Academic Catalog


Foothill College Course Outline of Record

Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Units: 2
Hours: 2 lecture per week (24 total per quarter)
Prerequisite: V T 53A.
Advisory: Not open to students with credit in APAV 60.
Degree & Credit Status: Degree-Applicable Credit Course
Foothill GE: Non-GE
Transferable: CSU
Grade Type: Letter Grade Only
Repeatability: Not Repeatable

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Recognize and discuss their own personal strengths and weaknesses in interpersonal communication in the veterinary workplace.
  • Demonstrate the ability to provide effective client education for a variety of common veterinary conditions and circumstances


Principles and practice of veterinary office management for veterinary technology students. Client relations, receptionist skills, telephone techniques, interpersonal skills, and personnel management. Generation and maintenance of correspondence, medical records, legal forms, and hospital logs. Basic bookkeeping, accounting, and financial management principles. Marketing and public relations. Professional ethics and professionalism. Use of computers for data entry, patient record management and inventory control. Use of practice management software. State and federal laws as they apply to the veterinary practice. Intended for students in the Veterinary Technology Program; enrollment is limited to students accepted in the program.

Course Objectives

The student will be able to:
A. Identify and demonstrate proper client communication
B. Identify proper principles of personnel, facilities, and inventory management
C. Create and read medical records both paper and computer
D. Understand a variety of marketing, promotion and sales techniques
E. Understand and recognize burn out and compassion fatigue
F. Identify self-care techniques and create a personal self-care plan
G. Understand and identify forms of harassment
H. Understand state and federal laws governing the veterinary field

Course Content

A. Communication and client relations
1. Receptionist skills and duties
2. Interpersonal and telephone communication techniques
3. Handling emergency situations
4. Pet loss and grief counseling
5. Client admission and discharge procedures
6. Making and managing appointments
B. Personnel, facilities, and inventory management
1. Principles of personnel management, and skills and personal characteristics of good managers
2. Procedures for hiring and firing employees: job descriptions, interviews, evaluations
3. Motivating employees
4. Inventory control
5. Facilities management
C. Medical records and practice management software
1. Legal restrictions and legal liability
2. Common hospital logs
3. Legal forms and certificates
4. Record keeping and filing
5. Financial documents
6. Basic bookkeeping
7. Basic accounting methods
D. Marketing, promotion, and sales
E. Understand and recognize burn out and compassion fatigue
1. Substance abuse in the veterinary office
2. Suicide rates in the veterinary field
G. Understand and identify forms of harassment
H. State and federal laws governing the workplace
1. Hiring and firing
2. Worker's compensation
3. Employee rights and responsibilities
4. CA veterinary practice act

Lab Content

Not applicable.

Special Facilities and/or Equipment

A. Classroom with multimedia projection and playback capabilities.
B. Multimedia capable Macintosh and Windows computers.

Method(s) of Evaluation

A. Written report of clinic observation.
B. Evaluation of class role play assignments by faculty and veterinary personnel.

Method(s) of Instruction

A. Lecture
B. Discussion
C. Oral presentations

Representative Text(s) and Other Materials

Prendergast, Heather. Front Office Management for the Veterinary Team. 2nd ed. Saunders, 2015.



A. Outside research for discharge role play assignment

B. Observation of two veterinary clinics of the student's choice

C. Reading assignments of provided material



Registered Veterinary Technician