Pet nurses support veterinarians for ensuring quality care of pets by advocating clients on pet health and providing an effective and safe hospital environment for the animals. This professional promotes the welfare and health of animals. The job of pet nurses is a challenging one and requires them to have high levels of interaction with pets and animals along with great clinical skills. One can generate a lucrative income along with a comfortable lifestyle with a pet nurse job.
Pet nurses act as a support system for the veterinarians, as they add to the latter's overall performance and productivity. Nurses provide exceptional, effective and professional services. Some of their responsibilities include:
- Working for procedures that do not demand veterinarian assistance
- Monitoring surgical or hospitalized pets
- Completing the preparatory work for medical procedures
A pet nurse should have the ability to manage many tasks with accuracy and speed. They should have the skills of multitasking without losing patience and accuracy. Communication skills of these nurses should be strong as they are required to interact with clients about the pets. They should be able to speak, read and write English. A pet nurse should also be well acquainted with the specific medical terms related to the job.
Organizational ability is also a must for the candidates longing to be a pet nurse. A systematic approach has to be followed for carrying out different assignments. The candidate should be able to bring order out of chaos and confusions and convert problems to practical solutions. Client service skills should be present in the candidate as a pet nurse has to make sure that team provides informative, attentive and courteous information to the clients. They have to show personal satisfaction through great services.
The candidate must possess intellectual ability as they have to consistently follow the instructions and deliver them in diagrammatic, oral and written formats. Along with different skills, a pet nurse should also have the qualities of integrity, cooperativeness, flexibility, tolerance and willingness.
The candidate needs to have a bachelor's or associate degree, and a veterinary certification. Many employers also demand high school diplomas. The candidate should at least be 18 years old for performing the duties of a pet nurse. One year's training along with experience in customer service is preferred. Medical background for working as a pet nurse is also an added advantage for the candidate.
After getting qualified as a pet nurse, there are other courses that can take you a step further. You can attain diplomas in advanced veterinary nursing for gaining higher levels of competence. You can also opt for the long distance courses in pet nursing for polishing your skills. After around 18 months of study, you can clear the written examination. If you qualify in the exam, you can use initials DipAVN after you name.
Vacancy levels due to job changing are also expected to be high. These vacancies are expected to be around 67.4% as compared to the 27.8% job openings at present. The mix of different industries employing pet nurses is a favorable for ensuring employment growth for the candidates.
The average salary of the pet nurse is around $45,000. The salaries also vary on the basis of industry, experience, location, benefits and company. So if you are planning to pursue a career as pet nurse, do not worry about employment opportunities and high salary. If you are good enough, you will not have a hard time finding a job.
With the growth in the rate of unemployment throughout the country, the key health care industry is witnessing acute labor shortage. Many schools are providing training for pet nurses to raise the number of candidates required for pet nursing jobs. The shortage will continue to the next year too. So the job prospects for the aspiring pet nurse candidates are good. You can easily get placed in various industries including scientific, professional, technical, social assistance and health care.
