20 Communication & Client Relations Practice Questions & Answers

1. 1. A client brings in a cat and says only that she "hasn't been right for a few days." Which question best opens the history?

   • A.Has she been vomiting, or is she just eating a little less?
   • B.Tell me what you have noticed at home over these past few days.✓ Answer
   • C.Is she due for anything else while she is here with us today?
   • D.Do you think this is the same problem she had at her last visit?

   An open-ended invitation lets the client report everything she has seen in her own words before the assistant narrows down with closed questions. Leading with a closed or either/or question steers the client toward the assistant's assumption and commonly buries the detail that matters most.

   Source: NAVTA Essential Skills for the Veterinary Assistant — Communication and Client Relations, effective client communicationReport a problem with this question

2. 2. A client says, "My dog has a urinary tract infection — he keeps squatting in the yard and only a few drops come out." How should the assistant enter this in the history?

   • A.Record "urinary tract infection" as the complaint, since the owner sees the dog daily.
   • B.Record "straining to urinate, possible obstruction" so the veterinarian sees the cause.
   • C.Record the squatting and the few drops, noting the infection as the client's conclusion.✓ Answer
   • D.Record "urinary problem" only, and let the veterinarian ask the client in the room.

   The assistant's job is to separate what the client observed from what the client concluded: posturing and small volumes are findings, while "infection" is the owner's interpretation. Writing any diagnosis into the record as fact — the client's or the assistant's own — anchors the veterinarian and is outside the assistant's scope.

   Source: NAVTA Essential Skills for the Veterinary Assistant — obtaining and recording patient historyReport a problem with this question

3. 3. The veterinarian has told a client that her dog has otitis externa and has dispensed ear drops. In the lobby the client asks the assistant what that term means. What is the best response?

   • A.I am not allowed to discuss the diagnosis, so please call back and ask the doctor.
   • B.It is an inflammation of the external acoustic meatus, which the drops will resolve.
   • C.It is an ear infection, and those are usually allergies, so ask about a food trial.
   • D.It means the outer part of his ear canal is inflamed, and that is what the drops treat.✓ Answer

   Restating in plain language what the veterinarian has already told the client is a core assistant duty and is not diagnosing. Adding a cause, a prognosis, or a new recommendation crosses into the veterinarian's role, while refusing outright fails the client on information the veterinarian already gave her.

   Source: AVMA Model Veterinary Practice Act — diagnosis reserved to the veterinarian; NAVTA Essential Skills, client communicationReport a problem with this question

4. 4. While rooming a dog, the client describes an episode last night in which the dog fell over, paddled his legs, and urinated. What should the assistant report to the veterinarian?

   • A.That the dog is bright and normal now, so the visit does not need to run long.
   • B.That the dog had a one-minute seizure last night and is probably an epileptic.
   • C.The client's own description of the episode, how long it lasted, and when it happened.✓ Answer
   • D.Nothing yet, because the client should describe the episode to the veterinarian herself.

   Relaying means faithful transmission of the client's observations plus timing and duration, so the veterinarian can decide what the episode was. Labeling it a seizure or naming a disease is a diagnosis, and holding the information back leaves the veterinarian working without the chief complaint.

   Source: NAVTA Essential Skills for the Veterinary Assistant — reporting patient history to the veterinary teamReport a problem with this question

5. 5. Radiographs have been taken and the veterinarian is still reviewing them. The client asks the assistant, "You see these all day — what do you think it is?" What is the best response?

   • A.Most dogs of that age with these signs have a torn ligament in one of the knees.
   • B.It looks like arthritis to me, but you should wait for the doctor to confirm that.
   • C.I cannot say for sure, but cases that look like this one usually turn out just fine.
   • D.I am not the one who reads those; the veterinarian will go over them with you.✓ Answer

   Interpreting diagnostic images is a clinical judgment reserved to the veterinarian, and a guess offered "off the record" still becomes what the client repeats at home. Softening it with "wait for the doctor" or offering an encouraging outcome does not make it any less a diagnosis or a prognosis.

   Source: AVMA Model Veterinary Practice Act — diagnosis and interpretation of findings reserved to the veterinarianReport a problem with this question

6. 6. A client calls to say the pain medication the veterinarian dispensed yesterday does not seem to be helping, and asks whether she may give a second tablet. What should the assistant do?

