Becoming a Veterinary Assistant

Learning Objectives:

• The veterinary clinic/hospital.
• Organization chart and interrelations. The team.
• Charging correctly
• Clinical documentation.
• Nonclinical documentation.
• Legal documentation.
• Animal identification.
• Use of databases.
• Health and safety
• Stock management.

Learning Objectives

Ethological characteristics depending on the species

• Dogs: breeds and unique characteristics.
• Cats: breeds and unique characteristics.
• Ethology and basic care of rabbits and small rodents.
• Ethology and basic care of reptiles and birds.

  Assistance based on the health status

• Types of cages/rooms for the different animals.
• Means of isolation of animals with infectious-contagious diseases.
• Hygienic care: frequency of controls; temperature and humidity conditions.
• Obtaining biological samples in a non-traumatic way.
• Rehabilitation principles and techniques: massages, circulation activation, passive gymnastics, active gymnastics, hot-cold, fundamentals of inflammation and thermal therapy.
• Maintenance exercise. Recovery. Stress influence on recovery.

Learning Objectives

• Customer needs.
• Interpersonal communication. Verbal and non-verbal communication.
• Assertiveness and empathy in communications with clients.
• Sales strategies and skills. After-sales service.
• Customer loyalty strategies.
• Communication channels with clients.
• Management of complaints.
• Professionalism and ethics for small animal veterinary assistants

Learning Objectives:

• Physiology and pathology of endocrine regulation and metabolic processes.
• Reproductive physiology and pathology.
• Physiology of the cardiovascular system and most frequent pathologies.
• Physiology of the digestive system and nutrition. Most frequent disorders.
• Pathophysiology of the respiratory system.

Learning Objectives:

• Physiology and pathology of the urogenital system.
• Skin function and most frequent skin diseases.
• Neurophysiology and most frequent alterations.
• Physiopathology of the locomotor system.

Learning Objectives

• Clinical Examination
• History
• General and physical inspection
• Auscultation.
• Palpation and percussion.
• Vital parameters.
• Techniques for preparing animals before diagnostic tests or treatments.
• Characteristics of a veterinary consultation
• Basic instruments for consultation, types and maintenance.
• Instruments for animal exploration, types and maintenance.
• Diagnostic equipment.
• Computer equipment and applications.

Learning Objectives

• Nutrition during growth.
• Nutrition in geriatric animals.
• Nutrition in hospitalized animals
• Critical care feeding: routes of administration, parenteral feeding, nutrition and basic care.
• Nutrition for different conditions: liver, heart, kidney, obesity, etc.
• Education of the owner.
• Practical exercises for real cases.

Learning Objectives

• Emergency patients
• Triage.
• Emergency team.
• Vital signs.
• Basic and advanced life support manoeuvres.
• Assisted ventilation.
• Maintaining/assuring adequate body temperature of the critical patient.
• CPR

Learning Objectives

• Preanesthesia and sedation: basic principles and mode of action of the most used drugs. Inhalatory anaesthesia.
• Open and closed systems.
• Gas volatility.
• Intravenous anaesthesia: indications and authorized medications
• Interpretation of signs of analgesia and loss of consciousness.
• Animal monitoring: vital signs (measurement and interpretation).
• Anaesthesia monitoring. Metabolism of anaesthetic drugs.
• Overdose.
• Resuscitation.
• Practical monitoring of anaesthesia for small animal veterinary assistants

Learning Objectives

• Health promotion and disease prevention.
• Information about the most common zoonosis.
• Vaccination and deworming protocols. Vectors’ control.
• Hygiene and skin care.

Learning Objectives

• Therapy principles
• Propedeutics.
• Basic veterinary pharmacology.
• Classification of drugs based on their therapeutic use.
• Classification of drugs from a legal point of view. Preserving and handling different types of drugs.
• Iv fluids / electrolytes.
• Dosage calculation.
• How to administer medication.

Learning Objectives

Asepsis, disinfection and sterilization

• Disinfection and asepsis.
• Instrument disinfection and sterilization.
• Applicable regulations for biocidal products and chemical products for hospital use.
• Registration and safety data sheets.
• Animal asepsis.
• Pre-surgical protocols.
• Topical/local antiseptics.
• Bio sanitary waste. Identification and control. Withdrawal and disposal. Applicable regulations on the elimination of biological waste.
• Basic healing conditions.
• Types of healing: first and second intention.
• Delays in healing: external and internal causes.

Learning Objectives

• Basic materials and equipment.
• Laboratory reagents.
• Protective and safety equipment; containers for waste disposal.
• Laboratory operations.
• Preparing solutions and dilutions.
• Types of samples: blood, urine, CSF, semen, exudates or others.
• Collecting and obtaining biological samples: blood, urine, faeces and other body fluids.
• Processing animal biological samples.
• Preserving samples.
• Transporting samples.
• Quantitative and qualitative analysis.
• Analytical determinations.
• Battery of tests.
• Common errors.

Study of biological samples: blood, urine, faeces and other body fluids

• Blood: cells, plasma and serum.
• Pathophysiology of blood.
• Preanalytical recommendations.
• Blood samples for cytology, coagulation, parasitological, biochemical, immunological and microbiological parameters/studies.
• Urine. Urine samples for routine clinical evaluation, quantification of substances and microbiological elements.
• Faeces. Stool samples for occult blood detection, microbiological and parasitological analysis.
• Analysis of other body fluids.

• Samples for anatomo-pathological analysis
• Types of samples for the anatomo-pathological study.
• Techniques for obtaining anatomopathological samples.
• Fine needle aspiration (FNA).
• Processing of samples for histological study: materials and method.
• Processing of samples for cytological study: materials and method.

• Hazards prevention
• Risk factors when handling biological samples.
• Applicable regulations: prevention of occupational risks and management of biological waste.
• Personal protective equipment.

Learning Objectives

X-Ray

• Physical principles of radiation.
• X-ray properties.
• Types of radiation.
• Spectrum of electromagnetic radiation.
• Applicable regulations regarding radioprotection.
• X-ray producing equipment and systems.
• Preventing hazardous exposure.
• Factors that influence the quality of the radiographic image.

Endoscopy

• Basic principles.
• Different types of endoscopy.
• Fibro endoscopy.
• Video endoscopy.
• Preparation of patients undergoing endoscopy.
• Ultrasonography
• Physical basics.
• Piezoelectric effect.
• Interaction of ultrasound with organic tissues.
• Descriptive terminology.
• Animal preparation.
• Most frequent uses.

Learning Objectives

Samples for anatomopathological analysis

• Types of samples for the anatomopathological study.
• Techniques for obtaining anatomopathological samples.
• Fine needle aspiration (FNA).
• Processing of samples for histological study: materials and method.
• Processing of samples for cytological study: materials and method.
•  Hazards prevention
• Risk factors when handling biological samples.
• Applicable regulations: prevention of occupational risks and management of biological waste.
• Personal protective equipment.

Learning Objectives:

• Interpretation of animal’s body language. Indicators of stress and insecurity: vocalization, nervousness.
• Handling and restraint: non-traumatic restraint techniques; materials and equipment used for restraint. Handling not cooperative animals.

Euthanasia

• Concept and justification.
• Methods of euthanasia in animals.
• Applicable regulations on animal protection and practice of euthanasia.
• Animal welfare. Euthanasia – legislation.

Learning Objectives

• Equipment and material
• Clothing and accessories for operating room staff.
• Means of isolation of the surgical area.
• Auxiliary table: instrument layout and preparation.
• Surgical instruments and equipment.
• Suture material and suture techniques.
• Practical small animal peri-operative veterinary assisting support