Special thanks to Robertson College for providing this information regarding becoming a veterinary assistant.
 |
| source |
If you love animals and have a flair for customer service,
becoming a veterinary assistant might be the right career choice for you. Veterinary assistants work one-on-one with
the animals in veterinary clinics but they also work directly with pet owners. Because of this, it is important to not only
be comfortable dealing with animals but you also must have excellent people
skills.
What Will You Learn as a Veterinary Assistant?
When you take a diploma course to become a veterinary
assistant you will learn everything you need to start in an entry-level
position in a veterinary clinic. Some of
those skills include:
- Nursing skills
- Emergency medicine for animals
- Lab procedures
- Cleaning and disinfecting animal holding areas
- Sterilization of lab equipment
- Post-operative animal care
- Administering medication
- First Aid and basic CPR
- Office procedures
Most veterinary clinics focus on working with small animals
but you may also have the opportunity to work with large animals if you find
employment in a rural community where horses, cows, and
other livestock are common.
The veterinary assistant will help the veterinarian in
working with the animals and keeps the office running smoothly by dealing with
paper work, submitting forms, helping pet owners fill in forms, and other
clerical duties.
What is the Job Outlook for Veterinary Assistants?
Over the past few years there has been a larger demand for
veterinary assistants. Even with an
economy that has had a large degree of fluctuations, people still own pets and
those pets need proper medical care.
People tend to look at pets as part of the family so they want to make
sure that they are healthy and taken care of.
How to Get Started
If becoming a veterinary assistant is something that is of
interest to you, start by looking for schools that offer a diploma
program. Speak to someone at the school
about what is involved in getting enrolled, how long the course it, the cost,
and the benefits that the school can offer.
Veterinary assistants can enjoy a rewarding career working with animals
and their owners.
This information was provided and sponsored by Robertson College.
Being a vet assistant is a good job but you do have to be good with people too. And it must be hard to see the animals get sick and have to go to the bridge. But vet assistants are my favorite people at the vets. They do take such good care of the animals when they have to stay there at the clinic.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's pretty important to be good with people too for this.
DeleteThis is such a critical position in a practice/clinic. It's the frontline person in the clinic to pet parents and the public and it's a tough, fast paced job...this based on watching the folks I have worked with at the clinic attached to the shelter. Lots of respect for vet assistants and the vet techs!
ReplyDeleteVery fast-paced occupation... with so many different job descriptions too. I'm always amazed at the number of different things vet assistants are trained to do.
DeleteI'm sure it's an interesting job and I'm glad for good veterinary assistants. They take the time to explain you medications and they are those who take you in her arms when you got bad news.
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to help our her vet friend in Germany when there were emergencies or if she just needed a helper. Mom absolutely loved it, especially surgery. She didn't want to go back to school in order to get a job here, so that idea is gone, but it is a great job if you like that kind of thing and want to get the training.
ReplyDeleteMost of my co-workers never went to school to be a vet assistant. But that does seem to be changing significantly at this time.
DeleteMummy wishes she'd done something like that instead of her current career path, but it's hard to stop and restart your path when you have financial commitments
ReplyDeleteI know the feeling Misaki. I've finally accepted my career transition just recently.
DeleteIf only I had read this about 15 years ago :-) Great article!
ReplyDeleteHey, there is still time Katie!
DeleteMy dream as a child was to become a Veterinarian. Needless to say, my life went another direction :\
ReplyDeleteBUT my oldest daughter says that is what she wants to be! SO I will help her however I can!
((husky hugz))
frum our pack at love is being owned by a husky
My daughter says the same thing. Especially when this was my occupation. She always said she wanted to do what I did.
Deletegrate post shiner...we noe yur mom can ree late.....de food serviss gurl wood loves two due sum thin like thiz but her all sew noes her wood be a wee cryin babee when de animalz came in sick or hurt....her getz upset bout that stuff quik.....
ReplyDeleteYea, you have to have good composure sometimes. I am not a super emotional person, and while those things were sad I was still able to hold it together very well. I did work with another technician who was very emotional, and it put quite a damper on the whole work environment.
DeleteWe are so thankful for the kindness of the Vet Techs.
ReplyDeleteIt must be quite a varied day.
ReplyDeleteI think I have excellent people skills, but this is not something I'd want to do. I think dog people are the best in the world, but a few views would bother me and I'd stress out too much. I met this one woman whose dog was so fat that she was practically walking on her ankles. While talking to this woman, she kept pulling treats from her pocket and giving them to her dog. A friend of mine pointed out the overweight problem and the woman said, "Oh, but she loves treats so much!" My friend replied, "You are killing your dog with love! Can't you see how much it hurts her to walk on her feet like that?" Did the woman listen? Not at all. She just kept making excuses. This kind of thing makes me want to pull all my hair out with frustration. I have a lot of appreciation for you vet techs out there who can deal with this sort of thing on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteYou're right Dawn, this sort of thing is so frustrating. People bring their animals to the vet all the time, and some of them just refuse to listen to what the vet's say even though they are paying for their services. It takes a special skill to be able to handle situations like the one you mentioned above.
Deleteit certainly takes a special type of person to do this job,but not for me can't abide stupidity and Lot of pet owners just don't listen and to me that is just stupidity,so are you going back to it some day?xx Rachel
ReplyDeleteYou are right Rachel. I like to think I will, but maybe not for a while. My current situation doesn't really allow for both me and my boyfriend to work. It's hard to find an affordable babysitter and one of our checks would probably go to childcare, so it's just not worth it to me right now. Maybe when Violet is in school.
Delete