Veterinary Support Assistant Diploma
Why you should study with us
Veterinary Support Assistant Diploma Course
This course will give you an overview of the veterinary industry, the role played by Veterinary Support Assistants (VSAs), and the most common issues and challenges faced by those working in the profession.
It will equip you with the knowledge you will need to communicate effectively with other members of the veterinary team and further your career in this sector. Working as a VSA is a great way of making a real difference to the lives of sick and injured animals on a daily basis. However, the terminology and technical knowledge required to succeed as a VSA can seem intimidating to industry newcomers.
This course presents key concepts in animal care in a straightforward manner, so that you can begin your career with confidence. You will also obtain a working knowledge of key legislation necessary to keep you and your patients safe.
From administering first aid to routine surgery, you will learn what happens in the consultation rooms and operating theatres in a typical veterinary practice. The course addresses patient care at every stage of treatment, from diagnosis to surgery and post-operation recovery. It focuses primarily on the treatment of common domestic species, but the needs of exotic animals and horses are also addressed.
In light of the increasing emphasis on customer service within the industry, the course also examines the typical customer’s experience as they seek out the best possible care for their pet. Owners can become highly stressed when their beloved pet is ill, and this course contains practical advice for communicating effectively with customers facing emotional strain both in person and on the telephone.
This course will provide anyone looking to work as a VSA with a realistic insight into the workings of a veterinary practice and future options for career progression. It will also be of interest to anyone who wishes to learn more about animal care or further their knowledge of the veterinary industry in general.
What you will learn:
- An introduction to veterinary medicine and job roles available within the industry
- How to improve your chances of getting a job as a VSA and how to undertake further training once you have obtained a position
- Health and safety issues that affect VSAs including the pieces of legislation addressing animal welfare and workplace safety
- How veterinary patients are cared for and monitored by veterinary staff during their stay
- An overview of animal welfare issues, including common ethical dilemmas and frameworks for making difficult decisions
- Common terminology and equipment used by veterinary staff in consultations and during surgery
- The most common procedures, including diagnostic tests, used in veterinary medicine
- How to handle a variety of animal species, including cats, dogs, horses and small mammals
- How emergency situations are handled, from initial assessment through to the administration of first aid and treatment
- The role of customer service in a modern veterinary surgery and how a practice can establish a positive role within the wider community
Benefits of taking this course:
- You can learn the material any place, any time, and at your own speed.
- All you need is an internet-enabled device.
- Content is presented as brief modules, making learning easy. Access to an online support system.
- A complete overview of the issues faced by those working as VSAs in modern veterinary practices.
- Affordable cost.
This course includes
24/7 Student Support
End of course certification
Lifetime access to your course
- The key purposes and functions of a veterinary practice
- A brief history of veterinary medicine
- Why it is important to understand the role of each member of a veterinary team
- An overview of the most common roles within a practice, including the necessary qualifications and main responsibilities
- The entry requirements for entering into the veterinary profession as a veterinary support assistant (VSA)
- Why it is beneficial to pursue a formal qualification
- The most popular qualifications open to VSAs
- The main areas covered by VSA qualifications
- Why you need to be aware of health and safety laws and legislation from the outset of your career in the veterinary industry
- The purposes of health and safety legislation
- The nature and purpose of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966
- The nature and purpose of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
- Why a VSA should be familiar with the techniques used to monitor inpatients
- The assessment process for newly admitted patients
- How veterinary staff ensure that inpatients are given the opportunity to have their usual day to day needs met
- The most commonly monitored measures of health, such as temperature and blood pressure
- What is meant by animal welfare and why it is important to consider the practical and philosophical issues raised by the topic
- The nature and purpose of the Five Freedoms model approach to animal welfare
- The meaning of the term “stakeholders” in relation to animal health and welfare
- The role of ethics in maintaining animal health and welfare
- Why VSAs need to be familiar with common terminology and equipment
- Common prefixes used by veterinary professionals
- Common suffixes used by veterinary professionals
- The equipment most commonly used in a consultation room
- The purpose of anaesthesia and the ways in which it is administered
- The most common surgical procedures carried out by veterinary surgeons
- Diagnostic tests used in veterinary practice to identify health problems in patients
- The day to day practices that comprise nursing care and how they are carried out
- Why animal handling is a key skill for vets, RVNs and VSAs
- Essential points to bear in mind when handling dogs
- Essential points to bear in mind when handling cats
- How to handle small mammals, including hamsters and rabbits
- Why VSAs should be familiar with common emergencies arising in everyday veterinary practice
- The purposes and nature of first aid and who is responsible for its administration
- The importance of triage and initial assessment, in ensuring the best possible outcome for a patient
- An overview of emergency procedures, including Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), blood transfusions and the Heimlich Manoeuvre
- Why customer service is an important skill for everyone working in a veterinary practice
- How the typical customer selects a veterinary practice
- How understanding the customer’s journey can help you deliver great customer service
- How to interact positively with customers on the telephone
ID: YDFT67YHJ
of achievement
This certificate is presented to
Your Name
For completing the
Veterinary Support Assistant Diploma
on 21st November 2026
Selena Hurford
Selena Hurford
Course Tutor
Daniel Morgan
Daniel Morgan
Head of Academy
Anyone who has an interest in learning more about this subject matter is encouraged to take the course. There are no entry requirements to take the course.
