Veterinary Assisting
Career Diploma

Follow an animal care specialist's typically busy day in an animal hospital - and get a sense of what accomplishments are possible in your own work with animals.

How to admit, treat, test, and comfort animals with illnesses or emergency injuries.

Technical and administrative opportunities in animal hospitals, shelters, research facilities, pet stores, zoos, wildlife programs, livestock management, breeding, farms, ranches, guide dog programs, and other areas.

Dealing with patients and owners; administering tests and recording results; giving vaccinations; taking histories; "nose-to-tail" exam procedures; getting various animal patients to cooperate.

How sick, injured, and healthy animals communicate their conditions via body language and symptoms.

The moral and legal obligations of veterinary professionals; principles of conduct; relationships with colleagues and peers; advertising guidelines; giving advice to owners.

Anatomical divisions, positions, and locations; cells and tissues; eyes and ears; the skeletal, muscular, nervous, circulatory, lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, endocrine, urinary, and reproductive systems.

Housetraining; preventing destructive behavior in dogs and cats; problem resolution services; restraint techniques for various kinds of animals; mechanical devices.

Inflammation and response to injury; pathogens; the immune response; husbandry; vaccination and preventive medication; sanitation; pre-disposition to disease; epidemiology; food hygiene; zoonotic diseases.

Hematology; collecting and handling blood specimens; evaluating blood cells, platelets, coagulation, and hemostasis; examining bone marrow; automated hematology; hematopoietic disorders; diagnostic parasitology.

Blood chemistry; sample collection; liver, kidney, pancreas, muscle, electrolyte, protein, and other assays; cytologic exams, equipment, and procedures; urinalysis; immunology and serology tests; quality control; accuracy and reliability.

Drug names; dosage forms; calculating drug dosages; dispensing, storing, and handling medications; routes of administration; absorption and action of different types of drugs in the body.

Radiography; x-ray anatomy; radiographic equipment, darkroom techniques, and safety; fluoroscopy; contrast studies; diagnostic ultrasound; endoscopy; colonoscopy.

Anesthesia fundamentals; the six key steps of anesthesia; anesthetic monitoring; inhalation anesthetic techniques.

. Basic surgical terminology; preoperative and postoperative considerations; aseptic technique; preparing the operative site, surgical team, and instruments; sutures.

Managing specific wound types, healing, contamination, infection, and closure; managing bandages, splints, and casts.

Oral anatomy; periodontal disease, therapy, surgery, and prophylaxis; home dental care; food and chew toys; orthodontics; nutrition and feeding of dogs, cats, and livestock.

Sample collection; drug administration; catheterization; general nursing care; respiratory and nutritional support; grooming; skin, nail, anal sac, and ear care; rehabilitation.

Grooming; hoof picking; fly control; feeding; watering; nasogastric intubation; bedding; exercise; collecting blood samples; administering medications to horses, cattle, goats, and sheep; bandaging; monitoring patients.

Cage birds; bird behavior, anatomy, restraint, grooming, and exam techniques; administering medication; poultry; feeding, housing, and treatment techniques of small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish.

Examining, caring for, and restraining wildlife; returning captive animals to the wild; marine mammals; husbandry and care of rodents; neonatal puppies, foals, and calves; considerations in geriatric patients.