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When you’re in the market for a new Job, you have a list of things you need to do before you can actually obtain the Job. In the case of a career as a veterinary technician you need to first become a licensed, certified, or registered veterinary technician. Which title you obtain depends on the state in which you reside and graduate from. Generally two to four years of schooling is required from an American Veterinary Medical Association accredited program.
After you obtain your title as a veterinary technician you can start applying to Jobs in your field of choice. However, the skills you learned in school aren’t the only resources for you. In truth, technicians need to know not only about the animal field, but also about the real world and it’s applications. Many skills that you learned in your pre-degree Job(s) are applicable to the field of veterinary medicine. One of the first applications is computer skills.
Many vet offices use programs such as Familiar to keep track of their clientele and appointments, along with Microsoft Office to make signs and spreadsheets for office use. If you don’t have the basic knowledge of how to use a computer, then you’re owing in blind to a field that advances because they have the use of computers. Another skill necessary is to understand the business side of the practice. Do you know how people are paid? Do you know the cost of supplies and medication? Do you know that what you pay for supplies determines what you charge to make a profit?
Do you know how to protect your employees from your clients and the court? All of that knowledge is necessary when going into this field. It’s something that only study and word of mouth can help you to learn. When it comes to communication, a person has o be able to convey a message in short but proper forms. All of that testing lingo kids use nowadays does not fly in a medical chart. You not only have to be neat, but accurate and grammatically correct in order to not only protect yourself, but to allow for proper care to be administered.
If you can’t orally communicate to the veterinarian how a dog is responding to treatment, then how will that animal receive proper care? In this business you have to be able to communicate quickly and efficiently. The last main component is about leadership, attitude, and organization. All of those things play hand in hand. If you aren’t organized then you can’t lead a team because your thoughts and information is all Jumbled. If you have a bad attitude, then it reflects on everyone else that you’re working with which leads to an uncomfortable work environment.
You must be organized, positive, and sure that you can succeed, in order to obtain the goal. My own personally strengths are pinpointed specifically to computer skills, communication and organization. I can type approximately 100 words per minute and can navigate Microsoft with ease. I know how to pass off information to someone quickly and efficiently, giving the main acts and only giving specific minute details when asked. When it comes to organization I am the queen of color coating.
Everything from my bedroom calendar, Possessing the Skills to Become a Veterinarian By traitor to my planner is color organized so all I have to do is write down a time or an assignment and I know what it pertains to. Not only does this make things simpler for me, but also it allows me to spend less time figuring out what the thing is, and more time actually doing what needs to be done. I do struggle with my leadership skills, as I tend to come across too harshly at times. I also do not possess the knowledge needed to protect my employees or to run from the business side of things.
If it came down to my owning and operating my own animal-related business I am not sure I could do it without help. My leadership skills certainly need some work. I would be able to properly organize, manage and handle communications with clients, but I wouldn’t be able to do a budget, lead the team solo or know how to protect my employees. I believe that being an administrator in the VAN or NAVA along with being a college professor for a veterinary technical school would be a little it more up my alley.
I feel that I can still easily organize, communicate with students and write up lesson plans and homework. But I wouldn’t be able to budget for my program or lead my students as a real leader. I don’t possess the leader quality needed to become a teacher for older students. I don’t enjoy telling others what to do. It’s not in my nature. In my current resume I already include my skills from previous Jobs when I feel they pertain to the Job to which I am applying. I always mention that I am certified in Microsoft, and how many words per minute I can type.
If I have to answer phones, then I state how many lines I can answer. I feel that this will continue to help me, as I have always obtained and kept the Jobs in which I have applied until the time came to change to something new. I am hoping my career, as a veterinary technician will be the last Job in which I apply for. This book was very helpful to me, and gave me some more ideas as to where I can take my career as a technician. I rate it an eight out often only because it was slightly boring to read and not organized quite the way that I find is easy to follow.