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Veterinary medicine grows daily and the abundance of job offers in this field attracts a huge number of animal lovers passionate about animal welfare.
People focused on helping the animals in need may be perfect for this job simply because their desire to work with and help animals is enough to become a successful veterinary assistant.
Even though it looks that the work of a veterinary assistant is easy, this career can be physically and emotionally very demanding, especially when providing comfort to pet owners.
However, the commitment to every kind of job leads to success, so by giving the pet the best possible treatment makes the veterinary assistant satisfied and fulfilled.
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Article Table of Contents
Job Description
A veterinary assistant can be a person with a high school degree passionate to help veterinarians and their clients.
However, to be more effective, this position might require more education, which will increase your job prospects.
Veterinary science and support is a fast-growing field that offers numerous campuses, programs and higher education for compassionate and capable animal lovers.
Veterinary assistants need to know everything about animal care like medical conditions, surgeries, vaccines and more.
Their job requires helping pets, pet owners and veterinarians, besides answering phone calls and booking appointments.
Becoming a Veterinary Assistant in Delaware
Most veterinary assistants only have a high school diploma and learn the occupation on the job, while helping veterinarians.
When becoming a veterinary assistant in Delaware this kind of education is enough for getting the job.
However, it does not provide you with the knowledge related to animal care and you might find yourself in a situation when you do not know what to do and the animal life is in your hands.
That is why more and more candidates decide to enter campuses and online programs and get the necessary education about veterinary studies, which will make them more self-confident and will increase their chances of being first on the list of becoming employed.
To become a veterinary assistant with a certificate, there is only on college in Delaware and that is Delaware Technical Community College, where you can learn the skills and get the appropriate training.
Both experienced and inexperienced veterinary assistants can select from various options to become an approved Delaware veterinary assistant.
The options are:
- Externship Option for people who are not employed in a veterinary practice.
- Experiential Learner for working veterinary assistants in Delaware with a 20 hour weekly minimum in a full-service veterinary practice.
- Veterinary Assistant Program for employed Delaware veterinary assistants that are working in a full-service veterinary practice for at least 20 hours per week.
Once you complete the chosen program, you need to take the AVA exam, where you need to achieve a passing score and then you become an approved Delaware veterinary assistant.
Nevertheless, this is not all.
Your Delaware AVA is subject to a two-year renewal, meaning that you must attain 10 continuing education credits over the next 2 years and pay a $10 fee.
Requirements
When it comes to certification requirements for a veterinary assistant, they are not the same in every state.
Candidates interested in programs should get familiar with the requirements determined for their state.
However, training programs that offer license or certification throughout the USA are among those 35 organized by the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA).
Some of the NAVTA programs can be found online like the VetMedTeam program, while others are campuses organized in various institutes, centers and hospitals, such as East Valley Institute of Technology or Jessamine Career and Technology Center.
Getting a Job
Employment of veterinary assistants is growing much faster than the average for all occupations, resulting in good job opportunities.
Veterinary assistants work mainly in clinics and hospitals and they can decide whether they want to look for a job in small private facilities or large veterinary hospitals.
Finding a satisfying job for those who possess a certificate is not a problem, having in mind the fact that reputable clinics are looking for assistants who know what they need to do.
The job offer in Delaware is huge and some of the potential employers in Delaware are:
- VCA (Veterinary Centers of America)
- Banfield Pet Hospital
- Salisbury
- Christiana
- Vetco Wellness Centers and Vaccination Clinics inside PETCO
- Located in Dover Petco
- Located in Wilmington Petco
- Located in Christiana Petco
- Located in Millville Petco
Those trustworthy clinics offer great care of all kinds of pets and their services include microchipping, parasite prevention, dermatology and much more, thus demanding the higher level of education of a veterinary assistant working there.
Salary
While in other states the annual salary of a veterinary assistant significantly varies among the cities this is not the case in Delaware.
The difference in annual salary among the cities is not so noteworthy since it is estimated to range from $30 982 in Seaford up to $31 724 in Rehoboth Beach per year.
The table below shows the salary of a veterinary assistant in the state of Delaware annually.
Annual Salary Range:| Location | Avg. Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Bear,DE | $31,658 |
| Delaware City,DE | $31,670 |
| Dover,DE | $31,590 |
| Harrington,DE | $31,635 |
| Lewes,DE | $31,635 |
| Middletown,DE | $31,567 |
| Milford,DE | $31,635 |
| New Castle,DE | $31,694 |
| Newark,DE | $31,670 |
| Rehoboth Beach,DE | $31,724 |
| Seaford,DE | $30,982 |
| Wilmington,DE | $31,694 |
Duties
The first duty of a veterinary assistant is to deal with the patient, its owner, and their concerns.
Even though this looks like an easy job, it certainly is not, since worried pet owners are hard to handle.
Other obligations are to ensure a comfortable, safe and sanitary environment and take care of the animals.
When it comes to more serious work, veterinary assistants tend to work in labs under the supervision of a veterinarian, do some scientific research, deal with blood work and urinalysis, just to mention a few.
Animal health care clinics and veterinarians themselves rely on them and consider their services of crucial importance in their daily activities.
Summary
If you are fond of animals and want to help them, it is advisable to become a student who will be trained in animal care techniques to achieve the required knowledge and get a myriad of opportunities for future employment.
Read the full guide: How to Become a Veterinary Assistant
Veterinary Assisting by State