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Veterinarians alone can’t always perform the medical services required by their clients’ animals. Whether it’s a routine checkup, a dental examination or a surgical procedure, they often require the help of a paravetinary worker, such as a veterinary assistant. Veterinary assistants are paraveterinary workers who, as their job title suggests, assist veterinarians with their duties. You can work as a veterinary assistant without completing a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program. With that said, there are several skills you’ll need to succeed as a veterinary assistant.

#1) Listening

As a veterinary assistant, you must be able to listen. Listening is a skill — and it’s something that all veterinary assistants need to succeed. You’ll have to listen to pet owners as well as veterinarians. Depending on how the veterinary clinic operates, pet owners may talk to you before they talk to a veterinarian. And when the veterinarian comes into the room, he or she may instruct you to provide assistance. Regardless, listening is an essential skill when working as a veterinary assistant.

#2) Animal Restraint

You must know how to safely and properly restrain animals to succeed as a veterinary assistant. Not all animals, of course, require restraining. Many dogs, especially large dogs, are relaxed and comfortable in the veterinary clinic. For small dogs and other animals, though, it’s a different story. As a veterinary assistant, you must know how to restrain them so that they don’t pose a safety hazard to you or other workers in the veterinary clinic. Animal restraint is a skill that all veterinary assistants need to succeed.

#3) Emergency First Aid

Another skill you’ll need to succeed as a veterinary assistant is emergency first aid. Animals can experience medical emergencies just like us humans can. Maybe an owner’s dog is having a seizure, or perhaps an owner’s cat broke one of their legs. When medical emergencies such as these occur, a veterinary assistant may be the first person to provide emergency first aid until the veterinarian arrives. Emergency first aid consists of treatment services that are designed to improve the animal’s condition until they can be seen by a veterinarian. Like with listening and animal restraint, it’s an essential skill you’ll need to succeed as a veterinary assistant.

#4) Compassion

We can’t talk about essential veterinary assistant skills without mentioning compassion. While some owners take their pets to a veterinary clinic for checkups, most of them do so to seek medical treatment for their pets. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the top three reasons owners take their dogs to a veterinary clinic include seeking treatment for skin allergies, treatment for ear infections and treatment for digestive issues or an upset stomach. Dogs, as well as other animals, are often sick or injured when they arrive at a veterinary clinic. As a veterinary assistant, you must show compassion for these animals to make them and their owners feel at ease.

#5) Surgery Preparation

You must know how to prepare animals for surgery when working as a veterinary assistant. Veterinary assistants typically don’t perform surgeries on animals — at least not by themselves. Rather, they prepare animals for surgery. Some states allow veterinary assistants to help veterinarians perform surgery on animals, whereas others only allow them to prepare animals for surgery. No matter which state you practice in, you’ll probably be required to prepare animals for surgery when working as a veterinary assistant. Surgery preparation is a common skill that nearly all veterinary assistants possess.

#6) Administrative

Administrative skills are often needed by veterinary assistants. What are administrative skills exactly? They are traits and characteristics that are used to manage a business. Veterinary assistants aren’t necessarily managers. They do, however, perform similar tasks. You might be required to create appointments with clients, confirm clients’ upcoming appointments, process clients’ payments, send checkup reminders to clients and more. With administrative skills, you’ll be able to perform these and other related tasks that help the veterinary clinic run more smoothly.

#7) Time Management

Time management is an essential skill you’ll need to succeed as a veterinary assistant. It’s not uncommon for veterinary clinics to see 40 to 80 animals per day. Large clinics, in fact, may see even more animals. As a veterinary assistant, you must know to manage your time. There are instances in which veterinary clinics are busy with many animals. During these busy hours, you can’t focus all of your time on a single animal. Rather, you’ll have to move around from one animal to the animal while ensuring that they are all safe and ready to see a veterinarian.

All careers require certain skills to succeed. As a veterinary assistant, some of the top skills required for this paraveterinary job include listening, animal restraint, emergency first aid, compassion, surgery preparation, administrative and time management.