Do You Love Animals Enough to Work With Them?

Great Careers Start Here
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Cats and kittens, puppies and dogs, gerbils, hamsters, and tropical birds. Pets are family members, aren’t they? If you love animals as much as we do, then maybe you’re cut out for a career as a Veterinary Assistant. You’d get to spend every day with the critters you love, doing a job that helps them to live healthier, happier lives. Here’s what you’d do as a Vet Assistant:

Help the Veterinarian: Just like the title implies, your most important role as a Veterinary Assistant will be to take instructions from Veterinarians and help them treat their furry, feathered, or scaly patients. You’ll be their right hand man or woman, assisting with surgeries and procedures and helping in the front office. You may need to restrain an animal during an examination or while they’re given shots. You may need to help with the collection of blood, urine, and tissue samples.

Be A First Point-of-Contact: Just like human patients, animals need an introduction to their doctor. You could be the first one to see the patient. It might be your job to speak to the owner for an early assessment of what’s going on and what brings them to the office. You might take an animal’s temperature and weigh them before you get them ready for the doctor.

Take Care of the Animals: A big part of your job might be to feed, bathe, and even exercise the animals. You may need to care for them after surgery and procedures and keep track of their vitals. And you’ll probably be in charge of cleaning up after them and keeping their cages or kennels disinfected and clean.

Maintain Examination Rooms and Sterilize Equipment:  You love animals, so you’d never want to do anything that could cause them harm—even if it’s unintentional. That’s why cleanliness is critical. That means using appropriate sanitation and disinfectant methods to be certain that cross-contamination never makes one of those precious pets sick.

Provide Emergency Treatment: Under certain emergency circumstances, you’re allowed to use your knowledge to help save an animal’s life. Wow! Imagine that? First aid for sick or injured animals can give them just enough time to make it to the Vet for more intensive treatment.

If the thought of spending every day with the animals you love makes you happier than a puppy on a farm, find out how to train for a career as a Veterinary Assistant at Charter College. We offer a Veterinary Assistant Program at our Oxnard campus that you could complete in as little as 10 months and it even includes a 180 hour externship where you’ll get some experience with an actual Veterinarian. Fill out the form and we’ll be in touch to answer all your questions.