Enjoy the rewards of working with animals! An exciting new Veterinary Assistant program being offered through Warren County Community College’s Continuing Education Department can help students make a difference in this field. The essential skills students will learn in this program will help them keep animals healthy, care for them when they are ill, and assist veterinarians in their offices.

The program, which will be held at the school’s Phillipsburg Education Center, 445 Marshall Street, begins on Oct. 6 and takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays 6-9:30 p.m..through Jan. 28, 2016, with some time off for holidays. Interested individuals are urged to register by Sept. 28.

This Veterinary Assistant program provides opportunities to individuals that will enable students to obtain the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed in an entry-level position in the field of veterinary technology.  Through classroom lectures and hands on labs, students who complete this program would be prepared to assist veterinarians and veterinary technicians in providing quality animal care including: obtaining and recording patient information; the review of preparing patients, instruments and equipment for surgery; how to collect samples and perform certain lab procedures; dressing wounds; assisting in diagnostic and medical procedures; communicating with animal owners; and feeding and caring for animals.

Veterinary Assisting is a rewarding career in a growing field. According to the Occupational Handbook the demand for professional veterinary assistants has a10% growth rate (as fast as average) from 2012 – 2022. Interested students should have a high school diploma or GED.

Although this program includes comprehensive classroom lectures and hands on labs; this program does not include a national or state certification and it does not include a clinical rotation as part of its overall objectives.

For further information on this program or to register, phone 908-689-7613, or visit www.warren.edu.