VeterinaryAssistantv
Professional Credential
v
EXAMSTUDYGUIDE
v v
©
.
, NWCAvStudyvGuidev–vVeterinaryvAssistant
Versionv6.1.17
ProfessionalvCredential
CredentialvTitlevVeterinar
yvAssistantv(VET)
PurposevofvCredential
ThevVeterinaryvAssistantvcredentialvdocumentsvthevessentialvcompetenciesvforvgeneralvfrontv
v
office,vclinical,vnursingvcare,vandvanimalvmanagementvproceduresvrequiredvofvthevveterinaryv
assistant.
AudiencevforvCredential
Thisvcredentialvisvappropriatevforvavveterinaryvassistantvinvthevdailyvoperationsvofvavveterinaryvpra
ctice,vresearchvlaboratoryvwherevanimalsvarevkept,vanimalvhospital,vequinevbarn,vfarmvorvranch,va
nimalvshelter,vkennelvorvanimalvdayvcare,vorvothervenvironmentvwherevanimalsvarevkeptvandvcaredvf
or.
Job/CareervRequirements
Veterinaryvassistantsvsupportvveterinariansvandvveterinaryvtechniciansvinvmanyvtasks.vTheyvmayvb
evinvolvedvinvoverallvveterinaryvpracticevofficevoperations,vproceduresvrelatedvtovdiagnosticvimagi
ngvandvtreatmentvofvanimals,vproceduresvinvolvingvanimalvcarevandvhusbandry,vandvproceduresvf
orvveterinaryvnursingvandvemergencyvcare.vMostvworkersventervthevoccupationvhavevavhighvschoolv
diplomavorvitsvequivalent.v Thoughvveterinaryvassistantsvcanvbevtrainedvonvthevjob,vmanyvemploye
rsvprefervthatvtheyvhavevcompletedvavformalvtrainingvprogramvandvhavevexperiencevworkingvwithv
animals.vSuccessfulvveterinaryvassistantvdemonstratevcompassionvtovbothvanimalsvandvtheirvown
ers,varevdetailedvoriented,vandvhavevphysicalvstrengthvandvdexterity.vThoughvtheyvmayvnotvbevallo
wedvtovcompletevallvofvthevproceduresvindependently,vtheyvmustvunderstandvmanyvanatomy,vphy
siology,vandvveterinaryvmedicinevconceptsvandvbevablevtovassistvwhenvaskedvinvavsafevandvcompet
entvmanner.v Dependingvuponvthevspecificvworkvenvironment,vveterinaryvassistantsvmustvunderst
andvanimalvcarevforvdogs,vcats,vequine,vlivestock,vcompanionvbirds,vreptiles,vamphibians,vsmallvm
ammals,vwildvorphanedvorvinjuredvanimals,vandvlaboratoryvanimals.
VeterinaryvAssistantvTasks
Assistvveterinariansvandvveterinaryvtechniciansvwhenvaskedvandvasvdirectedvinvanimalvcarev
andvmanagement
Feed,vbathe,vandvexercisevallvtypesvofvanimals
Cleanv andvdisinfectvcages,v kennels,v stalls,v examinationv andvoperatingv rooms,v andv otherva
reas
Restrainvanimalsvduringvexaminationvandvlaboratoryvprocedures
Maintainvandvsterilizevsurgicalvinstrumentsvandvequipment
NWCAvStudyvGuide
Pagev1
NWCA.VET
, NWCAvStudyvGuidev–vVeterinaryvAssistant
Versionv6.1.17
ProfessionalvCredential
Maintainvsupplyvandvretailvinventories
Monitorvandvcarevforvanimalsvbeforevandvaftervsurgeryvorvothervmedicalvprocedures
Helpvprovidevemergencyvfirstvaidvtovsickvandvinjuredvanimals,vincludingvwildvanimals
Givev medicationv orv immunizationsv prescribedv byv thev veterinarianv andv underv av ve
terinarian’svdirectvsupervision
Assistvinvcollectionvofvblood,vurine,vandvtissuevsamples
Takevvitalvsignsvofvanimals
Transportvanimalsvtovandvfromvtreatmentvareas
ExamvStructurevOverview
NumbervofvQuestionsvinvExam:v400vSecti
onsvinvthevExam:
VeterinaryvMedicalvTerminologyv–
v 176vitemsvVeterinaryvPracticevandvNursingvCarev–
224vitems
v
TotalvTime:v220vminutes
OverallvPassingvScore:v70%v(Allvsectionsvrequirevanvindividualvpassingvscorevofv70%)
NWCAvStudyvGuide
Pagev2
NWCA.VET
, NWCAvStudyvGuidev–vVeterinaryvAssistant
Versionv6.1.17
ProfessionalvCredential
Study Outline
v
Veterinary Medical Terminology
v v
Professionalsvusevveterinaryvmedicalvterminologyvtheirvjobsvmustvunderstandvthevfundamentalvcon
ceptsvincludingvhowvtovdissectvavmedicalvterm,vterminologyvrelatedvtovthevcellularvlevelvofvanvanimal
,vandvnamevterminologyvforvdifferentvanimals.vAdditionally,vthesevprofessionalsvmustvunderstandvdi
fferentvbodyvsystemvterminology,vsuchvasvthevcardiovascularvsystem,vthevdigestivevsystem,vandvthev
respiratoryvsystem,vamongvothers.vConceptsvrelatedvpharmacologyvandvsurgicalvterminologyvarevals
ovimportantvforvmanyvprofessionals.vFinally,vmanyvjobsvrequirevanvunderstandingvofvterminologyvforvs
pecificvanimalvgroups.
