Learn Practical Skills At Home

Your comprehensive lessons are clear and well-organized; easy to follow, yet challenging and stimulating at the same time. Each lesson begins with an introductory note from your instructor, plus a preview outlining the subject matter and study objectives.

Next comes the reading assignment from your text, lesson book, or supplemental references. Practice exercises help you check and review the key concepts you've learned. Then, turn in your open-book exam for the lesson, whenever YOU are ready.

Enroll online or call 1-800-535-1613 to speak with an Admission Advisor!

Meet Your Instructor

Ken Roberts, the Chief Instructor of The Professional Veterinary Assisting Program, has more than ten years of experience in veterinary medicine. He has managed a large dog kennel, and served a major veterinary practice as both a surgical specialist and lab technician. He has also been a member of the PCDI Education Department for a number of years.

What You’ll Learn Lesson By Lesson in this Course

Lesson 1: A Day In The Life Of A Veterinary Assistant. Follow an animal care specialist's typically busy day in an animal hospital—and get a sense of what accomplishments are possible in your own work with animals.

Lesson 2: Emergency Medicine. How to admit, treat, test, and comfort animals with illnesses or emergency injuries.

Lesson 3: Hands-On Opportunities. Technical and administrative opportunities in animal hospitals, shelters, research facilities, pet stores, zoos, wildlife programs, livestock management, breeding, farms, ranches, guide dog programs, and other areas.

Lesson 4: The Physical Examination. Dealing with patients and owners; administering tests and recording results; giving vaccinations; taking histories; “nose-to-tail” exam procedures; getting various animal patients to cooperate.

Lesson 5: What The Animal Is Trying To Tell Us. How sick, injured, and healthy animals communicate their conditions via body language and symptoms.

Lesson 6: Ethics & Professionalism. The moral and legal obligations of veterinary professionals; principles of conduct; relationships with colleagues and peers; advertising guidelines; giving advice to owners.

Lesson 7 & 8: Veterinary Anatomy & Physiology. Anatomical divisions, positions, and locations; cells and tissues; eyes and ears; the skeletal, muscular, nervous, circulatory, lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, endocrine, urinary, and reproductive systems.

Lesson 9: Behavior & Physical Restraint. Housetraining; preventing destructive behavior in dogs and cats; problem resolution services; restraint techniques for various kinds of animals; mechanical devices.

Lesson 10: Pathology, Preventive Medicine & Disease. Inflammation and response to injury; pathogens; the immune response; husbandry; vaccination and preventive medication; sanitation; pre-disposition to disease; epidemiology; food hygiene; zoonotic diseases.

Lesson 11: Laboratory Procedures, Part A. Hematology; collecting and handling blood specimens; evaluating blood cells, platelets, coagulation, and hemostasis; examining bone marrow; automated hematology; hematopoietic disorders; diagnostic parasitology.

Lesson 12: Laboratory Procedures, Part B. Blood chemistry; sample collection; liver, kidney, pancreas, muscle, electrolyte, protein, and other assays; cytologic exams, equipment, and procedures; urinalysis; immunology and serology tests; quality control; accuracy and reliability.

Lesson 13: Pharmacology & Pharmacy Practices. Drug names; dosage forms; calculating drug dosages; dispensing, storing, and handling medications; routes of administration; absorption and action of different types of drugs in the body.

Lesson 14: Diagnostic Imaging. Radiography; x-ray anatomy; radiographic equipment, darkroom techniques, and safety; fluoroscopy; contrast studies; diagnostic ultrasound; endoscopy; colonoscopy.

Lesson 15: Anesthesia. Anesthesia fundamentals; the six key steps of anesthesia; anesthetic monitoring; inhalation anesthetic techniques.

Lesson 16: Surgical Nursing. Basic surgical terminology; preoperative and postoperative considerations; aseptic technique; preparing the operative site, surgical team, and instruments; sutures.

Lesson 17: Wounds, Fractures & Other Injuries. Managing specific wound types, healing, contamination, infection, and closure; managing bandages, splints, and casts.

Lesson 18: Dentistry & Nutrition. Oral anatomy; periodontal disease, therapy, surgery, and prophylaxis; home dental care; food and chew toys; orthodontics; nutrition and feeding of dogs, cats, and livestock.

Lesson 19: Nursing of Dogs & Cats. Sample collection; drug administration; catheterization; general nursing care; respiratory and nutritional support; grooming; skin, nail, anal sac, and ear care; rehabilitation.

Lesson 20: Nursing of Horses & Food Animals. Grooming; hoof picking; fly control; feeding; watering; nasogastric intubation; bedding; exercise; collecting blood samples; administering medications to horses, cattle, goats, and sheep; bandaging; monitoring patients.

Lesson 21: Nursing of Birds, Fish & Exotics. Cage birds; bird behavior, anatomy, restraint, grooming, and exam techniques; administering medication; poultry; feeding, housing, and treatment techniques of small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish.

Lesson 22: Nursing of Orphaned & Wild Animals; Special Situations. Examining, caring for, and restraining wildlife; returning captive animals to the wild; marine mammals; husbandry and care of rodents; neonatal puppies, foals, and calves; considerations in geriatric patients.