Veterinary Assistant Study Guide
Core Competency Areas
The exam tests for 'Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities' (KSAs) in the following core competency areas:
3%Veterinary Staff & Educational Requirements
15%Safety & Infection Control
1%Signs of Animals in Distress
1%Veterinarian Dentistry
1%Veterinarian Radiation
7%Veterinarian Pharmacy
6%Veterinary Laboratory
13%Veterinary Surgery
7%Gestation
1%Front Office
1%Restraints
8%Vital Signs (Normal Ranges)
6%Scientific Names of Animals
18%Anatomical Abbreviations
9%Common Diagnoses
3%Common Procedures
Topical Breakdown
Use the following topical guide to help you prepare for the exam:
I. Veterinary Staff & Educational Requirements (3%)
- Veterinary Assistant
- Veterinary Technician
- Veterinary Technologist
- Veterinarian
II. Safety & Infection Control (15%)
- Staff Injuries
- Biohazardous Waste
- Sharps Container
- Priority of Animal Safety
- OSHA regulations
- Foods & Plants to be avoided by animals
- Common cleaning agent used in vet clinics
- Autoclaving/ chemical sterilization
- Poisonings
- MSDS
- Nosocomial infections
- Zoonotic infections
- Clostridial infections
III. Signs of Animals in Distress (1%)
IV. Veterinarian Dentistry (1%)
V. Veterinarian Radiation (1%)
- Complications
VI. Veterinarian Pharmacy (7%)
- Metric Conversion
- Weight
- Measurements
- Vaccines
- Injections
- Types
- Sites
VII. Veterinary Laboratory (6%)
- Common Venipuncture Sites
- Specimen collection
- Urine
- Blood
- Fecal
- Venous
- Capillary (sticks & refill time)
- Tubes and common testing
- Smears
VIII. Veterinary Surgery (13%)
- Positioning
- Pulse oximetry
- Suture
- Instruments
- Dressings
- Bone marrow biopsy sites
- IV catheterization sites
IX. Gestation (7%)
- Nutritional needs
- Duration
- Canine
- Bovine
- Equine
- Porcine
X. Front Office (1%)
- Charting
- SOAP
- POMR
- POVMR
XI. Restraints (1%)
- Proper holding techniques
XII. Vital Signs (Normal Ranges) (8%)
XIII. Scientific Names of Animals (6%)
- canine
- feline
- equine
- avian
- porcine
- ovine
- caprine
- bovine
XIV. Anatomical Abbreviations (18%)
- AD, AS, AU & OD, OU, OD
- Diagnostic Abbreviations (SOB, URI, UTI, tx, fx, sx, R/O)
- Pharmacy Abbreviations (Qd, BID, TID, QID, QOD, po, prn, Rx)
- Medical Terminology (Root words, suffixes, prefixes)
- Chemical Abbreviations (Ca, Zn, S, Fe, Mg, P, K, NaCl)
XV. Common Diagnoses (9%)
- Sepsis
- Parasites
- Fungus
- Otitis media
- Otitis externia
- Uroliths
- Renal failure
- Burns (1, 2, 3 degree)
- Hyper/hypo glycemia
- Obesity
- Necrosis
- Decubitus ulcer
XVI. Common Procedures (3%)
- Ablation
- Laceration repair
- Incision
- Debridement
- Degloving
- Onychectomy
- Celiotomy
- Castration
- Euthanasia
- Necropsy
- Biopsy
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