The Veterinary Technology Blog

If you recently graduated or are close to completing a veterinary technology program, congratulations! The majority of the hard work is behind you, but there is one final hurdle to jump before you can start your career as a licensed, certified, or registered veterinary technician: the Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE).

Just because you have seen every episode of Swamp People or know more about calling ducks that the guys on Duck Dynasty doesn’t mean that you would be a good veterinary assistant. True, it is helpful to have a background dealing with animals, but there are many other considerations when deciding to make veterinary assistance your lifetime career.

With the anticipated growth of the pet care industry, veterinarians will need more qualified technicians and technologists to perform tests, prepare vaccines, prep tissue samples, take blood samples, clean instruments, maintain equipment, and assist vets during surgery.

Vet tech candidates preparing for interviews may have an advantage if they are familiar with the questions they may be asked. This collection of questions—some common and others less so—along with possible answers, were all shared by past and present vet techs.

Assistance dogs take loyal companionship to a professional level. Trained to perform specific tasks that mitigate a person’s disability, these canine volunteers play a crucial role in the lives of the people they serve.

Think that all veterinary teaching hospitals are alike? Think again! This list of 15 great veterinary teaching hospitals includes schools that specialize in multiple services, treatment of many different types of animals and even outreach into the community.

To prepare in the event of a natural or man-made disaster, Ready advises having emergency kits on hand not only for the human members of your family but for your pets, too.

Whether you are a veterinarian or vet tech in training, or simply a pet owner who wants to stay up on the latest in animal care news, reading blogs is one of the easiest ways to do it. Because blogs are updated regularly they can take a more nuanced and informative approach to animal care issues. The blogs included in this list are among the best—at times educational, heartwarming, personal, and funny.

A degree in animal behavior can give aspiring animal psychologists the opportunity to explore many things of interest about animals: how they avoid predators, choose their mates, find their food, and reproduce and care for their young.

Who’s to say a vet tech internship can’t be educational, rewarding, and cool all at once? These internships provide some interesting twists on the traditional. Many are based in zoos or animal rehabilitation facilities, and offer an opportunity to provide supervised, hands-on animal care to a diverse variety of species. Some cater specifically to large farm animals or marine mammals.

Many veterinary potentials are intrigued by the care, biology, and future of animals like zebras, ocelots, and lemurs. And, while many colleges provide excellent veterinary courses that define and familiarize students with these creatures, only a small number of schools provide on-site zoo animal experience.

As the nurses of the animal medicine world, veterinary technicians are an essential part of the animal healthcare team. By taking on administrative, customer-facing, and routine clinical tasks, vet techs extend the capacity of a veterinarian to focus on diagnosis, surgery, and treatment planning. While many vet techs enjoy fulfilling careers working as generalists, some find that there is a specific arm of animal medicine in which they’re particularly interested and skilled. Vet techs who wish to follow their passion into a specialization will find that they can level up...

Most animal behavior programs are offered in conjunction with a school’s psychology department and enable students to learn many different aspects of animal behavior. Take a look at this list of 7 top animal behavior and psychology programs to learn about available degree offerings.

Veterinary technician anesthetists—also called vet tech specialists in anesthesia (VTSA)—occupy a growing specialty in animal healthcare careers as more people invest in life-saving surgeries and procedures for animals.

Just as the human body needs specialists for different injuries, animals often require a wide range of medical attention. Additional expertise on the anatomy, pathology, behavior, and even nutrition of our pets is learned by becoming specialized in one of the veterinary technician careers. We’ll break down the five top-earning jobs among these, outlining areas of expertise and salary.