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Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers

Feed, water, and examine pets and other nonfarm animals for signs of illness, disease, or injury in laboratories and animal hospitals and clinics. Clean and disinfect cages and work areas, and sterilize laboratory and surgical equipment. May provide routine postoperative care, administer medication orally or topically, or prepare samples for laboratory examination under the supervision of veterinary or laboratory animal technologists or technicians, veterinarians, or scientists.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Dust, spray, or bathe animals to control insect pests.
    • Fill medication prescriptions.
    • Assist veterinarians in examining animals to determine the nature of illnesses or injuries.
    • Provide assistance with euthanasia of animals or disposal of corpses.
    • Perform hygiene-related duties, such as clipping animals' claws or cleaning and polishing teeth.
    • Clean, maintain, and sterilize instruments or equipment.
    • Prepare surgical equipment and pass instruments or materials to veterinarians during surgical procedures.
    • Write reports, maintain research information, or perform clerical duties.
    • Hold or restrain animals during veterinary procedures.
    • Perform accounting duties, such as bookkeeping, billing customers for services, or maintaining inventories.
    • Administer anesthetics during surgery and monitor the effects on animals.
    • Sell pet food or supplies to customers.
    • Prepare surgical equipment and pass instruments or materials to veterinarians during surgical procedures.
    • Monitor animals recovering from surgery and notify veterinarians of any unusual changes or symptoms.
    • Record information relating to animal genealogy, feeding schedules, appearance, behavior, or breeding.
    • Educate or advise clients on animal health care, nutrition, or behavior problems.
    • Provide assistance with euthanasia of animals or disposal of corpses.
    • Perform accounting duties, such as bookkeeping, billing customers for services, or maintaining inventories.
    • Provide emergency first aid to sick or injured animals.
    • Perform enemas, catheterizations, ear flushes, intravenous feedings, or gavages.
    • Groom, trim, or clip animals' coats.
    • Administer anesthetics during surgery and monitor the effects on animals.
    • Clean and maintain kennels, animal holding areas, examination or operating rooms, or animal loading or unloading facilities to control the spread of disease.
    • Administer medication, immunizations, or blood plasma to animals as prescribed by veterinarians.
    • Prepare examination or treatment rooms by stocking them with appropriate supplies.
    • Examine animals to detect behavioral changes or clinical symptoms that could indicate illness or injury.
    • Collect laboratory specimens, such as blood, urine, or feces, for testing.
    • Clean, maintain, and sterilize instruments or equipment.
    • Prepare feed for animals according to specific instructions, such as diet lists or schedules.
    • Write reports, maintain research information, or perform clerical duties.
    • Perform office reception duties, such as scheduling appointments or helping customers.
    • Prepare examination or treatment rooms by stocking them with appropriate supplies.
    • Place orders to restock inventory of hospital or laboratory supplies.
    • Perform routine laboratory tests or diagnostic tests, such as taking or developing x-rays.
    • Perform office reception duties, such as scheduling appointments or helping customers.
    • Exercise animals or provide them with companionship.

    Skills

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    3
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    3

    Abilities

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    Knowledge

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 30730/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 14.77/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 4,540
    • Yearly Projected Openings 730

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Dependability
    • Integrity
    • Attention to Detail
    • Self Control
    • Cooperation
    • Persistence

    Tools

    • Animal catching devices
    • Animal shearing or clipping equipment
    • Animal weighing scales
    • Bar code reader equipment
    • Benchtop centrifuges
    • Binocular light compound microscopes
    • Blood collection syringes
    • Chemical or gas sterilizers
    • Clothes dryers
    • Desktop computers
    • Digital cameras
    • Full body immersion hydrotherapy baths or tanks
    • Gas anesthesia apparatus or machines
    • Handheld refractometers or polarimeters
    • Hematology analyzers
    • Intravenous tubing with catheter administration kits
    • Label making machines
    • Laboratory beakers
    • Laboratory forceps
    • Laundry type washing machines
    • Medical acoustic stethoscopes
    • Medical picture archiving computer systems PACS
    • Medical radiological shielding aprons or masks or drapes
    • Medical radiological shielding gloves
    • Medical x ray darkroom accessories
    • Medical x ray films or cassettes
    • Medical x ray units for general diagnostic use
    • Microcentrifuges
    • Microscope slides
    • Multipurpose or general test tubes
    • Muzzles
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Protective gloves
    • Special purpose telephones
    • Specimen collection container
    • Steam autoclaves or sterilizers
    • Surgical scissors
    • Suture removers
    • Tablet counters
    • Tourniquets
    • Urinalysis analyzers
    • Vacuum blood collection tubes or containers
    • Veterinary blood pressure testers
    • Veterinary clinical thermometers
    • Veterinary injection or suction unit
    • Veterinary nail trimmers or cutters

    Technology

    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Label making software
    • Medical software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

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