in Switzerland would be fine with just the Italian language?

Thanks for your reply! :-)

Can I ask where abouts in Switzerland would be fine with just the Italian language?

Thanks for your reply! :-)

Where we all sort of said, down in Ticino canton which is the only official Italian speaking canton in Switzerland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Switzerland

Not only Ticino, the Grisons are also officially Italian speaking, and part of Valais is also Italian speaking, though it's not an official language there.

From your link: "the canton of Graubünden is officially trilingual".

Tom

So at least two, possibly three, cantons to choose from though you’d probably need either French in Valais or German in Grisons as well as Italian.

He'll be fine in Ticino. Tom just likes to show how integrated he is.

Is he a livestock vet or a domestic animal vet?

Yes, but they are the BEST cantons!

BTW, where does the most successful Swiss band of all time come from?

Tom

I would hazard a guess that he might be better off in the majority Italian-speaking valleys of Graubunden, possibly fewer "Swiss" immigrants than in Ticino.

Huh? Where?

Since I don’t know of any Swiss band that been successful at all - no idea.