Find out how to become a veterinary nurse in Switzerland

Have you ever thought about going to work as a veterinary assistant in Switzerland? In this article, I will explain how to become a veterinary nurse in Switzerland

In this article, I talk about how to become a veterinary technician in Switzerland.

In Switzerland, the veterinary technician is called with the initials AMV meaning veterinary medicine assistant .

First of all, according to the cantons, the directives vary slightly, as well as the demand or not for work and the salary.

AMV in Switzerland holds a similar role to that of the vet nurse in England. 

His duties are very varied and also of great responsibility, just like those of a nurse.

Here you can read more about this role in Uk and how to become a vet nurse!

Duties and responsibilities of a veterinary assistant or technician in Switzerland

The training of the veterinary assistant technician in Switzerland is very broad and includes:

• assistance to the veterinarian during surgery, from start to finish,
• anaesthesia monitoring,
• care of hospitalized patients, administration of therapies,
• venous catheters, bandages, nursing techniques,
• assistance during exams,
• rx,
• laboratory tests,
• general administration of the veterinary clinic,
• stock management,
• reception and customers care,
• assistance to the veterinarian during visits,
• management of the disinfection of environments and surgical instruments.

How to become a veterinary nurse in Switzerland

Let’s start with the fact that the Swiss school system is different from the Italian one.
From the age of 15, one approaches the world of work by participating, through the school, in days of orienting directly at companies to see how a typical working day goes on. 

Secondly, after the age of 16, you can choose whether to continue studying full time to enter a university course or approach the professional world through an apprenticeship.

Even to become an AMV it is necessary to do an apprenticeship which consists of 3 years of school and work in order to train and at the same time have a lot of experience directly in the field.

For this reason, the Swiss system approaches the German one as a model. Here you can read How to become a veterinary nurse in Germany

What if I want to go to work in Switzerland having studied in Italy?

Regulations vary slightly depending on the  canton  you want to work in.

In addition, it must be borne in mind that in some cantons the official language is German, in others French and in some even Italian.

In order to work as a veterinary technical assistant in Switzerland, one is often required validation of the diploma. For many degrees and different professions, a certificate must be requested from the canton in which you want to work in order for your title to be recognized.

What about the job offer  for a veterinary technician in Switzerland?

Here too, the job offer varies by canton, as does the salary.

Read how to become a vet nurse in 

• Germany
• France
• UK
• Australia
• USA

Link

Società veterinaria svizzera – SVS