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If you are a person with great communication skills, able to connect veterinarians, pet owners and other veterinary facilities, if you possess empathy skills so as to provide consolation and understand the feelings of distressed pet owners, if you are good at organization and time management and above all these have a passion for animals, then a veterinary assistant vocation is ideal for you.
Article Table of Contents
Job Description
Veterinary assistants play an important role in the pet industry and with the development of veterinary medicine, their role is becoming more relevant than ever.
Those are the people who love animals, treat them with kindness and at the same time ready to follow strict instructions given by the veterinarian.
The life of animals might depend on their ability to help the veterinarian during the surgery or giving them the proper medication.
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They have to know how to use instruments and laboratory equipment with care and to look after animals under treatment at veterinary facilities.
Their job might even be the education of owners about the diseases and health problems and explain to them how to better take care of their pets.
Becoming a Veterinary Assistant in Indiana
Besides the fact that you need to have a high school diploma to become a veterinary assistant, many people nowadays, no matter whether they already have practice and experience in working in an animal hospital, tend to advance in their career with continuous education or certification.
Even the employers themselves are looking for a person with a professional license which means that they have passed an oral and written examination process and achieved obligatory knowledge to work individually on those tasks that their job includes.
The courses offer not only education but also the practice, and a veterinary assistant needs to prove that he/she is physically able to work in an animal-filled environment and perform all daily duties successfully to become licensed or certified.
There are numerous advantages to being a certified veterinary assistant, meaning that you become highly respected and sought after by employers who value education.
These are some of the campuses and online programs in Indiana:
- Harrison College
- Ivy Tech Community College
- International Business College-Indianapolis
Requirements
Indiana vet assistants are not required to hold an AVA to pursue their career and opportunities of a veterinary assistant.
Many people get confused by these terms.
What makes them confused is the fact that they do not know whether it is a clever thing to spend time and money to get a certificate to work in the field, since numerous people do not have it.
However, the importance of education is proved by the fact that numerous veterinary assistants who are already employed but do not possess licenses are entering programs to advance their careers.
Becoming a vet assistant probably is the easiest way to enter the world of veterinary practice, but the AVA carries various advantages and opens opportunities for competitive pay and job stability.
Once you pass all the exams and get a certificate, it is necessary to renew it every two years to stay current as an Indiana AVA.
Getting a Job
Completing the appropriate program and achieving certification leads to a lot of job opportunities.
Employers within the state of Indiana decide on the criteria for selecting candidates and it is up to them whether they will choose a certified one or not.
However, the license is a kind of evidence that you are well competent to perform all the duties required by the job, that you possess greater self-confidence which will give you priority over vet assistants without an AVA certification.
These are some of the veterinary assistant employers in Indiana offering possibilities to veterinary assistants:
- Indiana Veterinary Medical Association
- VCA (Veterinary Centers of America)
- Banfield Pet Hospital
- Carmel
- Greenwood
- Avon
Salary
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics collects the data related to the average annual salary for an Indiana veterinary assistant and it is estimated to be less paid job than some others of equal importance and demand.
As in any other profession, there is a scale for salaries because it is not the same in all places throughout the state.
The location, number of animal clinics and facilities in that area, the development of the region all affect the salaries and some Indiana vet assistants can expect to make more money on an annual basis.
The pay rate ranges from $ 26 874 in Vincennes up to $29 530 in Gary and Hammond annually.
The table below shows the average annual salary of a veterinary assistant in Indiana, based on the city where he/she works:
Annual Salary Range:| Location | Avg. Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Anderson,IN | $27,454 |
| Bloomington,IN | $27,310 |
| Carmel,IN | $28,791 |
| Elkhart,IN | $28,000 |
| Evansville,IN | $27,905 |
| Fishers,IN | $27,395 |
| Fort Wayne,IN | $27,600 |
| Gary,IN | $29,530 |
| Greenwood,IN | $28,815 |
| Hammond,IN | $29,530 |
| Indianapolis,IN | $28,827 |
| Lafayette,IN | $28,649 |
| Mishawaka,IN | $27,602 |
| Muncie,IN | $27,347 |
| South Bend,IN | $27,602 |
| Terre Haute,IN | $27,220 |
| Vincennes,IN | $26,874 |
Regional Salary in Indiana
| Region | Employed | Avg. Annual Salary | Avg. Hourly Pay | Top 10% Annual Salary | Bottom 10% Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomington, IN | 60 | $32,340 | $15.55 | $37,150 | $24,650 |
| Elkhart-Goshen, IN | 60 | $34,320 | $16.5 | $44,560 | $26,580 |
| Evansville, IN-KY | 130 | $31,970 | $15.37 | $36,980 | $24,290 |
| Fort Wayne, IN | 160 | $31,880 | $15.33 | $36,960 | $24,710 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | 810 | $33,730 | $16.22 | $41,670 | $27,790 |
| Kokomo, IN | 30 | $32,360 | $15.56 | $39,200 | $26,090 |
| Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN | 130 | $34,750 | $16.71 | $46,860 | $26,380 |
| Michigan City-La Porte, IN | 80 | $31,660 | $15.22 | $38,220 | $24,440 |
| South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI | 140 | $34,560 | $16.62 | $44,220 | $27,160 |
| Terre Haute, IN | 40 | $30,050 | $14.45 | $37,510 | $23,130 |
* Employment conditions in your area may vary.
Duties
When it comes to the everyday duties of a veterinary assistant, they are versatile and depend on the education that he/she possesses an eagerness to learn more and readiness to perform more serious tasks.
Those easier ones include administrative work, answering phone calls and making the first contact with the patient and their owner.
Some more demanding duties are helping the veterinarian by holding animals to allow examination and treatment, doing tasks under his/her supervision, cleaning and sterilizing examination tables and equipment and preparing instruments.
The more educated veterinary assistants also need to place animals in cages to recover from operations, while they are monitoring their condition and giving medications.
If you achieve that level of knowledge to be able to perform minor surgeries and intervention yourself, then you will be a highly respected member of the team and your salary might rise.
Summary
The variety of duties that a veterinary assistant does within the animal clinic makes their job underestimated since people perceive only a small part of their activities.
However, the working day of a veterinary assistant includes all the difficulties that he/she has to face, regarding both the animal and even more concerned owners.
They are seriously involved in medical care, thus their job should be respected.
Read the full guide: How to Become a Veterinary Assistant
Veterinary Assisting by State