Who is a Veterinary Assistant?
Who is a Veterinary Assistant?
Have you ever faced a situation where you are walking by the road and for instance you see a dog suffering from injury and that aches your heart? As a responsible citizen you would want to assist the dog but do you know you could also be professionally equipped to help such animals? Yes, you can do so by opting for a career as a veterinary assistant. You can professionally assist, test, diagnose as well as treat the animals who need help in the role of vet asst.
In a career as a Veterinary Assistant, one is responsible for taking care of the animals under the supervision of a veterinarian or veterinarian technologist. He or she is responsible for feeding, bathing and exercising animals, and restraining them during testing and treatment. The veterinary assistant also does the lab work such as drawing blood and collecting urine samples for the veterinarian to conduct several tests for the diagnosis and treatment of the animal.
Veterinary Assistant in a Nutshell
A career as a veterinary assistant can be very exciting for people who have love towards animals and the ones who want to contribute to the animal's well-being. However, it is a serious job as one is dealing with a patient who cannot express the pain in human language. There are several career opportunities available in the veterinary field.
Nowadays, people have increasingly started to adopt animals as there has been a big explosion in the pet care market as products like pet foods, hand-sewn clothes, and several such things have grown in the market. Not only that but there are several animal care NGOs that have opened in the past and continue to grow where volunteers rescue animals and get the injured ones treated.
What is the role of Veterinary Assistant?
Are you searching for a veterinary assistant job description? A veterinary assistant is an entry-level job role that comes in the first line of veterinary care, taking on responsibilities such as managing the daily needs of animals like feeding, bathing, and exercising the animals. Preventing animals during inspection and procedures, assisting with unsafe medical procedures. Veterinary Assistant also carries out functions like disinfecting systems and kennels, arranging medical appointments with pet owners, washing machines, and surgical rooms, monitoring the health status of animal patients for example their weight or temperature, and educating pet owners.
A career as a veterinary assistant comes with the responsibility of providing assistance to veterinarians with more advanced skills such as medication administration, processing laboratory samples, and performing medical examinations like x-rays. A Veterinarian is often employed by veterinary clinics and veterinary hospitals, sometimes working nights, weekends and holidays to meet the needs of their veterinary patients.
Monitoring
One of the major duties of a veterinary assistant is to monitor the health graph of the animal. He or she has to take care of the animal's health by noticing things like how the animal is responding to the treatment provided or the medicines given. Not only that a veterinary assistant is also responsible for taking care of the animals' health and monitoring their activities after surgery.
Assistance
The role of the veterinary assistant is to assist the veterinarian and the veterinary assistant during the process of treatment. One has to work in a similar way a nurse works in a hospital. A veterinary help in carrying out surgeries and conducting tests. He or she also bathes the pet before and after the surgery as well as whenever it is necessary.
Comforting
One of the major role of a veterinary assistant is to be a person who can help and comfort the animal in pain. He or she must attend to an animal with first aid before a veterinarian arrives. A veterinary assistant also has to calm and soothe anxious patients in order to ease their pain.
Ensuring cleanliness
A place that promotes healthcare whether for humans or animals must be clean. The role of veterinary assistant is to maintain the cleanliness of all the machinery that is used for conducting tests for diagnosis. Not only that he or she is also responsible for maintaining a clean living environment for the animal. A veterinary assistant has to clean and disinfect the cages, and kennels as well as maintain the operating room.
Testing
A veterinary assistant has to conduct several diagnostic tests on the patient. It is the primary and one of the most important jobs as a correct diagnosis of the problem will only help in providing the right solution for the animal. It is a challenging task as animals cannot explain their troubles to the veterinary assistant. He or she collects blood, or tissue samples in order to conduct several tests.
Types of a Veterinary Assistant
Now, you better know what is a Veterinary Assistant and what does a Veterinary Assistant do? We will provide you each every piece of information and clear your doubts to support you in opting for a successful career as a Veterinary Assistant. Here are some of the types of a Veterinary Assistant or Veterinary Assistant career options in the veterinary field assistant. In order to become a certified veterinary assistant you are required to possess a B.V.Sc. degree from a recognized college.
Veterinary Receptionist: Several veterinary hospitals hire professionals in the field of veterinary as their receptionists. The veterinary receptionist acts like an extra player in a sports team. His or her primary job is to take care of the receptionist work but in cases of emergency or in situations where there is no veterinary assistant one could take over and provide assistance to the animal by providing first aid.
Veterinary Sales Manager: There are several sales companies that sell animal products. These companies prefer hiring professionals from the field as they are the ones who have a better understanding and knowledge of animals and their requirements. An individual who is looking for a job that is inclined towards the business side can apply for such companies.
