Online Veterinary
Assistant Course

Estimated Length of program:
4-7 months, self-paced.

Program Goal:
To prepare students for entry-level positions as animal care specialists, veterinary assistants or animal health aides.

Program Outcomes

Graduates of this course will have the theoretical instruction and practical skills that prepare them to work successfully with animals in a veterinary care environment.

The coursework trains students to:

• Apply theory and practical skills to work successfully with animals in a veterinary care environment.
• Describe the important relationship humans have with animals.
• Apply terminology used in the animal care field.
• Properly handle animals in examination procedures.
• Implement nutritional requirements for animals.
• Integrate laws and regulation knowledge into their work in the animal care field.

Curriculum

Instruction Pack I: The Veterinary Assistant’s Role

Students explore the veterinary assistant’s role in veterinary offices and other animal care settings and are introduced to the proper handling and restraint of animals, emergency procedures, physical examinations, bandaging and wound care and animal grooming. These topics form a foundation for future studies and provide students with skills that they can apply immediately. Students form a foundation of medical and animal terminology using a unique word-building system. Students discover sanitation procedures in animal healthcare facilities, as well as anatomical terminology and concepts with in-depth coverage of the skeletal system in animals.

Instruction Pack II: Physics and Pharmacology

Students’ instruction in animal anatomy consists of in-depth lessons on the circulatory, digestive, genitourinary, endocrine and nervous systems. Then, students explore how all the body systems function together in animals. Basic facts about chemistry and measurements are presented in an easy-to-understand format. Students also study the scope of their role in handling medications and administering vaccines to animals.

Instruction Pack III: Bacteria and Viruses and Animal Surgery

In this instruction pack, students learn about exotic animals and disease-causing organisms, such as bacteria and viruses, as well as other common diseases that afflict animals. Studies continue with instruction about the laws and regulations governing the care of animals. Then, students gain an overview of surgical procedures and x-ray techniques used in animal care. Finally, students learn the procedures for preparing an animal for surgery, how to assist in the surgery itself and how to supervise the recovery of animals after surgery.

Instruction Pack IV: Anesthesia, Examinations and Animal Nutrition

Students round out their skills as they learn about anesthesia techniques, as well as how to administer medicine to animals, handle parasitic infestations and perform many laboratory examinations. Students study quarantine and control, dental care in animals, animal feeding and diets, poisonous animals and plants and large-animal care to complete their course of instruction.