What does a Veterinary Technician do?
A Veterinary Technician, also known as Vet Tech, specializes in performing laboratory tasks and providing immediate and necessary care to animals in a Hospital Clinic or Research Facility under the supervision of a Veterinarian. Moreover, a Veterinary Technician is in charge of administering medicines or treatments, gathering samples such as blood and urine for analysis, monitoring a patient's condition and learning its history, and conducting hygienic procedures such as dental and welfare. There also instances where a Veterinary Technician must communicate with pet owners, sharing extensive knowledge on how to take better care of them.
Veterinary technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real veterinary technician resumes:
- Manage tech appointments, suture removal, bandage removal and placement, CPR and emergency care when need.
- Manage operational and administrative functions such as training/supervising new employees, issuing prescriptions, and documenting pet insurance applications and transactions.
- Advance medical procedures such as intravenous catheter placement, anesthetic monitoring, and nasal catheter placement.
- Provide specialize nursing care, administer treatments to hospitalize patients, catheter placement and provide post operative care.
- Assist in surgical preparation of patients and maintain status during surgical procedures including monitoring and adjusting anesthesia base on patient status.
- Conduct routine health procedures on dogs and non-human primates, including dentistry and TB testing.
- Prepare documentation and study record data in compliance with GLP, FDA, USDA, and IACUC guidelines.
- Provide husbandry for animals such as mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, goats, & alpacas.
- Perform semi-annual TB testing of non-human primate colony.
- Provide compassion and competent nursing care to patients requiring specialty medicine.
- Gain experience in emergency triage and the hospitalization of critically ill patients.
- Maintain hospital care by recovering patients from anesthesia, administering medications, and deciphering and reporting progress.
- Maintain quality animal care, monitor patients, administer medications and practice triage in a fast pace environment.
- Perform orthopedic treatment functions as preparation and application of partial casts, splints and dressings under emergency room attention conditions.
- Assist staff veterinarians in all medical procedures, including surgical preparations, laboratory functions, radiology, and medical device operations.
Veterinary technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 25% of Veterinary Technicians are proficient in PET, Patients, and Anesthesia. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Veterinary Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- PET, 25%
Assisted veterinarian during exams, including properly restraining animals as required and educating pet owners.
- Patients, 12%
Cared for patients in association with Veterinarians and Veterinary Technicians Maintained and filed medical records Assisted Clients in examination rooms, and
- Anesthesia, 6%
Assisted in surgical preparation of patients and maintained status during surgical procedures including monitoring and adjusting anesthesia based on patient status.
- Catheter, 6%
Provide specialized nursing care, administer treatments to hospitalized patients, catheter placement and provide post operative care.
- Exam Rooms, 5%
Ushered clients into exam rooms and assisted Veterinarian during patient examinations.
- Patient Care, 5%
Record patient care, medications, significant events and other portent information required for effective patient management.
"pet," "patients," and "anesthesia" are among the most common skills that veterinary technicians use at work. You can find even more veterinary technician responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a veterinary technician to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what veterinary technicians do because "veterinary technologists and technicians communicate with supervisors, other staff, and animal owners." Additionally, a veterinary technician resume shows how veterinary technicians use communication skills: "prepared for doctor exams, assisted dvm, filled prescribed medications, and client education and communications. "
Compassion. Many veterinary technician duties rely on compassion. "veterinary technologists and technicians must treat animals with kindness and must be sensitive when dealing with the owners of sick pets.," so a veterinary technician will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways veterinary technician responsibilities rely on compassion: "provided pet parents with customer service and compassionate care for their pets and escorted them into examination room. "
Detail oriented. This is an important skill for veterinary technicians to perform their duties. For an example of how veterinary technician responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "veterinary technologists and technicians must pay attention to detail." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a veterinary technician: "maintained detailed patient records using dvm manager. ".