Veterinary Assistant: One can begin in the healthcare field as an assistant and can provide assistance to the veterinarian as well as the veterinarian surgeon in carrying out several tasks. An individual is required to clean, maintain and monitor the health of the patient. One is required to inform the health conditions of the patient both the pet owner as well as the veterinarian.
Veterinary Supervisor: A Supervisor is the one whose responsibility is to keep a check on several veterinary assistants that are working. He or she is responsible for maintaining a record of work details as well as which assistant is responsible for which patient. Not only that, but he or she also keeps a check on the assistant's capabilities and assigns the work accordingly.
To know more about the career such as how to become a Veterinary Assistant and Veterinary Assistant courses, you are required to keep scrolling and jump to the next section to read the entire article.
What is the workplace/work environment of Veterinary Assistant like?
A career as a veterinary assistant provides varying workplaces depending on the organization such as a veterinary office, a school, or in a research centre. A Veterinary Assistant will be spending much of the time in kennels, outdoor enclosures, labs, along with operating rooms. Some of the patients might be aggressive or some might be frightened.
There can be a risk of being bitten or scratched. Wearing protective clothing can help prevent this but these veterinary clinics run on a very tight budget. The work can sometimes also become unpleasant. One may have to assist veterinarians when they euthanize animals and dispose of remains and console the grieving owners. Some patients can also be victims of abuse or will be very ill.
Does Veterinary Assistant require travelling?
Not Likely
The job of a veterinary assistant does not require much travelling unless he or she is a part of the para-veterinary field. A person who is a part of the para-veterinary field keeps travelling from place to place in order to help the animals in need by assisting a physician.
Employment Shifts
Full Time
In most cases, veterinary assistant jobs are full-time jobs, where the individual works under a seasoned veterinary doctor.
Employment Nature
Contractual, Permanent
The nature of employment of a veterinary assistant is full-time in nature. Unless one is from the para-veterinary field as he or she is a part of the veterinary care system. One works for this system on a full-time basis but he or she is sent to assist a physician for a specific amount of time. Therefore, from that point of view, the work becomes contractual in nature.\
Work Place
hospitals, NGOs
Veterinary assistants often work in animal clinics or hospitals. Some of them also work in NGOs that take care of animals.
Presence in Geographical Area
Rural, Semi-urban, Urban
A veterinary assistant generally works in an urban or semi-urban location. Since animal healthcare units have hardly opened in rural areas. But, a para-veterinary can be sent to work in any kind of location. Since there are hardly any animal healthcare clinics in rural areas. A veterinary assistant mainly works in urban or semi-urban locations. In case of requirement, a para-veterinary might be called in a rural area for providing assistance.
Time Pressure
Likely
Time pressure is considered moderate in the career of a veterinary assistant. There are no fixed working hours for a veterinary assistant. Ideally, he or she should work for 9-10 hours but the working hours often get stretched depending on the requirement.
Overtime Details
Working overtime is quite common in jobs for veterinary assistants. A veterinary assistant works from 9-10 hours a day. The work hours can also stretch depending on the requirement. For instance, if a patient needs special care one may have to work extra hours.
Weekly Hours of Work
Min 50 Hours
A veterinary assistant works from 9-10 hours a day. The work hours can also stretch depending on the requirement. For instance, if an animal needs special care then one may have to work extra hours.
How to become a Veterinary Assistant?
Steps to become a Veterinary Assistant
If you love animals, are compassionate about them and want to do something for them when they are injured and helpless then opting for a career as Veterinary Assistant is the best career option for you. If you are planning a full-time career in taking care of animals or pets and looking for how to become a veterinary Assistant then this can be helpful for you as we have discussed a few steps on how to become a Veterinary Assistant in India.
If you love animals, are compassionate about them and want to do something for them when they are injured and helpless then opting for a career as Veterinary Assistant is the best career option for you. If you are planning a full-time career in taking care of animals or pets and looking for how to become a veterinary Assistant then this can be helpful for you as we have discussed a few steps on how to become a Veterinary Assistant in India.
01Step
Identify Skills
If you are looking for how to become a Veterinary Assistant then you must have some of the relevant skills, both soft skills and technical skills. We have mentioned below both the skills that are required to become a Veterinary Assistant.
Some of the soft skills that are required to become a Veterinary Assistant are monitoring, active listening, service orientation, social perceptiveness, problem sensitivity, manual dexterity, and emotional resilience.
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Service Orientation
- Social Perceptiveness
- Problem Sensitivity
- Manual Dexterity
- Emotional Resilience
Some of the technical skills that you should possess to become a Veterinary Assistant are machinery and lab equipment, software to schedule appointments, performing diagnostic tests, x-ray and surgery.
