Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretaker Feed, water, and examine pets and other nonfarm animals for signs of illness, disease, or injury in laboratories and animal hospitals and clinics. Clean and disinfect cages and work areas, and sterilize laboratory and surgical equipment. May provide routine postoperative care, administer medication orally or topically, or prepare samples for laboratory examination under the supervision of veterinary or laboratory animal technologists or technicians, veterinarians, or scientists.
Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretaker is Also Know as
In different settings, Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretaker is titled as
- Animal Care Provider
- Animal Caregiver
- Avian Keeper
- Certified Veterinary Assistant
- Emergency Veterinary Assistant
- Inpatient Technician Assistant
- Kennel Vet Assistant (Kennel Veterinary Assistant)
- Research Animal Attendant
- Small Animal Caretaker
- Veterinarian Assistant (Vet Assistant)
Education and Training of Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretaker
Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretaker is categorized in Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed
Experience Required for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretaker
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Education Required for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretaker
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Degrees Related to Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretaker
- Bachelor in Veterinary/Animal Health Technology/Technician and
- Associate Degree Courses in Veterinary/Animal Health Technology/Technician and
- Masters Degree Courses in Veterinary/Animal Health Technology/Technician and
- Bachelor in Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians,
- Associate Degree Courses in Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians,
- Masters Degree Courses in Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians,
Training Required for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretaker
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Related Ocuupations
Some Ocuupations related to Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretaker in different industries are
- Veterinary Technologists and Technicians
- Animal Caretakers
- Medical Assistants
- Paramedics
- Phlebotomists
- Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
- Surgical Assistants
- Emergency Medical Technicians
- Nursing Assistants
- Home Health Aides
- Veterinarians
- Emergency Medicine Physicians
- Physician Assistants
- Pharmacists
- Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians
- Physicians, Pathologists
- Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians
- Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists
- Registered Nurses
- Clinical Nurse Specialists
What Do Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretaker do?
- Monitor animals recovering from surgery and notify veterinarians of any unusual changes or symptoms.
- Administer anesthetics during surgery and monitor the effects on animals.
- Clean, maintain, and sterilize instruments or equipment.
- Administer medication, immunizations, or blood plasma to animals as prescribed by veterinarians.
- Provide emergency first aid to sick or injured animals.
- Clean and maintain kennels, animal holding areas, examination or operating rooms, or animal loading or unloading facilities to control the spread of disease.
- Hold or restrain animals during veterinary procedures.
- Perform routine laboratory tests or diagnostic tests, such as taking or developing x-rays.
- Fill medication prescriptions.
- Collect laboratory specimens, such as blood, urine, or feces, for testing.
- Examine animals to detect behavioral changes or clinical symptoms that could indicate illness or injury.
- Assist veterinarians in examining animals to determine the nature of illnesses or injuries.
- Prepare surgical equipment and pass instruments or materials to veterinarians during surgical procedures.
- Perform enemas, catheterizations, ear flushes, intravenous feedings, or gavages.
- Prepare feed for animals according to specific instructions, such as diet lists or schedules.
- Exercise animals or provide them with companionship.
- Record information relating to animal genealogy, feeding schedules, appearance, behavior, or breeding.
- Educate or advise clients on animal health care, nutrition, or behavior problems.
- Perform hygiene-related duties, such as clipping animals' claws or cleaning and polishing teeth.
- Prepare examination or treatment rooms by stocking them with appropriate supplies.
- Provide assistance with euthanasia of animals or disposal of corpses.
- Perform office reception duties, such as scheduling appointments or helping customers.
- Dust, spray, or bathe animals to control insect pests.
- Write reports, maintain research information, or perform clerical duties.
- Perform accounting duties, such as bookkeeping, billing customers for services, or maintaining inventories.
- Sell pet food or supplies to customers.
- Groom, trim, or clip animals' coats.
- Place orders to restock inventory of hospital or laboratory supplies.
Qualities of Good Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretaker
- Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
- Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
- Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
- Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
- Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
- Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
- Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
- Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
- Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
- Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
- Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
- Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
- Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
- Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
- Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
- Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
- Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
- Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
- Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
- Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
- Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
- Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
- Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
- Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
- Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
- Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
- Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
- Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
- Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
- Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
- Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
- Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
Tools Used by Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretaker
- Animal nail clippers
- Animal razors
- Animal restraints
- Balling guns
- Bandage scissors
- Benchtop centrifuges
- Bite gloves
- Blood collection syringes
- Chemical sterilizers
- Commercial dryers
- Commercial washing machines
- Desktop computers
- Digital cameras
- Digital veterinary thermometers
- Digital veterinary x ray equipment
- Electric animal clippers
- Electronic animal scales
- Evacuated blood collection tubes
- General purpose laboratory test tubes
- Glass beakers
- Handheld refractometers
- Hematology analyzers
- Injection syringes
- Intravenous IV administration sets
- Label printers
- Laboratory forceps
- Laptop computers
- Lead aprons
- Lead gloves
- Mechanical stethoscopes
- Microchip readers
- Microhematocrit centrifuges
- Microscope slides
- Multi-line telephone systems
- Muzzles
- Optical compound microscopes
- Personal computers
- Pill counters
- Retriever PACS
- Specimen collection containers
- Stationary veterinary x ray equipment
- Steam autoclaves
- Suture scissors
- Tourniquets
- Urine analysis equipment
- Urinometers
- Veterinary anesthesia machines
- Veterinary blood pressure cuffs
- Veterinary immersion hydrotherapy equipment
- Veterinary vaccination syringes
- X ray cassettes
- X ray film processors
Technology Skills required for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretaker
- IDEXX Laboratories IDEXX Cornerstone
- Labeling software
- McAllister Software Systems AVImark
- Medical software
- Microsoft Access
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Word
- Practice management software PMS
- Scheduling software
- Word processing software