Veterinary Assisting Degree Programs

Online Veterinary Assisting

Online Veterinary Medicine Degrees and Courses

Looking for online accredited career colleges and universities offering Veterinary Medicine degrees. Each program from a Online Career College, a post-secondary for-profit institution, offers an education with an in-demand career field. As total higher education enrollment decreases, student enrollment in courses and degree programs at online colleges continues to rise. Today, millions of college students choose to take some or all of their courses online. If you have a love for animals as well as science, then pursuing a veterinary assisting degree may be the path for you.

Online Veterinary Assisting Degrees

Veterinary assistant: The purrfect career for animal lovers

If you have a love for animals as well as science, then pursuing a veterinary assisting degree may be the path for you. A good place to start is at a veterinary assistant school or career colleges.

Veterinary assistants take care of pets by feeding and watering them as well as cleaning and disinfecting cages, work areas and sterilizing laboratory and surgical equipment. Vet assistants have an array of duties including:

Monitor animals after surgery
Restrain animals during procedures and examination
Clean, maintain, sterilize and prepare instruments or equipment for surgery
Take or develop x-rays

In some offices, vet assistants may give medications and prepare samples for labs under the supervision of a technician or veterinarian.

How to become a veterinary assistant

Programs at a veterinary technician school usually lasts less than one year and generally result in a certificate. Some courses studied at a veterinary technician school include the following:

Anatomy, physiology, and terminology
Comparative veterinary anatomy & physiology
Clinical lab procedures and pathology
Animal nursing and diagnostic imaging

With further training at a two-year program, individuals can earn an associate degree and move up to a career as a veterinary technician.

Careers and job prospects

Veterinary assistants work in a variety of settings including animal hospitals and clinics, shelters, labs, zoos and parks. Job titles may range from laboratory assistant to pet care specialist.

Further education is necessary for veterinary assistants to become technicians or veterinarians. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for veterinary assistants in 2010 was $22,040, while vet technicians earned $29,710. The BLS' projected employment growth between 2008 and 2018 for vet assistants is 20 percent.

Author: Heather Bieber

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