Veterinary Receptionist Duties

This receptionist acts as a great helping hand to the veterinarian in animal clinics. There are numerous activities taking place in a clinic. A lot of animal owners bring their pets to the clinic for treating health ailments, vaccination or bring them for regular checkups.

These activities need to be well monitored, coordinated and handled with care, so that the clinic can function smoothly. Hence, the role of the receptionist is of great importance in an animal clinic.

Though the basic duties of a receptionist could be greeting and scheduling their appointments, one has to look after the medicinal supplies, maintenance of medical equipment and also has to maintain the overall hygiene of the clinic.

A post like this, opens up a new job opportunity for those who love animals and have great interest in learning about them. To fulfill the job requirements of such a post, the applicant must have the knowledge of different medical procedures, must be aware of basic functioning of veterinary clinics and, most importantly, be comfortable with different animals. Let's take a look.

• One has to be able to handle all the administrative tasks and may have to directly work with the animals. Though there is no formal education qualification required, the person must at least be a high school pass out. Even previous experiences in customer service offices can make you eligible for this post.

• The primary duty is to first greet the customer and communicate with them politely and make them feel comfortable. While the customers get settled with their pets, the receptionist must quickly inform the vet about the arrival of their client.

• In case the veterinarian has not arrived, then the receptionist must be able to take the pet to the examination room, and get it ready for the check up.

• There are many customers making calls to the different animal clinics. Therefore, a receptionist is required to deal with different type of calls. Many pet owners call for inquiring, or even for taking appointments. The receptionist is expected to politely communicate with the customers and also maintain the record of their appointments.

• Records of the new customers as well as the old customers must be maintained for future references. Receptionists are required to collect the contact details and maintain the confidentiality of their documents and reports.

• In case the pet is admitted for a certain number of days, the receptionist must look after the pet as well as prepare for its discharge formalities.
• The receptionists also have to receive the payments or fees from the customers.

• They also have to co-ordinate with the cleaning staff and maintain and keep the clinic as clean as possible.
• Collecting samples to conduct laboratory tests is one of the duties that receptionist have to perform too.

Other than the given duties, the receptionist also advises about the side effects of the medicines and can even advice on the how and when the prescribed medications must be consumed.

Being a veterinary reception involves many duties for which the applicant might not be well trained. Every veterinary clinic provides the selected receptionist personnel with a few weeks of training, where in they are explained about all their responsibilities and daily duties.

The location, intensity of responsibilities, experience and education are the factors that influence the salary. Even good communication skills and the ability to even adapt to a stressful working environment can raise the annual salary of these receptionists. In US, this profile earns an average income of $19,000 - $42,000 annually.

These duties are not easy to undertake. To achieve success in this career, it is essential to maintain focus and still be calm in stressful situations. All the best!