Veterinary Assistant

Please refer to the current Continuing Education Schedule of Classes for upcoming dates and times.

Becoming a Veterinary Office Assistant is a rewarding career in a growing field. As a Veterinary Office Assistant you can work with animals and be part of a professional veterinary staff, nature center, wildlife center, or animal sanctuary. Students in the Veterinary Office Assistant program will learn about the care of animals as well as how to recognize signs of illness and disease. The program also covers interpersonal communication, interaction with clients and their animals, as well as assisting the veterinarian during examinations. Administrative duties, such as fee collection, banking, and accounts payable will be emphasized, and the student will learn basic information about pet insurance.

The Veterinary Office Assistant program is a vital asset to the student who wishes to work in this exciting and rewarding career field. The program includes the individual courses of Small Animal Care and Management, Veterinary Assisting, Wildlife Rehabilitation, Secretary and Receptionist Skills Training and QuickBooks.

Veterinary Assisting

Learn how to interact with animals and their owners, obtain animal health histories and records, understand veterinary medical terminology, recognize the major breeds of various animals, assist the veterinarian with caring for animals, assist with surgical and treatment procedures, recognize signs and symptoms of illness and disease, and perform administrative duties in the veterinarian office.

A textbook is required.

Course Length: 144 hours

Course work includes:

  • Housing
  • Sanitation
  • Restraining
  • Medical terminology
  • Anatomy/physiology
  • Diseases
  • Parasitology
  • Pharmacology
  • Basic surgical assisting
  • Record keeping
  • USDA/OSHA regulations
  • Ethics
  • Laws
  • Medical terminology
  • Client relations
  • Veterinary office administration techniques
  • Basic lab procedures
  • Radiology
  • Emergency and nursing care
  • Behavior
  • Dentistry
  • Anesthesia
  • Surgical assisting

Secretary & Receptionist Skills Training

This course will help you master the essentials of managerial and staff support. You will be trained to understand information and records management, communications technology, travel and meeting coordination, space planning, and office ergonomics in addition to Microsoft Office Professional 2010.

Course Length: 90 hours

Small Animal Care & Management

This course is designed to prepare students for an entry-level position as a professional animal care technician. Course topics includes proper use and care of professional grooming tools, basic small animal anatomy, animal safety, handling/controlling small animals, parasite recognition, animal first aid, and skin disorders.

Course Length: 42 hours