The course is broken down into 10 individual modules. Each module takes between 20 and 90 minutes on average to study. Although you are free to spend as much or as little time as you feel necessary on each module, simply log in and out of the course at your convenience.
You can study the course any time you like. Simply log in and out of the web based course as often as you require. The course is compatible with all computers, tablet devices and smart phones so you can even study while on the move!
Once you have completed all 10 modules there is a multiple choice test. The questions will be on a range of topics found within the 10 modules. The test, like the course, is online and can be taken a time and location of your choosing.
The pass mark for the test is 70%.
If you don’t pass the test first time you will get further opportunities to take the test again after extra study. There are no limits to the number of times you can take the test. All test retakes are included within the price of the course.
You can either use your Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Solo cards or PayPal account to pay for the online course. Our site uses the latest SSL encryption to ensure your safety. All payments are handled securely by PayPal.
You can begin the course immediately after your payment has been received. You will create your login details during the checkout process. We will also send you an email confirming your login details.
We estimate that the course will take about 12 hours to complete in total, plus an additional 30 minutes for the end of course test.
Once you have been awarded your certificate it is valid for life. The certificate does not expire or need renewing.
I loved every aspect of this online digital marketing course. The modules were well constructed and offered up a wealth of information on the subject.
I found myself learning many new things, such as the best practices for implementing an online marketing campaign, whether through social media, email marketing, or otherwise.
Passing this course has gone a long way to helping me with my online business routine.
I sought to improve my efforts at marketing my work and now, thanks to New Skills Academy, I’ve been able to. Thank you so much to New Skills Academy for this amazing course.
Daccari Mitchell
I’ve been searching for courses based around animals for a long time. Finally found a provider that has a lot of courses in this area. I’m really enjoying this course so far, and can’t wait to do the next one.
The course is very easy to follow, with highlighted text so that you can remember the important parts of each module and the fact you can learn at your own speed and access the course for life is great. I am a very busy working mum, and I can now fit my learning around my other commitments in my life.
Bring on future learning!
Sarah Robinson
It is easy to follow and understand, and gives you a full overview of the HR management.
You can download the training material if you prefer to take note directly on the paper version.
Filomena Cionti
The course was very methodical and logical, always pointing towards the goal of learning the information to pass the test. It’s also a very nice course. Made the process seem much less daunting than I had made it appear. The logical and organized approach to the material really made this a worthwhile course.
All the course materials are very easy to understand and access, and the fact that you could study at your own pace when you want.
I want to say a big thank you to New Skills Academy for your effort, heart-felt interest and enthusiasm in putting together this course and sharing it with us. Your frequent, intuitive tips were great memory cues for some of the hard to retain information and very helpful especially for someone forgetful like me. Most of all, you took any worry of failure out of the picture and made it easy to visualize completing the test successfully! Thank you again for all your help.
I will definitely recommend this site to anyone looking to take professional courses. Thanks to them, I now have my diploma in Hotel Reception.
Abayomi Dosunmu Odunsi
I was pleased to find the course I wanted at such a reasonable price. The system is really easy to use and the information given is clear and precise.