   • A.Tell her one extra tablet is safe as long as she gives it together with a full meal.
   • B.Tell her not to change the dose, take the details, and route the call to the veterinarian.✓ Answer
   • C.Tell her to give the same tablet more often rather than increasing the amount given.
   • D.Tell her to stop the medication and wait until the recheck appointment next week.

   Changing an amount, a frequency, or stopping a drug are all prescribing decisions that belong to the veterinarian who wrote the order. The assistant's contribution is an accurate message — drug, when given, what the client is seeing — and a fast handoff, not a workaround that keeps the client off the phone.

   Source: AVMA Model Veterinary Practice Act — prescribing reserved to the veterinarianReport a problem with this question

7. 7. A long-time client calls asking for a refill for a dog that has not been examined in more than a year, saying, "You have his record, just fill it." What should the assistant do?

   • A.Tell the client it cannot be refilled unless the dog is examined in the clinic today.
   • B.Fill the prescription, because the practice already has a relationship with this client.
   • C.Explain that the veterinarian must review the record and decide, and offer an appointment.✓ Answer
   • D.Suggest an online pharmacy that can supply the medication without a new prescription.

   A prescription rests on a current veterinarian-client-patient relationship, which requires that the veterinarian has recent enough knowledge of the patient from an examination or visit. Only the veterinarian can judge whether that relationship is still current, so the assistant neither fills the request nor announces the condition on the veterinarian's behalf.

   Source: AVMA policy on the Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship (VCPR)Report a problem with this question

8. 8. A client calls about a large-breed dog that ate an hour ago and is now pacing, drooling, and retching without bringing anything up, with a belly that looks swollen. What should the assistant do?

   • A.Tell the client to come in now and alert the veterinarian the dog is on the way.✓ Answer
   • B.Advise a short walk and a call back if the retching has not settled within the hour.
   • C.Tell the client this is bloat and that emergency surgery will most likely be needed.
   • D.Book the first appointment tomorrow morning and advise withholding food overnight.

   Unproductive retching with a distended abdomen in a deep-chested dog is one of the classic presentations the assistant is trained to recognize as needing to be seen immediately. The assistant's role stops at recognizing urgency and mobilizing the team — naming the condition or predicting surgery is a diagnosis and a prognosis.

   Source: NAVTA Essential Skills for the Veterinary Assistant — telephone recognition of veterinary medical emergenciesReport a problem with this question

9. 9. A client is leaving the house right now with a cat that was hit by a car. Before ending the call, what should the assistant make sure to obtain?

   • A.The caller's name and number, the cat's name, and the drive time.✓ Answer
   • B.A full vaccination and medication history before the client leaves the house.
   • C.The client's method of payment and a reminder that a deposit is due on arrival.
   • D.Written permission to request the cat's records from the emergency hospital.

   Name, callback number, patient name, and estimated arrival let the team prepare a treatment area and reconnect if the call drops or the client does not appear. The assistant then alerts the veterinarian or technician before the patient arrives; history and finances are collected once the cat is safely in the building.

   Source: NAVTA Essential Skills for the Veterinary Assistant — telephone communication and message takingReport a problem with this question

10. 10. A client calls to say her dog ate a large bar of dark chocolate twenty minutes ago and asks whether she should make him vomit at home. What should the assistant do?

    • A.Tell her how much peroxide to use so treatment can begin before she drives in.
    • B.Tell her to weigh the dog first, since the amount eaten is what actually matters.
    • C.Tell her to give nothing and put the call through to the veterinarian.✓ Answer
    • D.Tell her chocolate only harms small dogs and to watch him closely for vomiting.

    Suspected toxin ingestion is an emergency the assistant recognizes and escalates; deciding whether to empty the stomach, and how, is a medical decision with real risks in some patients. Telling the client to attempt it at home, or minimizing the exposure, is giving medical advice the assistant is not permitted to give.

    Source: NAVTA Essential Skills for the Veterinary Assistant — recognizing emergencies; AVMA Model Veterinary Practice ActReport a problem with this question

11. 11. The veterinarian has prescribed tablets for a cat and the client says she has never given a cat a pill. What is the most effective way for the assistant to teach her?

    • A.Suggest crushing the tablet into wet food if she cannot give it whole at home.
    • B.Describe each step carefully and send the written handout home for her to read.
    • C.Reassure her that most owners find their own method after the first day or two.
    • D.Demonstrate the technique, then have the client show how she will do it.✓ Answer

    Demonstration followed by teach-back — having the client show the technique — confirms that she can actually do it rather than assuming she understood the words. Changing the form of the medication or how it is given is a decision for the veterinarian, since not every tablet may be crushed or mixed with food.

