7 Qualities of a Good Veterinary AssistantFebruary 3, 2016The standing joke in veterinary medicine is that veterinary technicians and veterinarians are only as good as the person restraining the animal. In other words, if we miss a vein with the catheter, it’s the fault of the restrainer. But all joking aside, a veterinary assistant who knows how to hold an animal is worth their weight in gold. What is a veterinary assistant? According to the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA): “While every position within the veterinary practice team is important, veterinary assistants play a pivotal role, literally ... In the course of a single day, an assistant provides help to veterinarians and veterinary technicians, which in turn allows those team members to perform the tasks and responsibilities of their positions. The next minute, the assistant may be helping a client understand why having their pet's teeth cleaned is so important or providing a receptionist with a second set of hands at the front desk. Helping to fill scripts, keeping exams rooms cleaned and prepped, setting up lab work, helping with inventory, updating …
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One Veterinarian's Adventures in ChinaFebruary 2, 2016Originally published in the December 2015 issue of Veterinary Practice News. Did you enjoy this article? Then subscribe today! Veterinary Practice News "Surgical Insights" columnist Phil Zeltzman, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, and Greg Leck, DVM, of Leck Veterinary Hospital in Pen Argyl, Pa., were invited to lecture at a conference dedicated to small-animal surgery in Shanghai. With over 24 million inhabitants, Shanghai is one of the largest cities in the world. It is a city of never-ending contrasts, from the ultramodern financial skyscrapers of Pudong to the traditional, maze-like lilongs in the Bund. A lilong is a community of narrow, three-story rowhouses organized around gridlike lanes. Older lilongs are being destroyed to make room for modern buildings. Drs. Zeltzman and Leck then traveled to Beijing, the capital of China. Home to 20 million inhabitants, Beijing was the site of the 2008 Summer Olympics. They visited with colleagues in private and government-owned practices and stopped at the Beijing veterinary school. The vast majority of Chinese clinics are owned by the government or privately by a veterinarian. But a surprising phenomenon is starting to occur in communist China: clinic chains. Western investors, mostly from the United …
18 Whisper Confessions Every Vet Tech Will UnderstandFebruary 1, 2016All confessions courtesy of Whisper. 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) With this great response. 11) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16) 17) 18)
17 Times Tumblr Perfectly Captured Your Feelings About Vet SchoolJanuary 26, 20161) When you have to sacrifice beauty for practicality. http://wineingvetstudent.tumblr.com/post/137848059071/3rd-year-woes 2) For all those in radiology... http://soontobedvm.tumblr.com/post/137777447030/meanwhile-in-radiology 3) No seriously: Radiology. http://soontobedvm.tumblr.com/post/136629062815/radiology-the-study-of-pretending-to-see-an-organ 4) When you know med school would have been easier... http://getyourveton.tumblr.com/post/131285241550/i-wish-i-was-a-med-student 5) You never know when that mollusk info might come in handy. http://vetstudent-life.tumblr.com/post/102170627278/when-people-ask-if-we-have-to-learn-about-all 6) Meanwhile, cats... http://hopeless-scientist-club.tumblr.com/post/116925139521/but-of-course 7) When you regret going to vet school again. http://getyourveton.tumblr.com/post/118313716425/i-couldve-been-a-trophy-wife-of-a-visually 8) Though you might not be as hopeless in that area as you think... http://ausvetstudent.tumblr.com/post/137187846000/conversations-with-vet-students-30 9) You learned something that isn't quite as valuable as what you were supposed to learn. http://soontobedvm.tumblr.com/post/129307558199/the-amazing-knowledge-learned-at-vet-school 10) You should just invest in the highlighter market. http://vet-student.tumblr.com/post/137814914038/is-it-just-me-or 11) Oops. http://shouldersdeepinvetschool.tumblr.com/post/101623177928/when-you-accidentally-poke-yourself-with-an-18g 12) When you didn't sign up for the exotic side of veterinary medicine. http://lifeofavetstudent.tumblr.com/post/115182465954/when-a-large-animal-focused-student-takes-an …
Sexiest Veterinarian Still Pretty Damn SexyJanuary 26, 2016Meet Evan Antin, DVM. Yep. This actually happened. Northern breeds def make some of the most ridiculously cute puppies EVER! Right!? #pelfiewednesday #pelfie #puppyvet #puppy #malamute #malamutepuppy #sillfloofbundle #puppybelly A photo posted by Evan Antin ???????????????????????????????????????????? (@dr.evanantin) on Jan 20, 2016 at 12:57pm PST He's a DVM at Conejo Valley Veterinary Hospital in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Sometimes a hug is necessary....i just love awkward cats ???? Who else is a cat person? #CatLover #Veterinary #Medicine #ILoveMyJob A photo posted by Evan Antin ???????????????????????????????????????????? (@dr.evanantin) on Dec 10, 2015 at 10:12am PST Back in late 2014, he was named "Sexiest Beast Charmer” in the annual People's magazine “Sexiest Man Alive” issue.
