3 Benefits of Earning your Veterinary Assistant Certification

Veterinary assistants play a pivotal role on the veterinary team. In a single day, an assistant could be explaining to a client the importance of having their dog’s teeth cleaned, then move on to help the receptionist at the front desk, then assist the veterinarian with nursing care. You gain a lot of experience in this role, which allows you to decide if you want to continue your education as a veterinary technician or even, a veterinarian.

While it is possible to get on-the-job training as a veterinary assistant, there are many benefits of having your certification credentials before you start working in the field. Check out three of them below.

1. You get more one-on-one training from experienced instructors than you would from your colleagues while on the job. You will learn everything from assisting with small animal nursing to providing pre- and post-operative care to administering medications and more. Learning closely from our instructors, will give you the confidence and comfort you need before you start working with animals.
2. More opportunities for job placement.  By attending Pima Medical, many of our students end up being hired by their externship sites once they’ve completed their hours. If you don’t get hired at your externship, then our career services teams are able to help with job placement. Becoming a certified veterinary assistant is a great way to get your foot in the door and begin working in the field to gain experience. Having a certification from a reputable institution before applying to the position means you won’t need as much training on the job, therefore, you may have more job opportunities.
3. Get started on a rewarding career now

   You can go on to earn your Veterinary Technician associate degree. At Pima Medical, you are required to have your veterinary assistant certification in order to be accepted into the veterinary technician program. You will have more advanced skills to learn, so having the basic ones under your belt, is not only required, but very beneficial.

Of course, the biggest benefit of all, is to be able to help animals in need. Truth be told, that is why most people in veterinary medicine enter into the field. Most have loved animals their entire lives, and going into an animal-related field of work is just the most natural thing to do.

If you’ve been thinking of a career in the veterinary field, and want to get experience first before you decide how far into the field you’d like to go, then take the next step and talk to one of our medical career specialists about the veterinary assistant program. You could be changing your life and the lives of many animals in less than a year.