Veterinary Office Assistant

Course Outline

(24 week program)

Designed to provide comprehensive training to prepare an individual for a career in the field of providing client service for companion animals and their owners. As a graduate, you could be the front office person promoting the hospital and assisting the veterinarian as they actively engage in the art and science of pet animal practice. With extensive computer, human relations, pet restraint, disease control and disease prevention, you will be skilled in the medical and administrative aspects of the veterinary office and animal care environment.

Veterinary Medical Terminology
Learn veterinary medical language and pet anatomy through the study of word elements and the structure and parts of body systems.

Veterinary Pharmacy
Familiarization with drugs used in veterinary medicine and the ability to understand prescription orders and dosage forms and how to dispense medications.

Commonly-Seen Conditions / Diseases of Cats and Dogs
Develop an understanding of the history, the predisposing factors, the clinical signs, the treatment, and the prognosis of commonly seen conditions and/or diseases which affect dogs and cats. The course is taught on a body system basis.

Viral Diseases of the Dog & Cat
Focus on important contagious viral diseases of dogs and cats: Accurate history taking,clinical signs, predisposing factors, treatment and vaccinations are covered.

Small Animal Restraint
Techniques and devices currently used to restrain, and handle cats and dogs; also how to read pet body language.

Veterinary Office Procedures
Students will learn the day-to-day operations of a veterinary office, its functions and systems. Role-playing will form a major part of the teaching technique. 

Veterinary Nursing
Student will become familiar with daily procedures common to most modern veterinary hospitals and clinics.  Learn the setup and functions of parts of a clinic; how animals are hospitalized and cared for in an animal hospital.

Client Relations and Communications
 Develop competency on the job in respect to  reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students will improve in general word skills and acquire mastery of English.  The student is also taught skills in resume writing and job interviewing.

Practicum
For 2 weeks students will be able to put to use the skills & abilities they gained through their lectures, hands-on training and classroom studies at a job site.

Microsoft Office Fundamentals
Students will be given lessons on the hows and whats of computers and networks; be assessed on keyboarding; be taught how to utilize word processing with Microsoft Word and prepare business letters, reports and other documents; and be shown basic skills in spreadsheets (Excel) and digital presentations (Powerpoint).