How to Become a Veterinary Assistant in Wyoming

The care about pets and animals is hurriedly developing these days and the pet’s role pets in people’s lives are so important that they lay all their hope into a veterinary team in case there is something wrong with their animal.

So, the veterinary personnel needs to understand the complex relationships between animals and people and offer help and consolation in those terrifying moments.

Veterinary medicine offers jobs that are rewarding and satisfying only for those people who would not mind spending all working day around animals and cooperating with people who love them as well.

If you want to earn you a decent salary surrounded by people interested in animal welfare and the animals which desperately need your help, then you can try entering the veterinary field and becoming a veterinary assistant, technician or veterinarian.

Job Description

The whole veterinary personnel prepares everything necessary for a clinic to function perfectly during a working day and each of them knows what his/her duties are.

Playing with and caring for animals is only one task among a vast number of other duties.

First of all, a veterinary assistant is a person of equal significance as the nurse in human hospitals.

Being that nowadays animal lovers insist on the fact that animals deserve equal treatment as humans, veterinary assistant’s everyday tasks are more demanding than ever.

They are involved in providing basic care for pets and non-farm animals, feeding and bathing animals, disinfecting exam rooms, giving medications or vaccinations among many others.

The amount of daily work differs from one location to the other and the veterinarian reputation also affects the daily activities of a veterinary facility.

Very often, veterinary assistants have to work night shifts, fieldwork and might work on holidays and weekends.

Becoming a Veterinary Assistant in Wyoming

If you are interested in becoming a veterinary assistant, a good thing is that the states do not require any kind of formal education except for a high school diploma or GED equivalency which is obligatory.

It is believed that since veterinary assistants work under the supervision of a veterinarian, they can learn the job during the day, which some of them succeed in.

However, many veterinary assistants decide to continue their further education and focus on gaining new knowledge related to work in a veterinary clinic.

It is important to know that just one part of the whole job is entrusted to veterinarians themselves and that all the veterinary assistants are those who deal with pets and pet owners.

The organized courses and programs prepare them to work with veterinarians, to care for sick and injured animals and a range of other medical, surgical and dental nursing procedures through the training in the real environment.

Some veterinary assistant campus in Wyoming are:

• Eastern Wyoming College
• Northwest College
• Western Wyoming Community College

Requirements

The requirements are not rigorous and more and more people with a high school diploma try their luck in getting the job.

It is possible to get it if there is nobody with a license applying for the same job, but the priority is always given to those that have a certificate.

That is why students take veterinary assistant classes during their high school to get the opportunity to take the NAVTA certification exam upon graduation.

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), and they are designed for veterinary assistants either employed or not.

Three different options can be taken to become an approved Wyoming veterinary assistant offered by NAVTA.

• Externship Option
• Experiential Learner
• Veterinary Assistant Program.

Bear in mind the fact that you will need to renew your AVA every 2 years, by earning 10 continuing education credits.

Getting a Job

Once you get your AVA and gain all the necessary knowledge, you can start searching for a job.

Animal shelters, veterinary hospitals, clinics, and zoos offer an abundance of job possibilities since the need for certified veterinary assistants cannot be met.

The well-known and respected clinics have achieved numerous awards for the great care of all kinds of pets and the greater they are, the more rigorous they are in terms of qualification for becoming their employees.

The chances of getting a job are equal for all the candidates, and the staff along with the veterinarian decide who will be hired.

Potential veterinary assistant employers in Wyoming are:

• Wyoming State Veterinary Medical Association
• Wyoming Animal Hospitals
  • Rocky Mountain Animal Hospital
  • Desert View Animal Hospital
  • Alpine Animal Hospital
  • Casper Animal Medical Center

Salary

The salary of a veterinary assistant throughout the USA is relatively low.

If a person takes into consideration just the salary than he/she might find this vocation unsatisfactorily.

However, the people doing this job find fulfillment in all the other beauties that this job has to offer.

The approximate salary of a veterinary assistant in Wyoming ranges between $ 26 231and $ 27 620, depending on the city and the location of a veterinary facility.

The difference among the major cities is not so significant, but it still exists, and that is caused by the advancement of the area and social situation.

The table below shows the salary of a veterinary assistant in the state of Wyoming annually since it varies from one place to another.

Duties

The everyday duties of a veterinary assistant depend on the prominence and popularity of the clinic they work for.

Besides administrative work which can be time-consuming, they need to deal with the health care and cleanness of the premises.

Many people find them at the counter and believe that their job is not demanding at all, but they never get acquainted with the difficulties that a veterinary assistant has to face.

Animal health care clinics trust them and rely on them, since they provide animals with food and water, take x-rays, hold animals during treatment and assist with surgery, while those who work in rescue centers and animal rehabilitation centers have even more serious responsibilities.

Veterinary Assisting by State