Veterinary Medicine Education and Training

Guide to Veterinary Medicine Education and Training

How to Get Your Employees the Education They Need
By Theresa Halvorsen

If you’re thinking about opening a veterinary clinic or you already have one, a big concern is getting your employees veterinary training. Extra training or having veterinarians certified in specialties can make your veterinary practice more competitive.

However, poor training in your employees may result in mistakes that can hurt or even kill a patient. You may end up paying more or losing money to correct an employee’s mistake. In addition, veterinary medicine mistakes can open you up to lawsuits, especially in our current litigious culture.

Getting training for your employees should be your top priority. Luckily, there are many organizations that can help your employees get the veterinary medicine education and training they need, and ways for you to help your employees get their training. Your top priorities are the following:

1. Making sure your veterinarians go to reputable accredited schools.

2. Ensuring your veterinary technicians and employees holding similar jobs have the veterinary education and training to do their jobs.

3. Making sure your employees are up-do-date on the newest information about veterinary medicine.

Action Steps

The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Look at the vet school your veterinarians attend Make sure the veterinary schools have accreditation by national accreditation boards and that they're preparing your veterinarians to become board certified in a veterinary medicine speciality.

I recommend:  The AAVMC (Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges) and/or the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) accredit veterinary schools.

Ensure your veterinary technicians take the proper vet courses It's easy to have a teenager or someone interested in animals graduate from cleaning cages to helping out in the exam rooms but this opens you up to lawsuits and employee mistakes. Encourage your employees to get training with incentives such as hours, time off for courses, extra pay or even scholarships if you can afford it.

I recommend:  NAVTA (National Association for Veterinary Technicians in America) is useful for more information about veterinary technician training and education. Your local community college may offer veterinary technician classes. Contact the Council on Foundations for more information about scholarships.

Continue your employees' education with veterinary training programs Even after becoming a veterinarian or a veterinary technician, an employee's training doesn't end. They need to continue their vet education and training to learn about new medical practices and new ways to treat their patients. Have your employees get certification in additional procedures, take extra vet classes or attend seminars.

I recommend:  Visit VetContact for worldwide veterinary events, seminars and articles about veterinary medicine. You can also go to National Veterinary Education Association for seminars in the United States.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• Many potential employees simply need hands on veterinary training to get the experience they need to become a great veterinary employee. Consider having some of your more senior employees mentor junior employees or volunteers.