Registered Veterinary Technician
If your an animal lover, and your hoping for a rewarding career, a registered veterinary technician might be what your looking for. To work in this profession only 2 years of university to get your associates degree and you do not need multiple years of schooling and large amount of money that is demanded of veterinarians.
Becoming a registered veterinary technician provides you with a professional edge. It means greater prestige among other vet techs and vet clinics and offices. Registered veterinary technicians have better job certainty and more job advancement opportunities.
Registered Veterinary technician certification requirements are different for various states, but general requirements include a a two-year associate degree and up to three years on the job training. More work related experience is important for those who desire to become a registered veterinary technician but did not complete a two year veterinary college program
The registered veterinary technician can do a lot of the same things as a veterinarian can except diagnose, subscribe prescription medications, and perform surgery. Its similar to the duties that a nurse performs who works with a medical doctor. You will usually work in a veterinary office or clinic. Your job tasks would include making appointments, filling out medical records, or updating current patient records. You will work with animals of all kinds and sizes. You may help in blood draws or collecting specimens and other items needed for lab testing. You also might assist in surgery, taking x-rays, or pet grooming, or even giving vaccinations.
Because there are various responsibilities, a registered veterinary technician needs to be able to handle multiple tasks efficiently while providing satisfactory care to patients. Decision making skills are very important, as is attention to detail. Medical charts must be concise and legible so mistakes during treatment do not occur. A love for animals is essential for anyone pursuing a degree in veterinary technology. You will spend most of your time around animals and should have a patient misdemeanor for animals under stress or illness, as well as their owners.
If you like to work outdoors or with wildlife you could work at a zoo or wildlife park. Zoos employe many registered veterinary technicians to perform the following tasks, prepare special diets for animals, and taking care of sick animals. Humane Societies that are professionally staffed, usually in larger cities, often hire veterinary techs with a two year Associate’s Degrees to help in taking care of the various abused or abandoned animals that come to them. This can be a rewarding job that involves a great deal of work in the healthcare field.
To get a rewarding career as a registered veterinary technician you must have a two year Associate’s Degree, which you should obtain from a technical school that is approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). The school courses will consist of general study courses in math and business as well as more veterinary related courses in areas such as zoology, anesthesiology, pharmacology, animal nursing, surgical principles, comparative anatomy, public health and more. Volunteer work is required or graduate fellowship duties to obtain on the job experience. In most instances you will perform job duties while being supervised by a veterinarian while applying everything you’ve learned in school.