    Source: Elsevier's Veterinary Assisting Textbook (Sirois) — client education and confirming understandingReport a problem with this question

12. 12. A dog is going home after orthopedic surgery and the veterinarian's written instructions say "strict confinement for two weeks." The client asks what that means day to day. What should the assistant tell her?

    • A.Short leash walks to eliminate only, with no stairs, jumping, or off-leash play.✓ Answer
    • B.Free running in a fenced yard is fine as long as the dog seems comfortable on it.
    • C.Confinement can end as soon as the incision looks fully healed on the outside.
    • D.Let the dog set his own pace and cut back activity if he starts limping on the leg.

    Turning the veterinarian's written order into concrete daily behavior is exactly what discharge education is for, since "strict confinement" means nothing to a client until it is described in specific activities. The other answers all quietly loosen the veterinarian's restriction, and surface healing of the skin says nothing about the bone or implant underneath.

    Source: NAVTA Essential Skills for the Veterinary Assistant — discharge instructions and client educationReport a problem with this question

13. 13. The veterinarian has asked a client to bring a fecal sample back two weeks after treatment. The client asks the assistant why it is needed when the dog already seems fine. What is the best explanation?

    • A.The repeat sample is simply a routine step for every patient this clinic treats.
    • B.It can be skipped as long as no parasites are seen in the stool at home.
    • C.The repeat sample shows whether the treatment actually cleared the parasite.✓ Answer
    • D.The sample is used to decide which second medication should be dispensed.

    Giving the client the reason tied to her own pet's benefit — confirming the parasite is gone — is what makes a recommendation stick, and an animal can stop looking sick while still shedding. Calling it routine gives no reason to comply, telling her to skip it overrides the veterinarian, and choosing the next drug is the veterinarian's decision, not the purpose the assistant should state.

    Source: NAVTA Essential Skills for the Veterinary Assistant — reinforcing the veterinarian's recommendations and client complianceReport a problem with this question

14. 14. A client is standing in a full lobby speaking loudly and angrily about how long he waited and how much he was charged. What should the assistant do first?

    • A.Ask him to lower his voice and to wait until the practice manager is available.
    • B.Let him finish without interrupting, then move the conversation to a quiet room.✓ Answer
    • C.Explain that emergencies take priority over appointments and caused today's delay.
    • D.Apologize and say the receptionist must have entered those charges incorrectly.

    The ordered response is to listen fully, move to privacy, acknowledge the feeling, and then bring in the manager or veterinarian; a client who is still talking cannot hear a policy explanation. Defending the practice first escalates the exchange, blaming a coworker damages the team and may be untrue, and the conversation also does not belong in front of a lobby full of other clients.

    Source: Elsevier's Veterinary Assisting Textbook (Sirois) — managing the angry client and conflictReport a problem with this question

15. 15. A client waiting in the exam room for the veterinarian is tearful and visibly anxious about her dog. Which action by the assistant best supports her?

    • A.Assure her that the veterinarian has seen far worse cases than this one recover.
    • B.Step out of the room to give her privacy until the veterinarian is ready to come.
    • C.Keep typing the history into the computer while listening so nothing is missed.
    • D.Sit down to her eye level, keep a calm tone, and let her talk unhurried.✓ Answer

    Non-verbal congruence — getting to the client's eye level, an unhurried pace, a calm voice — communicates attention more powerfully than the words used, and matches what the assistant is saying. Typing while she talks reads as distraction, leaving her alone withdraws support, and promising that similar cases recovered is a prognosis the assistant cannot give.

    Source: NAVTA Essential Skills for the Veterinary Assistant — verbal and non-verbal client communicationReport a problem with this question

16. 16. Immediately after a euthanasia, a client sobs, "I should have brought him in sooner." What is the most appropriate response from the assistant?

    • A.Acknowledge how hard the decision was and allow the silence.✓ Answer
    • B.Explain that the disease had probably been developing for a long time already.
    • C.Assure her that nothing done differently would have changed how this ended.
    • D.Remind her that she can always adopt another dog once she feels ready for one.

