Registered Veterinary Technician
If you love your furry friends, and desire a profession that’s in demand, a registered veterinary technician might be what your looking for. The job has a prerequisite of only 2 years of university to obtain your associates degree and it does not require multiple years of schooling and costly monetary investment that is required of veterinarians.
Becoming a registered veterinary technician gives you a professional advantage. It means greater recognition with 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 hands on training. More work related experience is important for those who want to become a registered veterinary technician but did not complete a two year veterinary college program
The registered veterinary technician can perform the same job functions 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 normally work in a veterinary office or clinic. Your work day would consist of 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 tasks required for lab testing. You also might help 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. You must be detail oriented and a decision maker. You must be able to read your medical chart writing to prevent any mistakes during treatment. 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 obtain a job as a registered veterinary technician you must have a two year Associate’s Degree, which you should seek from a technical school that is approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). The course curriculum will consist of general study courses in math and business as well as other veterinary related courses in areas such as zoology, anesthesiology, pharmacology, animal nursing, surgical principles, comparative anatomy, public health and more. You will need to do volunteer work or intership duties to obtain on the job experience. You will usually perform job duties while being supervised by a veterinarian while applying everything you’ve learned in school.
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