VET Nurses engage with range of animal care professionals, pet owners and pets so you need to possess and develop:

• strong communication skills in Maths, English and computer skills
• be able to work in a team
• be able to follows instructions and think for yourself
• excellent observation skills
• physical confidence and enjoyment in handling a range of animals
• specific animal care industry skills, knowledge and practices to be job ready from day one

There is a wide range of tasks that a VET Nurse may typically perform in a range of workplaces and animals that include

• VET Clinic
• VET Hospital
• ZOO
• Wildlife Park
• Animal Shelter
• Animal care agency
• And many more

These specific tasks shall be determined by your particular Clinic specialisation, experience, qualifications and location.

For example a VET Clinic or VET Hospital can be a small, large or mixed animal practice, a general practice or a specialist 24-hour emergency centre.

A VET Nurses daily tasks can range from and include:

• Animal restraint during procedures and examinations
• Prepare and manage pets for surgery
• Assist with animal surgery such as managing and holding medical instruments for a VET
• Manage appointments
• Manage phone queries from pet owners
• Monitor animals under anaesthetic
• Secure pathology samples and performing diagnostic tests
• Administering first aid to animals and advise pet owners
• Administering animal medicines under the direction of a VET
• Care for hospitalised pets
• Observe and respond to emergencies
• Secure and record pet and pet owner details
• Deliver animal care advice to pet owners on a range of subject matters
• Assistance with radiography practices
• Assistance with animal euthanasia
• Disinfection practices and
• General Cleaning

Your typical working week as a VET Nurse shall depend on whether you work in a small, large or mixed animal practice or a general practice VET Clinic or VET Hospital or a specialist 24-hour emergency centre.

Most new VET Nursing graduates generally work

• 38 hours per week
• ordinary hours between 6.00 am and 9.00 pm Monday to Sunday.
• In accordance to work rosters published at least one month in advance
• With a minimum of 3 full days off per fortnight.
• overtime is generally required and you should expect to work long shifts and weekends
• typical 24/7 emergency clinics often require night shifts
• An unpaid meal break of not less than 30 minutes must be allowed to each employee between the fourth and fifth hour of work

Most Veterinary Nurses are employed by a Clinic under the terms and conditions of the ‘Animal Care and Veterinary Services Award 2020’.

A copy of Animal Care and Veterinary Services Award 2020 can be downloaded from https://awardviewer.fwo.gov.au/award/show/ma000118

This award details information about wages and other working conditions you can expect as a veterinary nurse that include

• Types of employment
• Hours of Work (eg here the employee works 7.6 hours per day the employee will be entitled to 2 10 minute paid rest breaks.)
• Wags and Allowances (eg. The minimum hourly rate is $21.38)
• Overtime and Penalty Rates (eg. Monday to Saturday overtime is paid at 150% of the minimum hourly rate for the first 3 hours and 200% of the minimum hourly rate after 3 hours.
• Consultation and Dispute Resolution
• Termination and Redundancy
• Superannuation
• Rest breaks are to be counted as part of time worked.

Your pay scale is based  to your qualification and experience, so there are immediate benefits to becoming a qualified VET nurse through a AACI course.

AACI delivers flexible Animal Care and VET Nursing qualifications that are Nationally recognised by the industry, employers and most importantly by the Australian governing body called Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).

The Animal Care Career Pathway can be:

• Veterinary Assistant or Kennel Hand or Animal Ward Assistant
• Student Veterinary Nurse
• Qualified Veterinary Nurse
• Accredited Veterinary Nurse (A qualified VET Nurse that completes a special accreditation program run by the Australian Veterinary Association and Veterinary Nurses’ Council of Australia are known as Accredited Veterinary Nurses.
• Practice Manager – (A Practice Manager you’ll be responsible for running the day-to-day business of the clinic)
• VET Nursing Manager
• Head VET Nurse

Our ASQA accredited ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing qualification is

• nationally endorsed by the Australian National Regulator, namely ASQA
• recognised by the industry and employers
• opens up career opportunities overseas.

Our ASQA accredited Qualifications have global recognition.  There is strong demand in South East Asia and Middle East, shall deliver a pathway to an overseas career opportunity

A word of warning – there are number of online education providers that NOT Registered Training Organisations that rip off people.  Their misleading claim is that you can become a VET Nurse or VET Assistant by simply watching a few online videos.  They make you believe that they deliver real qualifications that are accredited by ASQA. They are not.  Instead their courses are basically worthless, not accredited by ASQA and not real qualifications.  Worse still their courses are not recognised in the industry or by employers so they will not help you secure a real job.

The career opportunities available to you as a VET Nurse are wide and varied. Each role will improve your skills, knowledge and employability. There are also other specialist animal care qualifications that can open the doors to other related careers, that include:

• Animal Shelter Managers
• Zookeeper
• Animal Care Industry sales representative
• Dog trainer / Grooming / Boarding Business Owners
• Government Animal welfare officer
• Pathology assistants
• Science laboratory assistant
• VET Trainer
• Higher Education pathways to become a Scientist or Veterinarian.

AACI is 100% focused on Animal Care education and training. AACI specialises in Animal Care and Veterinary Nursing qualifications that are endorsed by ASQA and quality assured and governed by ASQA Quality Standards. Our qualifications are nationally recognised and under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) and the current Animal Care and Management Industry Training Packages.

Enrol in our Introduction to Veterinary Nursing Course

If you want to see what being a VET Nurse can be you can enrol in our Introduction to Veterinary Nursing Coursefor only $99.

You with graduate from this Introduction to Veterinary Nursing Course short course with some great knowledge and skills about the Animal Care industry.

If you decide to continue with AACI you shall receive an internal credit to your AACI qualification.