Become a Veterinary Assistant

About This Course

Do you love animals? Have you ever thought about a career as a veterinary assistant? This course, taught by a practicing veterinarian and college instructor, will give you the information you need to prepare for work in veterinary hospitals.

What vaccinations do cats and dogs really need and how often should they be given? What is the best way to control fleas? What do you do if your dog has a cut? What is the best way to deal with an emergency situation involving a pet? This course will answer all these questions and more.

You'll learn about pet nutrition and a variety of health and safety issues. You’ll understand how to treat and prevent parasites, including roundworms and heartworms. You’ll even learn the facts of life, as it pertains to dogs and cats.

You'll explore current thoughts on spaying and neutering, and how to deal with the very emotional issues of euthanasia, pet loss, and how best to assist clients in a time of need.

Special lessons will target specific aspects of veterinary assistant duties. Did you know that a veterinary assistant needs to dispense medications just like a pharmacist? You’ll learn how to interpret medical prescriptions that look like Greek scribbles to the untrained eye.

You'll also understand the hazards of working in a veterinary setting so that you can protect yourself from x-ray exposure, infections carried by animals, and potential damage from teeth and claws.

Veterinary hospitals are small businesses, not just places of medicine, so you will also gain a complete understanding of their economics - how income is generated and where it goes. You will also explore marketing and communication because they are essential factors in making a business successful.

Even if you are already employed in a veterinary hospital, you will find this course invaluable in helping you understand the reasoning behind decisions and recommendations made by veterinarians. And if you're a pet owner, this course will help you better assess the quality of veterinary care your pets receive.

About The Instructor

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Jeff Grognet.

Jeff Grognet has been a companion animal veterinarian for 25 years. He was a pioneer in the field of veterinary assistant teaching, developing his first course almost 20 years ago. The overwhelming success of his veterinary receptionist/assistant college courses led him to expand his teaching into other areas in high demand, including pet first aid and alternative medical therapies for companion animals. He practices with his wife at a Veterinary Hospital in BC, Canada. Jeff has published a large and diverse number of articles and is a regular contributing author to several magazines.

Syllabus

A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

Week 1

Wednesday - Lesson 01

In our first lesson, we'll start way back at the beginning—you'll learn how ancient veterinary medicine evolved into the modern-day practice that you're accustomed to. You'll also learn why a veterinary assistant is just as important to the success of the practice as the veterinarian. In the second component of this lesson, you'll learn all about dog and cat reproduction. You'll learn the normal hormonal cycles and breeding times, and then delve into the benefits of sterilization.

Friday - Lesson 02

In this lesson, you'll learn how vaccines protect against disease. And just as important, you'll learn why they sometimes fail. We'll take a close look at how often vaccines should be given, why they may be ill-advised, and why vaccinosis is so controversial.

Week 2

Wednesday - Lesson 03

Today, we'll talk about the importance of parasites that can infest both pets and people. You'll see the worms that live in the intestines, and also get acquainted with heartworm, a nasty guy that lives in the arteries. We'll explore how parasites infect people, what they do, and how to prevent their invasion.

Friday - Lesson 04

Have you ever wondered how to pick the best food for your pet? This lesson will give you the tools to make the right decision, and how best to pass the information on to your clients. We'll also talk about the role of prescription diets in pet health.

Week 3

Wednesday - Lesson 05

This will certainly be the most emotional lesson in the entire course. The topic is euthanasia, and we'll look at it from the perspectives of both the client and the hospital employee. We'll explore the stages of grief that everyone goes through after a loss. You'll also see what the procedure entails, how to help a grieving client, and tools for assisting children with pet loss.

Friday - Lesson 06

In this lesson, you'll learn why a veterinary hospital can be a dangerous place. You'll see how X-rays, anesthetics, and certain drugs can harm you. You'll finish this lesson with Economics 101, a glimpse into the cash flow of a typical veterinary hospital.

Week 4

Wednesday - Lesson 07

This lesson will help you in a crisis. Designed like a short course in human first aid, this lesson will help you cope with almost any emergency, and we'll discuss ways that some emergencies can be prevented. There's even a segment on cardiopulmonary resuscitation, dog and cat style!

Friday - Lesson 08

What is the most important parasite affecting our pets? If you answered the flea, you're right. In this lesson, you'll learn all about this parasite. You'll hear about other crawling parasites that also live on or in the skin (mange) and how they can be managed.

Week 5

Wednesday - Lesson 09

Did you know that as a hospital employee, any advice you give could end up in a lawsuit? You'll find out how to handle these situations and, related to this, how to maintain client confidentiality. You'll round off your study on client communications with an introduction to client education programs.

Friday - Lesson 10

As soon as you're hired as a veterinary assistant, you'll be helping to prepare prescriptions. In this lesson, you'll find out how to do this correctly. You'll also learn about your role in keeping accurate medical records. We'll end the lesson with a short course on marketing, taking a close look at some of the best tools you can use to keep old clients and attract new ones.

Week 6

Wednesday - Lesson 11

This lesson is the most cutting edge: Here, you'll learn all about alternative therapies that some veterinarians are applying in their practices, including acupuncture, homeopathy, herbs, and chiropractic care. And when it comes to pet food, is commercial, home-cooked, or raw the best choice? We'll examine the plusses and minuses of each possible diet.

Friday - Lesson 12

In our last lesson, we'll take a close look at animal behavior. You'll delve into how best to train puppies and kittens, and more importantly, how to share the information with your clients. At the end of the course, you'll see how everything you've learned can be put together for a comprehensive health plan covering everything from behavior, vaccinations, and nutrition to castration, euthanasia, and alternative therapies.

Requirements

Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader).