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Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers

Feed, water, and examine pets and other nonfarm animals for signs of illness, disease, or injury in laboratories and animal hospitals and clinics. Clean and disinfect cages and work areas, and sterilize laboratory and surgical equipment. May provide routine postoperative care, administer medication orally or topically, or prepare samples for laboratory examination under the supervision of veterinary or laboratory animal technologists or technicians, veterinarians, or scientists.
Related: Animal Caretakers  Medical Assistants  Paramedics  Surgical Assistants  Veterinary Technologists & Technicians 
Industries: Professional, Science, & Technical 

  • Summary

  • Details

    • Work Activities

    • Provide emergency first aid to sick or injured animals.
    • Prepare examination or treatment rooms by stocking them with appropriate supplies.
    • Clean, maintain, and sterilize instruments or equipment.
    • Fill medication prescriptions.
    • Perform accounting duties, such as bookkeeping, billing customers for services, or maintaining inventories.
    • Prepare feed for animals according to specific instructions, such as diet lists or schedules.
    • Place orders to restock inventory of hospital or laboratory supplies.
    • Groom, trim, or clip animals' coats.
    • Hold or restrain animals during veterinary procedures.
    • Administer medication, immunizations, or blood plasma to animals as prescribed by veterinarians.
    • Perform routine laboratory tests or diagnostic tests, such as taking or developing x-rays.
    • Write reports, maintain research information, or perform clerical duties.
    • Administer anesthetics during surgery and monitor the effects on animals.
    • Sell pet food or supplies to customers.
    • Clean and maintain kennels, animal holding areas, examination or operating rooms, or animal loading or unloading facilities to control the spread of disease.
    • Assist veterinarians in examining animals to determine the nature of illnesses or injuries.
    • Prepare surgical equipment and pass instruments or materials to veterinarians during surgical procedures.
    • Record information relating to animal genealogy, feeding schedules, appearance, behavior, or breeding.
    • Provide assistance with euthanasia of animals or disposal of corpses.
    • Perform enemas, catheterizations, ear flushes, intravenous feedings, or gavages.
    • Monitor animals recovering from surgery and notify veterinarians of any unusual changes or symptoms.
    • Clean, maintain, and sterilize instruments or equipment.
    • Perform office reception duties, such as scheduling appointments or helping customers.
    • Educate or advise clients on animal health care, nutrition, or behavior problems.
    • Perform office reception duties, such as scheduling appointments or helping customers.
    • Prepare examination or treatment rooms by stocking them with appropriate supplies.
    • Administer anesthetics during surgery and monitor the effects on animals.
    • Perform hygiene-related duties, such as clipping animals' claws or cleaning and polishing teeth.
    • Prepare surgical equipment and pass instruments or materials to veterinarians during surgical procedures.
    • Examine animals to detect behavioral changes or clinical symptoms that could indicate illness or injury.
    • Provide assistance with euthanasia of animals or disposal of corpses.
    • Dust, spray, or bathe animals to control insect pests.
    • Collect laboratory specimens, such as blood, urine, or feces, for testing.
    • Write reports, maintain research information, or perform clerical duties.
    • Perform accounting duties, such as bookkeeping, billing customers for services, or maintaining inventories.
    • Exercise animals or provide them with companionship.

    Skills

    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    Abilities

    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.

    Knowledge

    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    Education

    Education
    High school diploma or equivalent
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    Less than 1 month on-the-job training
    Education and Training Opportunities

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    43590/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    20.96/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    5,640
    Yearly Projected Openings
    1230

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Dependability
    • Integrity
    • Attention to Detail
    • Self Control
    • Cooperation
    • Persistence

    Tools

    • Animal catching devices
    • Animal shearing or clipping equipment
    • Animal weighing scales
    • Bar code reader equipment
    • Benchtop centrifuges
    • Binocular light compound microscopes
    • Blood collection syringes
    • Chemical or gas sterilizers
    • Clothes dryers
    • Desktop computers
    • Digital cameras
    • Full body immersion hydrotherapy baths or tanks
    • Gas anesthesia apparatus or machines
    • Handheld refractometers or polarimeters
    • Hematology analyzers
    • Intravenous tubing with catheter administration kits
    • Label making machines
    • Laboratory beakers
    • Laboratory forceps
    • Laundry type washing machines
    • Medical acoustic stethoscopes
    • Medical picture archiving computer systems PACS
    • Medical radiological shielding aprons or masks or drapes
    • Medical radiological shielding gloves
    • Medical x ray darkroom accessories
    • Medical x ray films or cassettes
    • Medical x ray units for general diagnostic use
    • Microcentrifuges
    • Microscope slides
    • Multipurpose or general test tubes
    • Muzzles
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Protective gloves
    • Special purpose telephones
    • Specimen collection container
    • Steam autoclaves or sterilizers
    • Surgical scissors
    • Suture removers
    • Tablet counters
    • Tourniquets
    • Urinalysis analyzers
    • Vacuum blood collection tubes or containers
    • Veterinary blood pressure testers
    • Veterinary clinical thermometers
    • Veterinary injection or suction unit
    • Veterinary nail trimmers or cutters

    Technology

    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Label making software
    • Medical software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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