I like the fact you can print each module as I like to make hand written notes when studying. The course has provided me with a better understanding of the construction industry, even with all the reading it kept me interested throughout.
The customer service was prompt and very helpful, and I love that you can take your own time in completing the course.
I look forward to completing new courses in the future, Thank You!
Samantha Norman
Providing excellent customer service is essential to the long-term viability of every business. New Skills Academy - for me online Diploma in Customer Service course introduces the fundamental elements of customer service and explains how they can be applied in any organization. Following this, it describes how a business can develop its customer service program to the highest level.
This course also details the role of customer service in the hospitality industry, the retail industry and the public sector. These sections explain the elements of customer service that should be focused on in these sectors.
This Diploma course is ideal for business managers, business owners and entrepreneurs who wish to learn how to implement an effective customer service program in their organization. This course will also be of great interest to retail staff, hospitality workers and public servants who want to become more proficient at providing friendly and effective customer service.
Oksana Furmane
Veterinary Support Assistant Diploma Course
This course will give you an overview of the veterinary industry, the role played by Veterinary Support Assistants (VSAs), and the most common issues and challenges faced by those working in the profession.
It will equip you with the knowledge you will need to communicate effectively with other members of the veterinary team and further your career in this sector. Working as a VSA is a great way of making a real difference to the lives of sick and injured animals on a daily basis. However, the terminology and technical knowledge required to succeed as a VSA can seem intimidating to industry newcomers.
This course presents key concepts in animal care in a straightforward manner, so that you can begin your career with confidence. You will also obtain a working knowledge of key legislation necessary to keep you and your patients safe.
From administering first aid to routine surgery, you will learn what happens in the consultation rooms and operating theatres in a typical veterinary practice. The course addresses patient care at every stage of treatment, from diagnosis to surgery and post-operation recovery. It focuses primarily on the treatment of common domestic species, but the needs of exotic animals and horses are also addressed.
In light of the increasing emphasis on customer service within the industry, the course also examines the typical customer’s experience as they seek out the best possible care for their pet. Owners can become highly stressed when their beloved pet is ill, and this course contains practical advice for communicating effectively with customers facing emotional strain both in person and on the telephone.
This course will provide anyone looking to work as a VSA with a realistic insight into the workings of a veterinary practice and future options for career progression. It will also be of interest to anyone who wishes to learn more about animal care or further their knowledge of the veterinary industry in general.
What you will learn:
- An introduction to veterinary medicine and job roles available within the industry
- How to improve your chances of getting a job as a VSA and how to undertake further training once you have obtained a position
- Health and safety issues that affect VSAs including the pieces of legislation addressing animal welfare and workplace safety
- How veterinary patients are cared for and monitored by veterinary staff during their stay
- An overview of animal welfare issues, including common ethical dilemmas and frameworks for making difficult decisions
- Common terminology and equipment used by veterinary staff in consultations and during surgery
- The most common procedures, including diagnostic tests, used in veterinary medicine
- How to handle a variety of animal species, including cats, dogs, horses and small mammals
- How emergency situations are handled, from initial assessment through to the administration of first aid and treatment
- The role of customer service in a modern veterinary surgery and how a practice can establish a positive role within the wider community
Benefits of taking this course:
- You can learn the material any place, any time, and at your own speed.
- All you need is an internet-enabled device.
- Content is presented as brief modules, making learning easy. Access to an online support system.
- A complete overview of the issues faced by those working as VSAs in modern veterinary practices.
- Affordable cost.
