Begin Your Veterinary Technician Career

Veterinary technicians can work in a wide range of animal healthcare related fields. They need to perform their duties under the direct supervision and guidance of veterinary doctors. As a veterinary technician, you can seek employment in facilities such as animal hospitals, clinics, research facilities, animal shelters, zoo, wild life rehabilitation centers, food and safety inspection facilities, food and drug manufacturing companies, diagnostic laboratories, bio medical facilities, aquariums, etc.

Duties and Responsibilities of a Veterinary Technician

As a veterinary technician, you need to perform various duties, such as give medications, walk patients during the time of need, feeding, cleaning, administer IV fluids, draw blood, place IV catheters, perform or assist treatments, etc. You will also be responsible for inducting anesthesia, maintain and clean anesthesia equipment, monitoring and maintain the recovery of patients, etc. surgical preparations, maintain, sterilize, and clean all surgical instruments, assist doctors, etc are the responsibilities of veterinary technicians in surgical ward. Relating to dentistry of animals, they need to perform duties such as provide the dental care of patients, take dental radiographs, assist veterinarian with dental surgery, ultrasonic polishing and cleaning, etc.

As a veterinary technician, you also need to perform lots of laboratory and radiology duties such as preparing, collecting and submitting samples of requested tests, recording and reading results of ear cytology, urines, fecals, positioning the patients and taking radiographs, etc. Besides, you must also need to prepare invoices, client information packs, and discharge instructions. Preparing prescriptions, medication refills, dispensed medications, assist with inventory control, unpack, order, restock drugs and medical supplies, admit and discharge patients, book appointments, answering phones, prepare, restock, and clean exam room, take history of vitals, etc are some of the other duties and responsibilities of a veterinary technician. If you are seeking employment in research facilities, you will be responsible for doing various duties, such as preparing samples for lab examinations, administer medications, record information on animals’ weight, diet, genealogy, food intake, medications, clinical signs of distress and pain, etc. You must also need to communicate with pet owners regarding pet loss, billing, preventive health, etc.

As a veterinary technician, you are also responsible for promoting the health of animals, livestock management, wildlife medicine, disaster preparedness, biosecurity, etc.

Work Environment

The work environment of veterinary technicians is emotionally and physically demanding, and sometimes unpleasant and dangerous. There is also a chance of developing work related illnesses and injuries. They must also need to clean cages, hold, lift, or restrain animals, etc. The risk of exposure to scratches or bites is also very high. You must take necessary precautions when you treat animals with insecticides or germicides. The working atmosphere will be very noisy.

Veterinary Technician Training

If you want to work as a veterinary technician, you must have at least an associate degree from veterinary technician schools. This is a 2 year training program and the course covers topics such as:

* Veterinary technology,
* Animal parasitology,
* Animal anatomy and physiology,
* Veterinary office management,
* Microbiology,
* Zoology,
* Genetics,
* Chemistry, biology, physics, etc.

American Veterinary Medical Association is the accreditation agency for the programs of veterinary colleges. You can also enroll in a bachelor degree program in veterinary technology, which takes four years to complete. If you want to become a veterinary technician or technologist, you must complete your high school education in biology, science, and math courses.

Certification and License

After the successful completion of an associate or bachelor degree program from an accredited institution, you can appear for a certification examination for becoming licensed veterinary technician. The examination includes written, oral, and practical portions. Appropriate State agency or the State Board of Veterinary Examiners are the regulatory authorities of the examination. If you earn high scores in National Veterinary Technician exam, you can become a certified, licensed, or registered veterinary technician. If you are seeking employment in research facilities, certification from American Association for Laboratory Animal Science is essential. Assistant Laboratory Animal Technician is the lowest and Laboratory Animal Technologist is the highest level of certifications. If you are interested in online veterinary technician schools, many also offer work-school options.

Veterinary Technician Salary

The veterinary technician salary depends on various factors, such as experience, certification, location, size and types of practice, etc. As per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, a veterinary technician can earn around $31,030 per year (2010 data). If you are seeking employment in research centers, you can earn around $41,490 per year.