Are you the type of person who has a genuine love for animals? Are you pretty sure that you will only be able to be professionally satisfied if you pursue a career path that is related to this love of animals? Are you trying to decide which profession would allow you to start on your work fairly quickly, instead of attending school for the next several years? Or, perhaps you want to begin working and gaining some relevant work experience before you return to school to further your level of education? No matter which of these fits your specific career path, one thing is for sure – you will want to consider a career as a veterinary assistant.
It is important to understand that as a veterinary assistant your specific job duties will greatly depend upon your place of employment. For instance, while some places of employment may require you to mostly work in the front office, other places may want you to work in the front office of the veterinary office, as well as within the clinical area. Generally speaking, you will need to be able to do whatever your supervising veterinarian requests of you. After all, your primary goal will be to assist the veterinarian in whatever possible manner that will make his or her job much easier. Should you be requested to work within the clinical area of the veterinarian clinic you can expect to spend much of your time cleaning and disinfecting the cages or areas that the animals have used or are currently using. In addition, you can expect to be required to care for the animals that are at the veterinary clinic, to feed them, and to keep them with fresh water. Get started today and get started on your veterinary assistant degree program.
You may also be expected to conduct laboratory testing such as blood tests, x-rays, drawing blood, or other simple tests that the veterinarian feels are necessary. Or, you may be asked to help with surgical type procedures that need to be conducted; in some cases you may need to help during the procedure and following the procedure. This may require you to administer medications, to ensure that the animal is improving after the procedure is completed, and to provide general care following the procedure. Should you be required to operate the functioning of the front office of the veterinary clinic you will have a different set of expectations. For instance, it will be crucial that you are well versed on the different products that are sold within your establishment, that you are able to converse with the customers regarding services or problems they are dealing with in regards to their pets, that you can accurately answer common or general questions that a customer may have, that you can handle scheduling appointments for your veterinarian, and that you can make general recommendations for your customers. In many cases if you decide to further your level of education it may be possible for you to maintain your current employment while also attending school in a related degree program.