This course includes
24/7 Student Support
End of course certification
Lifetime access to your course
- The key purposes and functions of a veterinary practice
- A brief history of veterinary medicine
- Why it is important to understand the role of each member of a veterinary team
- An overview of the most common roles within a practice, including the necessary qualifications and main responsibilities
- The entry requirements for entering into the veterinary profession as a veterinary support assistant (VSA)
- Why it is beneficial to pursue a formal qualification
- The most popular qualifications open to VSAs
- The main areas covered by VSA qualifications
- Why you need to be aware of health and safety laws and legislation from the outset of your career in the veterinary industry
- The purposes of health and safety legislation
- The nature and purpose of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966
- The nature and purpose of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
- Why a VSA should be familiar with the techniques used to monitor inpatients
- The assessment process for newly admitted patients
- How veterinary staff ensure that inpatients are given the opportunity to have their usual day to day needs met
- The most commonly monitored measures of health, such as temperature and blood pressure
- What is meant by animal welfare and why it is important to consider the practical and philosophical issues raised by the topic
- The nature and purpose of the Five Freedoms model approach to animal welfare
- The meaning of the term “stakeholders” in relation to animal health and welfare
- The role of ethics in maintaining animal health and welfare
- Why VSAs need to be familiar with common terminology and equipment
- Common prefixes used by veterinary professionals
- Common suffixes used by veterinary professionals
- The equipment most commonly used in a consultation room
- The purpose of anaesthesia and the ways in which it is administered
- The most common surgical procedures carried out by veterinary surgeons
- Diagnostic tests used in veterinary practice to identify health problems in patients
- The day to day practices that comprise nursing care and how they are carried out
- Why animal handling is a key skill for vets, RVNs and VSAs
- Essential points to bear in mind when handling dogs
- Essential points to bear in mind when handling cats
- How to handle small mammals, including hamsters and rabbits
- Why VSAs should be familiar with common emergencies arising in everyday veterinary practice
- The purposes and nature of first aid and who is responsible for its administration
- The importance of triage and initial assessment, in ensuring the best possible outcome for a patient
- An overview of emergency procedures, including Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), blood transfusions and the Heimlich Manoeuvre
- Why customer service is an important skill for everyone working in a veterinary practice
- How the typical customer selects a veterinary practice
- How understanding the customer’s journey can help you deliver great customer service
- How to interact positively with customers on the telephone
ID: YDFT67YHJ
of achievement
This certificate is presented to
Your Name
For completing the
Veterinary Support Assistant Diploma
on 21st November 2026
Selena Hurford
Selena Hurford
Course Tutor
Daniel Morgan
Daniel Morgan
Head of Academy
Anyone who has an interest in learning more about this subject matter is encouraged to take the course. There are no entry requirements to take the course.
The course is broken down into 10 individual modules. Each module takes between 20 and 90 minutes on average to study. Although you are free to spend as much or as little time as you feel necessary on each module, simply log in and out of the course at your convenience.
You can study the course any time you like. Simply log in and out of the web based course as often as you require. The course is compatible with all computers, tablet devices and smart phones so you can even study while on the move!
Once you have completed all 10 modules there is a multiple choice test. The questions will be on a range of topics found within the 10 modules. The test, like the course, is online and can be taken a time and location of your choosing.
The pass mark for the test is 70%.
If you don’t pass the test first time you will get further opportunities to take the test again after extra study. There are no limits to the number of times you can take the test. All test retakes are included within the price of the course.
You can either use your Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Solo cards or PayPal account to pay for the online course. Our site uses the latest SSL encryption to ensure your safety. All payments are handled securely by PayPal.
You can begin the course immediately after your payment has been received. You will create your login details during the checkout process. We will also send you an email confirming your login details.
We estimate that the course will take about 12 hours to complete in total, plus an additional 30 minutes for the end of course test.
Once you have been awarded your certificate it is valid for life. The certificate does not expire or need renewing.
I loved every aspect of this online digital marketing course. The modules were well constructed and offered up a wealth of information on the subject.
I found myself learning many new things, such as the best practices for implementing an online marketing campaign, whether through social media, email marketing, or otherwise.
Passing this course has gone a long way to helping me with my online business routine.
I sought to improve my efforts at marketing my work and now, thanks to New Skills Academy, I’ve been able to. Thank you so much to New Skills Academy for this amazing course.
Daccari Mitchell
I’ve been searching for courses based around animals for a long time. Finally found a provider that has a lot of courses in this area. I’m really enjoying this course so far, and can’t wait to do the next one.
The course is very easy to follow, with highlighted text so that you can remember the important parts of each module and the fact you can learn at your own speed and access the course for life is great. I am a very busy working mum, and I can now fit my learning around my other commitments in my life.
Bring on future learning!
Sarah Robinson
It is easy to follow and understand, and gives you a full overview of the HR management.
You can download the training material if you prefer to take note directly on the paper version.
