Vet techs bring critical skills to table

This week is National Veterinary Technician Week. You don’t have to wear a particular-colored ribbon to celebrate vet techs. Just say “Thanks” to these highly-trained, valuable people next time you visit your vet hospital.

Licensed Veterinary Technicians are skilled veterinary nurses. Like veterinarians, they must pass state and national board exams to obtain a license to practice. Their training covers a broad range of subjects, including anatomy, physiology and pharmacology, as well as clinical skills such as animal handling, inducing and monitoring anesthesia, performing dental cleanings, taking radiographs, and many other skills.

There are more and more accredited 2-year veterinary technology programs available which provide this training. The one nearest to the Inland Northwest is the Veterinary Technology Program at Yakima Valley Community College. Kelley Denome, DVM is an instructor at the college. She says the demand for licensed techs is very high.

“We hear from veterinarians almost weekly who are trying to hire an LVT and have not been able to fill the position after many months of searching.”

Why the demand? As veterinary medicine has become more advanced, the amount of supportive care required by hospitalized patients and the volume of information that must be relayed to pet owners has grown. Much of this work is too technical and complex to be relegated to employees who may not have had any formal instruction in science or animal disease. Also, as veterinary medicine becomes more and more specialized, LVTs specifically trained and board certified in Emergency and Critical Care, Internal Medicine and Dentistry (among other specialties), are working alongside veterinary specialists in these areas.

Kim Cameron, LVT, is the secretary of the Washington State Association of Veterinary Technicians and works at the Pet Emergency Clinic in Spokane.

“The way that I view my job is to provide the best patient care in any possible situation,” Cameron say. “This includes giving the veterinarian the most information I can about the patient in order to facilitate diagnosis and successful treatment.”

Cameron has worked in every position there is in a veterinary hospital, other than that of veterinarian, and she knows that every one of these positions is critical to the smooth functioning of the hospital. The veterinarian can’t treat a sick pet before the receptionist has talked with the owner to determine that the pet needs to come in that day. The LVT cannot perform a dental prophylaxis without the vet assistant who prepares the instruments and helps hold the patient. Excellent veterinary care is provided, not just by the veterinarian, but by a whole team of individuals, some of whom the pet owner never meets.

What kinds of people decide to pursue the career? Dr. Denome says that although the average age of vet tech students is 22 years old, about a quarter of the students are people pursuing a second career and they have even had students in their early 60s. Many licensed technicians never had the opportunity to attend a formal veterinary technology program. They were allowed to sit for the exam after many years of working in the field and independent study. This challenging route to obtaining one’s technician license is becoming less common as formal programs continue to become more available. Cameron says that the qualities important for success as a veterinary technician include “teamwork, dedication, independent thinking, humility, a strong sense of humor and a strong stomach, not necessarily in that order.”

Some of Dr. Denome’s former students are working at Washington State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital as well as in equine-exclusive practices and specialty practices such as surgery and ophthalmology. Veterinary technicians played a big role in helping roundup and care for animals injured or displaced by hurricane Katrina. Volunteer veterinarians and LVTs from all over the country set up makeshift hospitals to treat thousands of animals after the disaster.

This challenging career is not for everyone, but the rewards in terms of job satisfaction and making a difference in people’s lives are enormous.