VSPN Review by Debbie Bess, BS (Click on stars for an explanation)

This book is Out of Print.

Written as a collaborative effort between veterinary technician educators from both the United States and Canada, this book is designed to help prepare technicians for both academic and credentialing examinations. The printed edition contains a CD-ROM with additional review questions, giving the purchaser over 5000 review questions and answers. This CD-ROM allows great flexibility in studying and practicing as one can study by individual subject in either review or quiz mode or can practice taking a comprehensive test in testing mode.

This third edition covers thirteen subject areas including: anatomy and physiology, anesthesiology, animal care, dentistry, emergency care, hospital management, laboratory animals, laboratory procedures, medical calculations, medical terminology, pharmacology, radiography, and surgical nursing. The text’s division into subject areas helps the reader determine areas of weakness and focus on those areas. For many of the questions, the answer key not only gives the correct answer but also insight to the reasoning behind the answer or a fact about the questions subject.

For the technician who is in review mode, they have multiple tries at the correct answer as the program gives immediate feedback of correct or incorrect answers. As with the answer key, in the book, many questions give additional insight into the subject of the question. In quiz mode, one can choose the length of the test they want to take at that time. Quiz mode includes a timer and the ability to suspend the test to return at a later time. Once a test is submitted, the program computes the user’s percentage of correct answers. Afterwards the user can review which questions were answered correctly as well as incorrectly. The incorrectly answered questions are not corrected, thus encouraging the user to research the correct answer in other texts. (The book has suggested reading at the beginning of each chapter).

This book is an excellent review source for veterinary technician students and graduates preparing to take credentialing exams. The questions are factually based and are very useful in helping a person who has been working in a private practice to weed out "real world" exceptions or blurring of clinical ideals. Ideals that often can trip one up when sitting for credentialed exams. Although I do not believe that it would be a book that veterinarians would find useful, it would be a text that a veterinarian might purchase for their technicians who are sitting for state and national examinations (hint, hint).

Mosby-Elsevier Publishers (2003).

400 pages + CD.

ISBN: 9780323019262.