Veterinary assistants and veterinary technicians

Answer 1

The Veterinary Assistant may have training through a high school, college certificate program, or through a distant learning program over the internet. Most however are trained on the job by the veterinarian or the veterinary technician. Their role is to assist the veterinarian or the veterinary technician in their daily tasks as well as some basic setting up of equipment and cleaning of key areas in the clinic like the surgery suite. Some may be asked to do kennel cleaning and janitorial work as well. There is no credentialing exam for the veterinary assistant.

Answer 2

If you love animals, and have experience working with them, but you don't want to spend several years in school training as aveterinarian, you might want to consider training to be a paraveterinary technician.

These occupations, which include veterinary technicians, veterinary assistants or veterinary technologist, assist vets with lab work, preparing animals, administering medicines, and office work. Your particular tasks will depend in part on where you work, and the needs of the vet you work with. All three occupations require a high school diploma, and typically, two years of college training.

A veterinary tech assists veterinarians in practical tasks. These tasks may include preparatory procedures, observing, dressing and cleaning wounds, treating trauma, tracking vital statistics, catheterizing, assisting with surgeries, taking samples for lab tests, and performing laboratory testing, as wells as assisting with animals.

A veterinary assistant typically works most often in the back office, dealing with billing and other paperwork, assisting owners with setting appointments, ordering supplies, etc. In many areas, paraveterinary technicians can train in a specialized field, and be formally certified for expertise in equine or small animal practice, radiology, or surgery.

There are many schools, including community colleges, that have specific programs where you can train to be a veterinary technician. The best programs combine classroom work with hands-on practical experience at a vet clinic or hospital and at the end of eighteen months or two years, you'll have earned an associate's degree. You'll want to look into whether or not the school is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). There are some schools that have a four-year B.S. in Veterinary Technology. This degree usually includes classes that are especially weighted towards the sciences, like animal anesthesiology, animal physiology, Biology, chemistry, lab procedures, microbiology, parasitology, pharmacology, radiology, and surgical assisting. It's a good idea to take mathematics, communication studies, a second language (especially one that's likely to be common in your area), and classes in business management and accounting. As with a Veterinary Technician degree, you'll want to find a school that includes hands-on practical experience in labs and with animals.

Your local vet may have some suggestions for you as well, and may know about good schools in your area. Keep in mind that practical experience, even before you start school, will help enormously; volunteer at a local kennel, animal shelter, veterinary clinic, or shelter for practical experience before you apply to schools. Some further sources of information include the Academy of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Technicians and the Academy of Veterinary Technician Anesthetists.