What does a veterinarian technician do?
Veterinarian technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real veterinarian technician resumes:
- Manage tech appointments, suture removal, bandage removal and placement, CPR and emergency care when need.
- Conduct general triage of all appointments before seen by DVM.
- Assist DVM with schedule appointments, restrain pets as needed, draw blood and place I.V.
- Develop and implement new drug control procedures as well as pet control and identification program
- Draw up blood work & assist veterinarian during physical exam of patients, administer controlled/uncontrol drugs to patients
- Prepare patients for examinations by assessing potential problems prior to entering examination room with doctor -assist Dr. McMahon with surgery
- General examination and treatment duties, dental prophylaxis, patient preparation and positioning for diagnostic imaging, pet owner health education.
- Place intravenous and urinary catheters.
- Place intravenous catheters, urinary catheters, administer subcutaneous medications and oral medications.
- Work closely with clients, other staff and Dr. Faulkner.
Veterinarian technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Veterinarian Technicians are proficient in Patients, PET, and Anesthesia. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Veterinarian Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 16%
Prepared patients for examinations by assessing potential problems prior to entering examination room with doctor -Assisted Dr. McMahon with surgery
- PET, 9%
Provide immunizations of pet animals as directed by Assistant Public Health Officer/Veterinarian.
- Anesthesia, 8%
Assisted veterinarian with physical examinations, administered anesthesia and medications, processed fluids and blood products.
- Catheter, 7%
Place catheters, draw blood, fill out paperwork to send samples to the labs for diagnostics.
- Lab Tests, 7%
Run lab tests, give injections and medicate pets.
- Surgery Room, 6%
Sterilize tools, ensure equipment is in working order, stocking supplies for examination and surgery rooms.
"patients," "pet," and "anesthesia" are among the most common skills that veterinarian technicians use at work. You can find even more veterinarian technician responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a veterinarian technician to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what veterinarian technicians do because "veterinary technologists and technicians communicate with supervisors, other staff, and animal owners." Additionally, a veterinarian technician resume shows how veterinarian technicians use communication skills: "direct customer care and communication skills towards the patients' caretaker along with the responsibilities of customer care call backs. "
Compassion. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling veterinarian technician duties is compassion. The role rewards competence in this skill because "veterinary technologists and technicians must treat animals with kindness and must be sensitive when dealing with the owners of sick pets." According to a veterinarian technician resume, here's how veterinarian technicians can utilize compassion in their job responsibilities: "use compassion when client's pets have passed away or need to be euthanized due to loss of quality of life. "
Detail oriented. This is an important skill for veterinarian technicians to perform their duties. For an example of how veterinarian 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 veterinarian technician: "make initial assessment of patients; obtain vital signs, patient history.- update medical records with detailed and accurate information. ".
Manual dexterity. veterinarian technician responsibilities often require "manual dexterity." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "veterinary technologists and technicians must handle animals, medical instruments, and laboratory equipment with care." This resume example shows what veterinarian technicians do with manual dexterity on a typical day: "observed vital signs both manually and electronically. "
Physical strength. Another common skill required for veterinarian technician responsibilities is "physical strength." This skill comes up in the duties of veterinarian technicians all the time, as "veterinary technologists and technicians need to be able to manage and lift animals." An excerpt from a real veterinarian technician resume shows how this skill is central to what a veterinarian technician does: "obtained patient history and physicals, educated clients on medication and discharge instructions. "
The three companies that hire the most veterinarian technicians are:
- Petco Holdings, Inc.4 veterinarian technicians jobs
- Virbac3 veterinarian technicians jobs
- VCA Animal Hospitals2 veterinarian technicians jobs
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Compare different veterinarian technicians
Veterinarian 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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, veterinarian technician responsibilities require skills like "anesthesia," "surgery room," "catheter placement," and "radiology." Meanwhile a typical animal health technician has skills in areas such as "laboratory animals," "husbandry," "euthanasia," and "usda." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Animal health technicians tend to reach similar levels of education than veterinarian technicians. In fact, animal health technicians are 4.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.3% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Veterinarian technician vs. Veterinary nurse
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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, veterinarian technician responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "anesthesia," "surgery room," "compassion," and "clinical symptoms." Meanwhile, a veterinary nurse has duties that require skills in areas such as "critical care," "triage," "emergency care," and "internal medicine." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Veterinary nurses earn a lower average salary than veterinarian technicians. But veterinary nurses earn the highest pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $35,153. Additionally, veterinarian technicians earn the highest salaries in the health care with average pay of $39,726 annually.In general, veterinary nurses achieve similar levels of education than veterinarian technicians. They're 0.9% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Veterinarian technician vs. Laboratory animal 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.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a veterinarian technician is likely to be skilled in "patients," "pet," "anesthesia," and "lab tests," while a typical laboratory animal technician is skilled in "animal husbandry," "research animals," "cleanliness," and "technical procedures."
Laboratory animal technicians earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $35,377. Veterinarian technicians earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $39,726.laboratory animal technicians typically earn similar educational levels compared to veterinarian technicians. Specifically, they're 1.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Veterinarian technician vs. Technician
Types of veterinarian technician
Updated January 8, 2025
