Veterinary Assistant Study Guide

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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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