Filomena Cionti
The course was very methodical and logical, always pointing towards the goal of learning the information to pass the test. It’s also a very nice course. Made the process seem much less daunting than I had made it appear. The logical and organized approach to the material really made this a worthwhile course.
All the course materials are very easy to understand and access, and the fact that you could study at your own pace when you want.
I want to say a big thank you to New Skills Academy for your effort, heart-felt interest and enthusiasm in putting together this course and sharing it with us. Your frequent, intuitive tips were great memory cues for some of the hard to retain information and very helpful especially for someone forgetful like me. Most of all, you took any worry of failure out of the picture and made it easy to visualize completing the test successfully! Thank you again for all your help.
I will definitely recommend this site to anyone looking to take professional courses. Thanks to them, I now have my diploma in Hotel Reception.
Abayomi Dosunmu Odunsi
I was pleased to find the course I wanted at such a reasonable price. The system is really easy to use and the information given is clear and precise.
I like the fact you can print each module as I like to make hand written notes when studying. The course has provided me with a better understanding of the construction industry, even with all the reading it kept me interested throughout.
The customer service was prompt and very helpful, and I love that you can take your own time in completing the course.
I look forward to completing new courses in the future, Thank You!
Samantha Norman
Providing excellent customer service is essential to the long-term viability of every business. New Skills Academy - for me online Diploma in Customer Service course introduces the fundamental elements of customer service and explains how they can be applied in any organization. Following this, it describes how a business can develop its customer service program to the highest level.
This course also details the role of customer service in the hospitality industry, the retail industry and the public sector. These sections explain the elements of customer service that should be focused on in these sectors.
This Diploma course is ideal for business managers, business owners and entrepreneurs who wish to learn how to implement an effective customer service program in their organization. This course will also be of great interest to retail staff, hospitality workers and public servants who want to become more proficient at providing friendly and effective customer service.
Oksana Furmane
Why you should study with us
Learn with confidence...
RRP
$100
Get a FREE Course
Tick this box to Sign up for our newsletter, and get access to the Interview Skills and CV Writing Certificate course for free! By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice & Cookie Policy and to receive marketing and related emails from academy+ brands. You can unsubscribe at any time.What our students say about us...
It was an eye opening course that was flexible and easy to access. I was able to complete it from the comfort of my own home whilst also having the tasks to complete which enabled me to check my knowledge. I know feel much more confident in my field of work and really enjoyed doing it.
Ellie Clarke
Yet another well laid out course. This is my 3rd course so far with New Skills Academy.
More than likely will be back for another one soon. This course was enjoyable to do, and I learnt a lot and passed first try. My certificate will be up on the wall soon.
Rob Coops
Excellent course, well explained and easy to understand. The course can be done at my own pace and is available on various devices. The layout of the course was excellent and the notes options is very good. The content is perfect and well structured, making it easy to understand and follow. I will definitely be taking more courses in the future.
Luis Costa
Very interesting and helpful course. I ve learned a lot of interesting things about make up and the tutorials were very helpful and easy to understand. I really reccomend this course for everyone who is passionate about make up and wish to develop their skills and make a career from their hobby.
Nicoleta Lucaci
I found this course incredibly useful, as it provided me with practical knowledge which I can implement in my role as a Support Worker. The videos were clear and concise, and the downloadable worksheets reinforced what I had learned as I was able to put pen to paper. Overall, a fantastic course for a great price! I am looking forward to taking on my next one.
Teleisha Harley
This is a great course for any level of knowledge. Very easy to navigate, great practical tasks and explanations are very clear. You can revise any module with no problem. The test wasn’t too hard if you completed every module. It may be handy to make some notes before you start. Overall I'm very happy with my choice. Thank you New skills for my New skills :)
Julia Bobkova
The course was clearly set out with helpful end of week tests which built my knowledge. Being dyslexic I found the course was set out in an easy to understand way. I was able to pass the test on my first attempt. The downloaded pdf are a useful resource that you can keep forever. Looking forward to the next course
Ross Dunsten
Lovely course for people who want to know the basics and of sign language. It's has helped me to get more of an understanding and will greatly benefit me in my workplace. So easy to pick up and the videos were easy to understand. Would definitely recommend to anyone.
Chloe Hambly
