How to Be a Veterinary Technician

A veterinarian technician is a well-trained professional support staff to the veterinarians or biomedical researchers. He or she is responsible in providing proper animal care and performing veterinary clinical tasks in the work place.

Having a lot of love and passion in the animals are not sufficient for a person to become a veterinary technician. It requires necessary knowledge of how to work with animals and skills to take care of them. As a result, an academic qualification and on the job training are compulsory for a veterinarian technician.

To enter to this profession, there are basically two levels of education and training need to be completed, i.e. a two-year program for veterinary technicians and a four-year program for veterinary technologists. One can only become a qualified veterinary technician or veterinary technologist upon completion of the formal academic program as well as the state-administered certification tests.

Currently, a two-year associate degree program from American Veterinary Medical Association is the most popular educational path for veterinary technicians. This particular program covers core modules in animal health and welfare, veterinary technology, veterinary facility management, animal parasitological, animal anatomy and physiology, etc. Some modules require practical skills and they are taught using live animals in clinical settings.

Those applicants who are interested in this program should have good scores in science, mathematics and biology when they are in high school. This will definitely help them to have better understanding in the studies.

This two-year program is offered either online (through distance learning) or offline by the colleges and universities. The candidates are required to complete their course work and pass a credentialing exam before they are qualified as veterinary technicians. The credentialing exam is called National Veterinary Technician (NVT) exam.

The purpose of this examination is to evaluate the competency level of the candidates. The exam consists of 3 main components, i.e. oral test, written test and practical test. Passing the examination is a MUST to ensure that the veterinary technician or the technologist has sufficient knowledge and skills to perform the necessary tasks in a veterinary clinic or hospital.

The examination is regulated by the State Board of Veterinary Examiners. As a result, different states may have different titles for this profession. The candidates who pass the exam are called Registered Veterinary Technician, Certified Veterinary Technician or Licensed Veterinary Technician.

In normal circumstances, the newly graduated technicians or technologists usually commence their work as trainees under the direct supervision of licensed veterinarians. They need to undergo on the job training within certain duration to obtain hands-on experience. They must familiarize themselves to all the laboratory and medical equipments so that they are able to perform all the necessary tasks required such as providing the right equipments during surgery, performing various laboratory tests, etc.

To sum up, there is no short cut to become a veterinary technician. It is compulsory for a person to learn the knowledge and skills of handling animals by attending formal veterinary technical schools as well as pursuing on the job training in order to be a qualified veterinary technician.

After obtaining required academic qualification, he or she will definitely have to gain as much experience as he or she can. To be a successful veterinary technicians or technologists, positive attitude, good interpersonal skill and teamwork are as important too.

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