    Grieving clients are supported by validation and unhurried silence, not by reassurance that closes the subject; naming how hard the decision was tells her the feeling is heard. Suggesting a replacement pet is a classic platitude that minimizes the loss, and both the claim about the outcome and the account of the disease are clinical statements the assistant is not in a position to make.

    Source: 2016 AAHA/IAAHPC End-of-Life Care Guidelines — communication with grieving clientsReport a problem with this question

17. 17. A client whose dog has a terminal illness asks the assistant directly, "What would you do — let him go now, or keep treating?" What is the best response?

    • A.Tell her that waiting any longer usually means the pet suffers needlessly at home.
    • B.Tell her that most owners facing this decision go ahead with it on the same day.
    • C.Tell her what you would choose if this were your own dog in the same position.
    • D.Tell her the decision is hers, and offer to bring the veterinarian back.✓ Answer

    End-of-life support is non-directive: options are presented honestly and without pressure, and the choice stays with the client, whose values and circumstances the assistant does not share. Since about half of owners later question a euthanasia decision, an answer that nudges her — personal preference, what other owners do, or a warning about suffering — sets her up to carry someone else's choice.

    Source: 2016 AAHA/IAAHPC End-of-Life Care Guidelines — non-directive support in euthanasia decisionsReport a problem with this question

18. 18. Two days after a euthanasia, a client calls angrily saying the practice did not do enough for her dog. How should the assistant handle the call?

    • A.Assure the client that the veterinarian did everything and the outcome was unavoidable.
    • B.Correct the client's account of the visit from the medical record while on the phone.
    • C.Ask the client to send the complaint in writing before anyone at the practice replies.
    • D.Recognize anger as part of grief, listen without defending, and involve the veterinarian.✓ Answer

    Anger is one of the recognized responses in grief and is frequently aimed at the staff who were present, so it is not taken personally and not answered in kind. The client needs to be heard before anything else; correcting her account, closing the subject with reassurance, or demanding a written complaint all tell her the practice will not listen.

    Source: Kübler-Ross stages of grief; 2016 AAHA/IAAHPC End-of-Life Care GuidelinesReport a problem with this question

19. 19. An assistant who helps with several euthanasias each week says she feels emotionally drained and numb toward patients, although she is happy with her schedule and her coworkers. Which term best describes this?

    • A.Compassion fatigue, from repeated exposure to patient suffering and loss.✓ Answer
    • B.Burnout, arising from workload and organizational conditions within the practice.
    • C.Anticipatory grief, arising before a loss that has not actually happened yet.
    • D.Disenfranchised grief, arising when others do not recognize the loss as real.

    Compassion fatigue comes from the emotional cost of repeatedly caring for suffering patients and their people, and euthanasia is a leading contributor in veterinary practice. Burnout is distinguished by its source — workload, hours, and organizational conditions — which this assistant explicitly says are fine, and both grief terms describe a person's response to a specific loss.

    Source: Elsevier's Veterinary Assisting Textbook (Sirois) — hospice, grief, and pet loss; compassion fatigue and burnoutReport a problem with this question

20. 20. While walking a client out, an assistant is told, "Thank you so much — you are a wonderful vet tech." She graduated from a veterinary assistant program and holds no state credential. What should she say?

    • A.Thank her, and explain that she counts as a certified assistant now that she graduated.
    • B.Thank her, and explain that she is a veterinary assistant rather than a technician.✓ Answer
    • C.Thank her, and explain that she becomes a technician after enough years on the job.
    • D.Thank her and say nothing more, since both roles do the same work in practice.

    The title "veterinary technician" is reserved for graduates of accredited programs who have passed the credentialing examination and hold a state credential, so letting a client keep the wrong title misrepresents the team to the public. Time on the job does not convert into a credential, and a graduate of an approved assistant program is an approved veterinary assistant — not a "certified" or "registered" one.

    Source: NAVTA Policy on Veterinary Assistant Training Programs — approved veterinary assistant title; AVMA Model Veterinary Practice Act title protectionReport a problem with this question

Practice questions based on the NAVTA veterinary assistant skill categories and standard veterinary assisting practice. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by NAVTA. Note that the Approved Veterinary Assistant credential requires completing a NAVTA-approved training program before you may sit the exam — this bank is study material, not a substitute for that program, and it cannot cover the hands-on skills your program assesses in a clinic. What an assistant is permitted to do is set by your state's veterinary practice act and by what the supervising veterinarian delegates, so nothing here should be read as authorising a task where you work. About the AVA credential →