Manual dexterity. A big part of what veterinary technicians do relies on "manual dexterity." You can see how essential it is to veterinary technician responsibilities because "veterinary technologists and technicians must handle animals, medical instruments, and laboratory equipment with care." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical veterinary technician tasks: "created radiation safety manual for the hospital, including documentation of staff members' exposure while using radiology with patients. "
Physical strength. Another crucial skill for a veterinary technician to carry out their responsibilities is "physical strength." A big part of what veterinary technicians relies on this skill, since "veterinary technologists and technicians need to be able to manage and lift animals." How this skill relates to veterinary technician duties can be seen in an example from a veterinary technician resume snippet: "maintain medical records performed chemistry analysis physical examinations hematology fecal floatations urinalysis answering phones scheduling appointments. "
The three companies that hire the most veterinary technicians are:
- Banfield Pet Hospital961 veterinary technicians jobs
- VCA Animal Hospitals216 veterinary technicians jobs
- Petco Holdings, Inc.206 veterinary technicians jobs
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Compare different veterinary technicians
Veterinary technician vs. Laboratory animal technician
A laboratory animal technician is responsible for conducting animal research studies by observing and analyzing animal nature and conditions. Laboratory animal technicians maintain the safety and cleanliness of animal cages, supply them food and water, and administer medications as needed. They also take samples for laboratory examinations, monitor the adequacy of inventories, and sterilize tools and equipment. A laboratory animal technician writes finding reports, logs information on the database, and coordinates with other animal experts for study validations.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, veterinary technician responsibilities require skills like "pet," "patients," "anesthesia," and "exam rooms." Meanwhile a typical laboratory animal technician has skills in areas such as "animal husbandry," "research animals," "cleanliness," and "technical procedures." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Laboratory animal technicians tend to make the most money working in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $35,377. In contrast, veterinary technicians make the biggest average salary, $39,271, in the health care industry.The education levels that laboratory animal technicians earn slightly differ from veterinary technicians. In particular, laboratory animal technicians are 2.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a veterinary technician. Additionally, they're 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Veterinary technician vs. Animal health technician
Animal health technicians work primarily in an animal diagnostics laboratory, where they test specimens according to a veterinarian's requests. The animal health technician must be capable of operating all of the necessary diagnostics equipment for animal care. The animal health technician must provide accurate results on diagnostic requests coming from a veterinarian. Added responsibilities of an animal health technician are educating owners on taking care of their pets, ensuring that all equipment is working correctly, and providing accurate results for better diagnosis.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that veterinary technician responsibilities requires skills like "anesthesia," "venipuncture," "catheter placement," and "radiology." But an animal health technician might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "laboratory animals," "husbandry," "euthanasia," and "usda."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Animal health technicians tend to reach higher levels of education than veterinary technicians. In fact, they're 5.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Veterinary technician vs. Medical service technician
A medical service technician provides health care and treatments to patients under the supervision or directives of a more experienced physician. Most of their responsibilities revolve around assessing a patient's condition, administering required aid, diagnosing patients, conducting check-ups, and counseling patients. There are also instances when a medical service technician may prescribe medications, conduct inspections at facilities to ensure sanitary conditions, and coordinate with hospital staff for requesting supplies. Furthermore, it is crucial to have accurate documentation of all processes and transactions, all while adhering to the hospital's policies and standards.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, veterinary technicians are more likely to have skills like "anesthesia," "patient care," "venipuncture," and "catheter placement." But a medical service technician is more likely to have skills like "infection control," "home health," "chemistry," and "medical terminology."
Medical service technicians earn the highest salary when working in the government industry, where they receive an average salary of $39,185. Comparatively, veterinary technicians have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $39,271.Most medical service technicians achieve a similar degree level compared to veterinary technicians. For example, they're 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Veterinary technician vs. Technician
Technicians are skilled professionals who primarily work with technology in different industries. They are knowledgeable about the technical aspects of the various items they work with. They are usually working with electricity or with technological advancements. Technicians may be assigned to do the construction of equipment or materials related to their field of study. They may also be assigned to conduct diagnostics and other maintenance activities to ensure that the equipment works properly. Technicians may also be required to conduct basic repairs in case of problems. It is important that technicians have good analytical skills and decision-making skills.
Types of veterinary technician
Updated January 8, 2025