- Machinery and lab equipment
- Software to schedule appointments
- Perform diagnostic tests, x-ray and Surgery
02Step
Enrol In Formal Training/Course
If you are looking for how to become a Veterinary Assistant then your 10+2 major subjects must be Biology, Chemistry, and Physics and must pass from a recognised board of India. You must opt for a bachelor's degree followed by a Master's degree. We have provided below the entrance examination, bachelor's degree and master's degrees.
What are the skills and qualities required to become a/an Veterinary Assistant?
If you want to know How to become a Veterinary Assistant and what are Veterinary Skills. You are required to keep reading this section as skills are one of the most important veterinary assistant requirements There are several skill sets required for a career as a Veterinary Assistant.
Communication Skills: A veterinary assistant must have a good command of his or her language. It is important for his or her job position to be able to explain their message to the recipient clearly and precisely. Being able to communicate well eliminates the probability of errors being caused due to any sort of miscommunication between the veterinary assistant and the veterinarian. It is essential to be a good listener in order to communicate well.
Decision-making skills: It is essential that a flight engineer is decisive in nature. There are several instances where a flight engineer is supposed to make decisions about the aircraft. He or she needs to be calculative as well as decisive about the decisions made as well as calculate the risks in taking those decisions. It is a field where no risks can be taken therefore everything needs to be done with precision.
Attention to Detail: A veterinary assistant is expected to have extremely high attention to detail. It is important in his or her job position that he or she does not miss out on anything while treating an animal. One needs to keep a close monitoring eye on the animal and the recovery process.
Service orientation: For any individual who wishes to be a part of the healthcare industry it is important that he or she is service-oriented. One must have the inner urge to help a person in need therefore it is one of the primary skills required to be a veterinary assistant.
Critical thinking: After the diagnosis of a patient the next step is to choose the treatment process. One must be able to decide how he or she is going to go about it. A veterinary assistant must rationally compare the options available, critically think about them, and then choose to go with the one which promises a better outcome.
Career Path Progression for Veterinary Assistant
Junior Veterinary Assistant: A Junior Veterinary Assistant is a professional taking care of the animals under the supervision of a veterinarian or veterinarian technologist and a senior Veterinary Assistant. A Junior Veterinary Assistant feeds, gives baths, and does exercise the animals and cleans and disinfects the cages, kennels, and examination and operating rooms.
Senior Veterinary Assistant: A Senior Veterinary Assistant is an experienced professional who controls the animals during examination and laboratory procedures and performs the tests. A Senior monitors and take care of animals after surgery and provides emergency first aid to animals.
Veterinary Assistant Jobs and Salaries
Junior Veterinary Assistant
Monthly Salaries
- Average Salary 20000
Job Description
The Junior Veterinary Assistant job description includes maintaining and sterilizing surgical instruments and equipment and assisting in the collection of urine, tissue or blood samples.
Salary Description
An entry-level Veterinary Assistant salary in India ranges between Rs 0.2 Lakhs to Rs 6.8 Lakhs with an average annual salary of Rs 2.4 Lakhs per annum. Junior Veterinary Assistant salary in India may vary depending on the various job factors like skills and experience of the candidates, job location, and others.
Senior Veterinary Assistant
Monthly Salaries
- Average Salary 30000
- Job Description
The Senior Veterinary Assistant job description includes providing medication and immunizations to animals and examining the signs of clinical symptoms or behavioural changes. A Senior Vet performs Aseptic assistance in surgery and treats animals who are sick and mistreated.
Salary Description
The estimated Veterinary Assistant salary in India ranges from Rs 2.0 Lakhs to Rs 12.0 Lakhs with an average annual salary of Rs 4.3 Lakhs per annum. Senior Veterinary Assistant salary may vary depending on the various job factors.
What is the job outlook for Veterinary Assistant?
In India, the veterinary field is still growing, the job growth is more significant for the veterinarian in a private setting than for a veterinary assistant. Therefore, the para-veterinary field is a great opportunity for a candidate who wishes to be a veterinary assistant in terms of job growth. However, research-based organizations have better job growth opportunities for veterinary assistants. Veterinary is a low-stress job in comparison to the other healthcare fields. People around the globe have increased expenditures on all kinds of pets.
According to a study, 51 per cent of millennials would rather have a pet than have a kid. Mostly dogs and cats are being adopted at an increasing rate. Therefore, several healthcare centres solely for animal healthcare are opening in India. Several new job opportunities are available for professionals in veterinary health care. Veterinary healthcare has advanced at a great speed and several veterinary services are comparable to human healthcare. The field is expected to advance and grow even more in the coming years.
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