MedicalvTerminologyvFundamentals
Objective:
v Explainvhowvtovdissectvavmedicalvtermvintovitsvwordvroot,vprefix,vsuffix
,vandvcombiningvform
Definevveterinaryvmedicalvtermsvusedvtovdescribevdirection,vsurface,vplan
es,vcavities,vmembranes,vpositions,vmovementvatvjoints,vandvnumbers
Definevveterinaryvmedicalvtermsvusedvtovdescribevthevcell,vcellularv
organelles,vgeneticvconditions,vandvtissues
Definevveterinaryvtermsvusedvtovnamevequine,vcattle,vgoats,vsheep,vswine,v
dogs,vandvcats
1. DissectingvMedicalvTerms
a. Roots
i. DefinitionvofvavRoot
ii. ExamplesvofvRoots
b. Prefix
i. DefinitionvofvavPrefix
ii. ExamplesvofvPrefixes
1. FunctionvofvContrastingvPrefixes
2. FunctionvofvDirectionalvPrefixes
c. Suffix
i. DefinitionvofvavSuffix
ii. ExamplesvofvSuffixes
1. FunctionvofvPertainingvTovSuffixes
2. FunctionvofvSurgicalvSuffixes
3. FunctionvofvProceduralvSuffixes
4. FunctionvofvDoublevRvSuffixes
5. FunctionvofvConditionalvSuffixes
6. FunctionvofvStructuralvSuffixes
d. CombiningvVowels
i. Definition
NWCAvStudyvGuide
Pagev3
NWCA.VET
Professional Credential
v
EXAMSTUDYGUIDE
v v
©
.
, NWCAvStudyvGuidev–vVeterinaryvAssistant
Versionv6.1.17
ProfessionalvCredential
CredentialvTitlevVeterinar
yvAssistantv(VET)
PurposevofvCredential
ThevVeterinaryvAssistantvcredentialvdocumentsvthevessentialvcompetenciesvforvgeneralvfrontv
v
office,vclinical,vnursingvcare,vandvanimalvmanagementvproceduresvrequiredvofvthevveterinaryv
assistant.
AudiencevforvCredential
Thisvcredentialvisvappropriatevforvavveterinaryvassistantvinvthevdailyvoperationsvofvavveterinaryvpra
ctice,vresearchvlaboratoryvwherevanimalsvarevkept,vanimalvhospital,vequinevbarn,vfarmvorvranch,va
nimalvshelter,vkennelvorvanimalvdayvcare,vorvothervenvironmentvwherevanimalsvarevkeptvandvcaredvf
or.
Job/CareervRequirements
Veterinaryvassistantsvsupportvveterinariansvandvveterinaryvtechniciansvinvmanyvtasks.vTheyvmayvb
evinvolvedvinvoverallvveterinaryvpracticevofficevoperations,vproceduresvrelatedvtovdiagnosticvimagi
ngvandvtreatmentvofvanimals,vproceduresvinvolvingvanimalvcarevandvhusbandry,vandvproceduresvf
orvveterinaryvnursingvandvemergencyvcare.vMostvworkersventervthevoccupationvhavevavhighvschoolv
diplomavorvitsvequivalent.v Thoughvveterinaryvassistantsvcanvbevtrainedvonvthevjob,vmanyvemploye
rsvprefervthatvtheyvhavevcompletedvavformalvtrainingvprogramvandvhavevexperiencevworkingvwithv
animals.vSuccessfulvveterinaryvassistantvdemonstratevcompassionvtovbothvanimalsvandvtheirvown
ers,varevdetailedvoriented,vandvhavevphysicalvstrengthvandvdexterity.vThoughvtheyvmayvnotvbevallo
wedvtovcompletevallvofvthevproceduresvindependently,vtheyvmustvunderstandvmanyvanatomy,vphy
siology,vandvveterinaryvmedicinevconceptsvandvbevablevtovassistvwhenvaskedvinvavsafevandvcompet
entvmanner.v Dependingvuponvthevspecificvworkvenvironment,vveterinaryvassistantsvmustvunderst
andvanimalvcarevforvdogs,vcats,vequine,vlivestock,vcompanionvbirds,vreptiles,vamphibians,vsmallvm
ammals,vwildvorphanedvorvinjuredvanimals,vandvlaboratoryvanimals.
