What Do Veterinary Technicians Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

Veterinary Technicians perform medical tests in a laboratory environment for use in the treatment and diagnosis of diseases in animals. Prepare vaccines and serums for prevention of diseases. Prepare tissue samples, take blood samples, and execute laboratory tests, such as urinalysis and blood counts. Clean and sterilize instruments and materials and maintain equipment and machines. May assist a veterinarian during surgery. They also care for and monitor the condition of animals recovering from surgery.

Other tasks include:

• Maintain controlled drug inventory and related log books.
• Administer anesthesia to animals, under the direction of a veterinarian, and monitor animals’ responses to anesthetics so that dosages can be adjusted.
• Restrain animals during exams or procedures.
• Administer emergency first aid, such as performing emergency resuscitation or other life saving procedures.
• Observe the behavior and condition of animals and monitor their clinical symptoms.
• Perform laboratory tests on blood, urine, or feces, such as urinalyses or blood counts, to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of animal health problems.

We asked Veterinary Technicians how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

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70% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 83% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Veterinary Technicians restrain animals during exams or procedures. They take animals into treatment areas and assist with physical examinations by performing such duties as obtaining temperature, pulse, or respiration data.

A typical day for a Veterinary Technologist and Technician will also include:

• Clean kennels, animal holding areas, surgery suites, examination rooms, or animal loading or unloading facilities to control the spread of disease.
• Maintain instruments, equipment, or machinery to ensure proper working condition.
• Fill prescriptions, measuring medications and labeling containers.
• Collect, prepare, and label samples for laboratory testing, culture, or microscopic examination.
• Maintain controlled drug inventory and related log books.

We asked some Veterinary Technicians a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

	Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job?	86% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	88% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	78% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	65% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	8% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	81% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Veterinary Technicians also monitor medical supplies and place orders when inventory is low. They may also perform dental work, such as cleaning, polishing, or extracting teeth.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Veterinary Technicians Provide assistance with animal euthanasia and the disposal of remains. They might also Administer emergency first aid, such as performing emergency resuscitation or other life saving procedures.

In addition, they Prepare treatment rooms for surgery.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Dress and suture wounds and apply splints or other protective devices.

To some Veterinary Technicians, it is also their responsibility to Perform a variety of office, clerical, or accounting duties, such as reception, billing, bookkeeping, or selling products.

Working life

Standard 40 hour work week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as a Veterinary Technologist and Technician, you can expect to work 40 hour work week.

Is this right for me

People who are suitable for this job tends to like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery..

They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

Explore other careers

http://www.bls.gov/OOH/healthcare/veterinary-technologists-and-technicians.htm

https://www.aalas.org/

http://www.navta.net/

https://www.aavsb.org/