Veterinary Office Manager

Hours: 400 / Access Length: 12 months / Delivery: Online, Self-Paced
Retail Price: $2,595.00

Course Overview:

The purpose of this course is to prepare an individual to manage and attend to the administrative, bookkeeping, and reception duties in a veterinary office.  Concepts include medical record filing, appointment setting, record-keeping, bookkeeping and billing, and office etiquette. 

About This Course:

We are committed to offering world class interactive online courses that provide training and learning support for the student in a number of ways during their experience. This course structure has been developed to provide activities to guide students throughout the entire process of learning. Learning activities include hands-on assignments that allow students to use what they are learning to allow better transferable skills within their work environments.

When a student learns, they are not alone.   Each student will be supported by our student services department – which ranges from course mentors, registrar, and technical support assistance.   Every month students have a progress report run on them every month by our student services department to ensure they are making satisfactory progress.   If a student falls behind, we reach out to them personally by phone call every month to see if there is anything we can do to continue to assist them with moving forward in their course.

Course Outline:

Lesson 1: Introduction to Veterinary Practice

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to:

• Identify and describe the roles and duties of various staff members within a veterinary practice and the professional organizations associated with them
• Describe different types of veterinary care settings
• Explain what cross-training is and how it can benefit both the individual and the practice
• Explain the purpose and importance of an office procedures manual and a personnel manual

Lesson 2: Care and Maintenance of the Veterinary Practice Facility

When you complete this chapter, you should be able to:

• Explain the importance of maintaining a clean, safe, and organized veterinary facility, and describe what steps must be taken to do so
• Explain what you should do when you find that a piece of equipment or some aspect of the facility needs to be repaired
• Identify common safety hazards
• Identify common sources of accidental injuries and what you can do to protect yourself
• Explain general techniques for avoiding infection and the spread of disease among humans and animals in the practice
• Explain what OSHA is and describe some of the general guidelines that must be followed in the practice

Lesson 3: Front Office and Receptionist Duties

When you complete this chapter, you should be able to:

• Identify the types of records found in a veterinary practice, including laboratory reports, radiographs, medical records, vaccination certificates, and controlled substances
• Describe the purpose of the various logs found within a veterinary practice, and who is responsible for maintaining the logs
• Describe how to admit and discharge patients, take patient histories, maintain records, and prepare appropriate release forms and certificates for signature
• Describe basic concepts of records retrieval and protection of medical and business records
• Identify basic fi ling systems and fi ling equipment
• Explain how to screen and process mail efficiently

Lesson 4: Computers

When you complete this chapter, you should be able to:

• Identify the basic components of a computer and explain the function of each
• Explain what software is and give examples of the type of computer program most often used in a veterinary office
• Describe different types of computer networks and how they are used
• Describe common features of veterinary practice Web sites and how they can benefit and improve aspects of practice management

Lesson 5: Interpersonal Communication

When you complete this chapter, you should be able to:

• Describe the communication process and list the basic elements of communication
• List and explain five personality traits that are essential for interpersonal relations in the veterinary office
• Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate professional interactions with clients
• Recognize prejudice, insensitivity, or discrimination in interpersonal relations
• List and describe at least five barriers to effective communication
• List three ways you can improve your speech

Lesson 6: Interacting with Clients

When you complete this chapter, you should be able to:

• Describe a professional telephone personality and demonstrate how to handle the types of calls received in an animal hospital
• Describe how to use an appointment book and the computer to efficiently schedule a veterinarian’s workday
• Explain how interpersonal skills apply to client and patient reception
• Explain what euthanasia is and when it is performed
• Identify common client reservations and concerns about euthanasia
• Describe client and staff reactions to pet loss
• Identify stages and strategies for dealing with grief

Lesson 7: Stress

When you complete this chapter, you should be able to:

• Outline the causes of stress and the psychological defense mechanisms used to cope with stress
• List five positive ways to cope with stress
• Explain how time management can reduce stress
• List five time management tools

Lesson 8: Ethics

When you complete this chapter, you should be able to:

• Identify the rules of ethical conduct for veterinarians and members of the veterinary staff
• Explain the types of behaviors and practices that are not allowed in the practice of veterinary medicine
• Explain when the veterinarian–client–patient relationship begins, the responsibilities of those involved in it, and how it can be dissolved

Lesson 9: Fee Collection, Billing, and Payroll

When you complete this chapter, you should be able to:

• Explain how veterinarians’ fees and fee profiles are derived
• Recognize the different circumstances when credit should or should not be extended
• Describe the rules and guidelines for extending credit on accounts receivable
• Distinguish between legitimate and unadvisable reasons for adjusting or canceling a fee
• Prepare billing statements and appropriately worded collection letters

All necessary materials are included.

System Requirements:

Internet Connectivity Requirements:

• Cable, Fiber, DSL, or LEO Satellite (i.e. Starlink) internet with speeds of at least 10mb/sec download and 5mb/sec upload are recommended for the best experience.

NOTE: While cellular hotspots may allow access to our courses, users may experience connectivity issues by trying to access our learning management system.  This is due to the potential high download and upload latency of cellular connections.   Therefore, it is not recommended that students use a cellular hotspot as their primary way of accessing their courses.

Hardware Requirements:

• CPU: 1 GHz or higher
• RAM: 4 GB or higher
• Resolution: 1280 x 720 or higher.  1920x1080 resolution is recommended for the best experience.
• Speakers / Headphones
• Microphone for Webinar or Live Online sessions.

Operating System Requirements:

• Windows 7 or higher.
• Mac OSX 10 or higher.
• Latest Chrome OS
• Latest Linux Distributions
  

NOTE: While we understand that our courses can be viewed on Android and iPhone devices, we do not recommend the use of these devices for our courses. The size of these devices do not provide a good learning environment for students taking online or live online based courses.

Web Browser Requirements:

• Latest Google Chrome is recommended for the best experience.
• Latest Mozilla FireFox
• Latest Microsoft Edge
• Latest Apple Safari

Basic Software Requirements (These are recommendations of software to use):

• Office suite software (Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, or LibreOffice)
• PDF reader program (Adobe Reader, FoxIt)
• Courses may require other software that is described in the above course outline.