VeterinaryvAssistantvTasks
Assistvveterinariansvandvveterinaryvtechniciansvwhenvaskedvandvasvdirectedvinvanimalvcarev
andvmanagement
Feed,vbathe,vandvexercisevallvtypesvofvanimals
Cleanv andvdisinfectvcages,v kennels,v stalls,v examinationv andvoperatingv rooms,v andv otherva
reas
Restrainvanimalsvduringvexaminationvandvlaboratoryvprocedures
Maintainvandvsterilizevsurgicalvinstrumentsvandvequipment
NWCAvStudyvGuide
Pagev1
NWCA.VET
, NWCAvStudyvGuidev–vVeterinaryvAssistant
Versionv6.1.17
ProfessionalvCredential
Maintainvsupplyvandvretailvinventories
Monitorvandvcarevforvanimalsvbeforevandvaftervsurgeryvorvothervmedicalvprocedures
Helpvprovidevemergencyvfirstvaidvtovsickvandvinjuredvanimals,vincludingvwildvanimals
Givev medicationv orv immunizationsv prescribedv byv thev veterinarianv andv underv av ve
terinarian’svdirectvsupervision
Assistvinvcollectionvofvblood,vurine,vandvtissuevsamples
Takevvitalvsignsvofvanimals
Transportvanimalsvtovandvfromvtreatmentvareas
ExamvStructurevOverview
NumbervofvQuestionsvinvExam:v400vSecti
onsvinvthevExam:
VeterinaryvMedicalvTerminologyv–
v 176vitemsvVeterinaryvPracticevandvNursingvCarev–
224vitems
v
TotalvTime:v220vminutes
OverallvPassingvScore:v70%v(Allvsectionsvrequirevanvindividualvpassingvscorevofv70%)
NWCAvStudyvGuide
Pagev2
NWCA.VET
, NWCAvStudyvGuidev–vVeterinaryvAssistant
Versionv6.1.17
ProfessionalvCredential
Study Outline
v
Veterinary Medical Terminology
v v
Professionalsvusevveterinaryvmedicalvterminologyvtheirvjobsvmustvunderstandvthevfundamentalvcon
ceptsvincludingvhowvtovdissectvavmedicalvterm,vterminologyvrelatedvtovthevcellularvlevelvofvanvanimal
,vandvnamevterminologyvforvdifferentvanimals.vAdditionally,vthesevprofessionalsvmustvunderstandvdi
fferentvbodyvsystemvterminology,vsuchvasvthevcardiovascularvsystem,vthevdigestivevsystem,vandvthev
respiratoryvsystem,vamongvothers.vConceptsvrelatedvpharmacologyvandvsurgicalvterminologyvarevals
ovimportantvforvmanyvprofessionals.vFinally,vmanyvjobsvrequirevanvunderstandingvofvterminologyvforvs
pecificvanimalvgroups.
MedicalvTerminologyvFundamentals
Objective:
v Explainvhowvtovdissectvavmedicalvtermvintovitsvwordvroot,vprefix,vsuffix
,vandvcombiningvform
Definevveterinaryvmedicalvtermsvusedvtovdescribevdirection,vsurface,vplan
es,vcavities,vmembranes,vpositions,vmovementvatvjoints,vandvnumbers
Definevveterinaryvmedicalvtermsvusedvtovdescribevthevcell,vcellularv
organelles,vgeneticvconditions,vandvtissues
Definevveterinaryvtermsvusedvtovnamevequine,vcattle,vgoats,vsheep,vswine,v
dogs,vandvcats
1. DissectingvMedicalvTerms
a. Roots
i. DefinitionvofvavRoot
ii. ExamplesvofvRoots
b. Prefix
i. DefinitionvofvavPrefix
ii. ExamplesvofvPrefixes
1. FunctionvofvContrastingvPrefixes
2. FunctionvofvDirectionalvPrefixes
c. Suffix
i. DefinitionvofvavSuffix
ii. ExamplesvofvSuffixes
1. FunctionvofvPertainingvTovSuffixes
2. FunctionvofvSurgicalvSuffixes
3. FunctionvofvProceduralvSuffixes
4. FunctionvofvDoublevRvSuffixes
5. FunctionvofvConditionalvSuffixes
6. FunctionvofvStructuralvSuffixes
d. CombiningvVowels
i. Definition
NWCAvStudyvGuide
Pagev3
NWCA.VET
