Essential Functions

The purpose of an Essential Functions List is to allow students who are considering a career to be informed of the physical, emotional, and psychological demands related to training and employment in a field of study. These lists are provided to allow prospective students to make informed career choices by providing them with a summary of the physical abilities and personality traits that are generally required for the successful completion of a curriculum and result in employment in a field of study after graduation.

Veterinary Technology is a career with many different paths; however, an accredited educational program has the responsibility to ensure that every student is technically competent in the procedures and tasks that are essential to the functioning of a technician in a clinical setting. To this end, the Veterinary Technology faculty members have developed the following list of essential functions and technical skills that students should be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation, at the time of admission to the Veterinary Technology program.

Students must possess sufficient strength, coordination, mobility, and manual dexterity to perform the following procedures accurately, safely, and efficiently:

• Be physically capable of handling equipment and animals that weigh up to 50 pounds.
• Move, reach, manipulate, and operate equipment and controls.
• Access supply and storage areas.
• Enter, maneuver in, and quickly exit cages, stalls, and other animal handling areas (may involve stooping, kneeling, crawling, and/or climbing).
• Move between animal holding facilities, treatment areas, and surgical suites without physical impairment.
• Spend prolonged periods of time walking, standing, sitting, crawling, and bending.
• Reach, push, or pull animals or equipment in confined areas.

Students must be able to demonstrate the following abilities:

• Normal natural or corrected visual and auditory acuity to allow for patient assessment at a distance.
• Tolerance of high volume areas such as dog kennels and swine facilities.
• Recognition of signals, alarms, emergency signals, and voices while in animal care or treatment facilities and while wearing protective garb.
• Recognition of the presence of fire, gas, or toxic reagents for maintaining clinic and patient safety.

Students must possess the following skills:

• Critical thinking and problem solving skills to assess patient status and response to therapy.
• The ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Reading and writing skills that enable them to assess medical records and treatment plans, make legally binding notes on patient status and care, and accurately complete logbooks.
• Computer skills that enable them to input, access, and assess client and patient information, as well as perform hospital management tasks.
• Strong and positive interpersonal skills with the ability to interact appropriately with individuals from a variety of social, emotional, cultural, and intellectual backgrounds.
• Personal initiative to work independently and with small groups of people.
• Stress management skills to handle stressful situations related to pain, injury, death, and dying.
• Initiative and self-motivation to continue life-long learning.