Are you an animal lover? If so, you’re definitely not alone!
After all, most people love their pets nearly as much as their own children. Choosing a career in veterinary medicine is the ideal way to combine your love of animals with a way to do good in the world.
This article takes a look at how long it takes to become a vet tech and how to know if this might be the ideal job for you. Keep reading to discover insight into the world of animal nursing and exactly what vet tech does during a day at work.
1. Administer Drugs and Vaccines
One of the primate duties of a veterinary tech is to administer various drugs and vaccines to the animals in your care as needed. These can include the use of syringes to administer drugs for the treatment of a wide range of illnesses and medical conditions, as well as annual vaccines that are needed to prevent certain infections or flea and tick infestations.
The key skill needed is to perform these tasks accurately so that each animal receives the exact dosage required to stay healthy. Thus you should possess the ability to read labels, understand dosage amounts, and document the necessary information on paperwork and in the clinic’s computer system.
2. Provide Emergency Treatment and First Aid
Next, you’ll also be responsible for providing emergency treatment for animals that have experienced physical trauma and are in need of immediate care. This could include broken legs, lacerations, burns, and ingestion of toxic chemicals.
This type of care requires the ability to closely follow directions and read specific information that’s crucial for accuracy.
Here is a resource where you can learn a vet tech’s day to day schedule.
3. Evaluate the Record the Behavior of Animals
Another part of being a skilled tech is the ability to accurately evaluate the behavior of the animals in your care. After all, you need to be able to identify specific forms of behavior in order to separate normal, healthy behavior from that which is clearly irregular and is perhaps symptomatic of a serious medical condition.
Then once any given behavior has been observed and identified, it must then be accurately recorded for further study and to maintain an accurate medical history for the animal in question.
4. Keep Animals Stable During Examination and Treatment
It’s no secret that many animals don’t enjoy being poked, prodded, or evaluated. This often results in resistance that comes in the form of restlessness, fear, and physical struggle. Thus a good tech will need to be able to physically restrain and control the animal in order for thorough examinations and treatments to be completed.
5. Carryout Scans, X-Rays, and Diagnostic Tests
This is perhaps the most complicated aspect of being a quality veterinary tech and working in the field of animal diseases. You must be able to perform a range of scans, x-rays, and diagnostic tests, understand the results, and then accurately communicate these results to the vet as well as the animal’s owners.
A Guide to What to Expect From a Career as a Vet Tech
There are few things more satisfying than caring for the wellbeing of animals. Fortunately, becoming a vet tech is one of the best ways to make sure they receive the medical care they need and deserve.
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