Veterinary Receptionist job description
410 verified openings in Veterinary Practice & Front Desk
The phone at an animal hospital rings for everything, from a vaccine reminder to an injured animal on its way in. The veterinary receptionist answers it, books the visit, greets the client, and takes the payment at the end. BLS has no separate line for this job. It counts receptionists and information clerks together across every industry. Inside veterinary services, 55,330 of them held jobs in May 2025, at a median of $37,910. The lowest tenth earned under $30,340 and the top tenth over $46,990.
Core Duties and Responsibilities
O*NET rates the switchboard work highest: answering, screening, and forwarding calls, taking messages, and scheduling. Greeting people as they arrive and working out why they came is next, followed by taking payment and recording receipts. Receptionists keep the appointment calendar current, send records and documents to clients, hear complaints and settle them, and file and maintain records. In an animal hospital, those files include patient charts and vaccination histories. Some receptionists also handle routine paperwork such as invoices and pay records.
Common Skills and Technologies
Speaking is the top-rated skill in O*NET, followed by active listening and service orientation. Social perceptiveness and coordination also rank, which fits a desk that handles upset clients and a full waiting room at once. Employers most often ask for Microsoft Excel, Outlook, Word, and the wider Office suite. QuickBooks, Google Docs, and Microsoft Dynamics also appear in postings, and the category list includes medical software and calendar and scheduling tools.
Education, Training, and Career Path
Job Zone Two. Half of the workers O*NET surveyed said a high school diploma is enough to start, while 26 percent named some college and 21 percent a postsecondary certificate. Most of the learning happens on the job. The closest related occupation O*NET lists is medical secretary, and in veterinary services that line had a median of $39,110 in May 2025. For those who move into running the office, the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association offers the Certified Veterinary Practice Manager credential, which starts with three years of practice management experience.
Sources: O*NET 30.0, 43-4171.00 Receptionists and Information Clerks, https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-4171.00. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, 43-4171, veterinary services (NAICS 541940), https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm. Veterinary Hospital Managers Association, https://www.vhma.org/certificatesandcertification/cvpmroadmap.