Consider Being a Veterinary Technologist if You Love Animals
This two-year Associate's Degree program is ideally suited to anyonewho is interested in helping animals and wants a steady, reliable jobwithout the long years and heavy investment needed to become aveterinarian. If you love working with animals and are looking for afast track to a career working with them, consider becoming aveterinary technologist.
The duties of a veterinary technologist are very similar to those of a nurse or physician's assistant for a medical doctor.If you work as a veterinary technologist in a veterinarian's office oranimal clinic, you will spend part of your time doing crucial paperworkand part of your time working directly with pets of all shapes andsizes. A typical day might include filling out charts and documents,scheduling appointments and updating patientrecords. Or, you may help in collecting specimens, blood draws and skinscrapings for lab tests. You may even assist in preparing animals, labequipment and instruments for surgeryand other procedures. Other tasks include grooming animals andassisting with routine procedures such as vaccinations, taking x-raysand performing lab tests.
Because there are so many different responsibilities, a veterinarytechnologist needs to be able to juggle many different tasks anddelegate responsibilities effectively. Decision making skills are veryimportant, as is attention to detail. Medical charts must be accurateand readable to avoid the possibility of errors in treatment. A love ofanimals is, of course, essential to anyone pursuing a degree inveterinary technology. You will spend most of your time around animalsand should have a soothing personality for pets in distress, as well as their owners.
There are many career options available for anyone with a veterinarytechnology Associate's Degree. While the majority of graduates willwork in a veterinarian's office or animal clinic, there are also manyopportunities in other areas. If you are interested in medical researchor the sciences, there are many research facilities that rely onveterinary technologists to take care of animals in their biomedicalresearch facilities. In this capacity, you would oversee all work withanimals to make sure humane care is provided and track all researchprotocols for the supervising scientists.
You can combine a love for the outdoors or wildlife with your career byworking at a zoo or wildlife park. Many veterinary technologists workbehind the scenes at zoos doing everything from preparing special dietsfor animals to taking care of newborn animals. Larger cities withprofessionally staffed Humane Societies or SPCA's often recruit vettechs with Associate's Degrees to assist in caring for the many abusedor abandoned animals that come to them. This is a particularlyrewarding but taxing job that involves a great deal of healthcare work.
Many people don't realize that pet food and pet supply companies alsoneed veterinary technologists for their Research and Developmentdivisions. These companies are always looking for ways to improve thequality and appeal of products like dog treats, cat food and pet toys.They need staff members who can work with their products and their"testing panel" of animals to determine what is most attractive andalso healthiest for their target customers.
A career as a veterinary technologist requires a two year Associate'sDegree, which you should seek from a technical school that is approvedby the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). The program willconsist of basic courses in math and business as well as more intensivecourses in areas such as zoology, anesthesiology, pharmacology, animalnursing, surgical principles, comparative anatomy, public healthand more. You will also be required to serve an externship during whichyou'll put what you've learned into practice under the supervision of alicensed veterinarian.
If veterinary technology sounds like an exciting career for you, checkinto various health and business schools in your area. Many of thesewill offer a vet tech program. Also contact animal hospitals, clinicsand veterinarians who can suggest good vet tech programs in your area.
The duties of a veterinary technologist are very similar to those of a nurse or physician's assistant for a medical doctor.If you work as a veterinary technologist in a veterinarian's office oranimal clinic, you will spend part of your time doing crucial paperworkand part of your time working directly with pets of all shapes andsizes. A typical day might include filling out charts and documents,scheduling appointments and updating patientrecords. Or, you may help in collecting specimens, blood draws and skinscrapings for lab tests. You may even assist in preparing animals, labequipment and instruments for surgeryand other procedures. Other tasks include grooming animals andassisting with routine procedures such as vaccinations, taking x-raysand performing lab tests.
Because there are so many different responsibilities, a veterinarytechnologist needs to be able to juggle many different tasks anddelegate responsibilities effectively. Decision making skills are veryimportant, as is attention to detail. Medical charts must be accurateand readable to avoid the possibility of errors in treatment. A love ofanimals is, of course, essential to anyone pursuing a degree inveterinary technology. You will spend most of your time around animalsand should have a soothing personality for pets in distress, as well as their owners.
There are many career options available for anyone with a veterinarytechnology Associate's Degree. While the majority of graduates willwork in a veterinarian's office or animal clinic, there are also manyopportunities in other areas. If you are interested in medical researchor the sciences, there are many research facilities that rely onveterinary technologists to take care of animals in their biomedicalresearch facilities. In this capacity, you would oversee all work withanimals to make sure humane care is provided and track all researchprotocols for the supervising scientists.
You can combine a love for the outdoors or wildlife with your career byworking at a zoo or wildlife park. Many veterinary technologists workbehind the scenes at zoos doing everything from preparing special dietsfor animals to taking care of newborn animals. Larger cities withprofessionally staffed Humane Societies or SPCA's often recruit vettechs with Associate's Degrees to assist in caring for the many abusedor abandoned animals that come to them. This is a particularlyrewarding but taxing job that involves a great deal of healthcare work.
Many people don't realize that pet food and pet supply companies alsoneed veterinary technologists for their Research and Developmentdivisions. These companies are always looking for ways to improve thequality and appeal of products like dog treats, cat food and pet toys.They need staff members who can work with their products and their"testing panel" of animals to determine what is most attractive andalso healthiest for their target customers.
A career as a veterinary technologist requires a two year Associate'sDegree, which you should seek from a technical school that is approvedby the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). The program willconsist of basic courses in math and business as well as more intensivecourses in areas such as zoology, anesthesiology, pharmacology, animalnursing, surgical principles, comparative anatomy, public healthand more. You will also be required to serve an externship during whichyou'll put what you've learned into practice under the supervision of alicensed veterinarian.
If veterinary technology sounds like an exciting career for you, checkinto various health and business schools in your area. Many of thesewill offer a vet tech program. Also contact animal hospitals, clinicsand veterinarians who can suggest good vet tech programs in your area.
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