Why You Should Watch "Inside Out"January 21, 2016This New Year, I recommend you watch the Pixar movie, Inside Out. It is a masterpiece! Not only is it humorous and touching like most all Pixar movies, but it contains some extremely valuable lessons about life — also a part of many Pixar movies! But this one, well, it goes above and beyond. Watch it once for the laughs and the storyline, and then watch it again for the messages that I am about to share. I think you will find this movie intriguing and insightful. So what is Inside Out about? According to the movie description from IMDb: "After young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions — Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness — conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house, and school." If you are looking close enough, here is what you will discover: Sadness (both the feeling and character) can be the source of good change in your life. While trying to not make this blog a big ‘ole Spoiler Alert, let’s just say that during the climax of the film, Sadness swoops in and saves the day. She helps to override …
10 Tweets That All Vet Techs Can Relate ToJanuary 20, 20161) The "hands are dry" tweet. My hands are so dry that when I touch fleece is sounds like a cat licking a soft ecollar. #LVTproblems #vettech — Melanie Jo Moore (@MelanieJoMoore) January 19, 2016 2) The tweet. Hate when someone asks what my major is then says "why don't you just be a real vet" ???????? #VetTech — Mary Smith (@MaryyyVictoria) January 9, 2016 3) The body fluid tweet. Omg I smell like urine because of this dog!! Life as a #vettech — JOSEPHMONSTER (@jofussix) December 31, 2015 4) The other body fluid tweet. 9:30 am. Blood splatter in my eye. My job is glamorous #vettech — Bee (@bee012188) December 31, 2015 5) The "title you may not exactly want when it comes to body fluids" tweet. Blood smear queen today! ???? ???? #vettech — [DOLL] SaucyxLewis (@saucyxlewis) December …
Why Continued Education Courses are so GreatJanuary 18, 2016At this moment, I am boarding an airplane very early in the morning to head to Orlando and my speaking gig at 2016 North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) Conference. Maybe some of you will be there! Going to a continued education (CE) event for me now is a bit different than it was when I was in practice — i.e., going FOR CE instead of going to PRESENT a CE. I look back at those days fondly. I was always excited to go somewhere new and soak in some good information. The first time I went to NAVC was with my boss at the time, and I was ready to absorb as many lectures as possible. Funny story: The first night, the hotel’s fire alarm went off. Oh my god, it was loud! Just like you do at home, I jumped up and tried to find the apparatus to disconnect to save me from that SOUND. (That doesn’t work in a hotel, by the way.) Then I tried to call down to the front desk to see if it was for real — yeah, nobody answered in the midst of the chaos. …
Pros and Cons of Becoming a Veterinary AssistantJanuary 4, 2016The first pro is that you are here, reading this article right now! The first con, however, may be that you are wondering who exactly this article is written for! You see, veterinary medicine has a plethora of job titles for everyone on the team, so you may fall into one of these categories: veterinary assistant, technician assistant, kennel staff, animal husbandry, or even “weekend help.” Be assured, this article is for YOU, and here are some thoughts about the pros and cons of the work you do. First off, what is a veterinary assistant? The National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) explains: “While every position within the veterinary practice team is important, veterinary assistants play a pivotal role, literally ... In the course of a single day, an assistant provides help to veterinarians and veterinary technicians, which in turn allows those team members to perform the tasks and responsibilities of their positions. The next minute, the assistant may be helping a client understand why having their pet's teeth cleaned is so important or providing a receptionist with a second set of hands at the front desk. Helping to fill scripts, …
Why Giving Yourself Gifts is so ImportantDecember 31, 2015Yes, it’s true, I am a reformed peeker. Before you let your imagination run wild, let me explain. Once I was old enough to realize that Santa wasn’t necessarily the one that left presents under the tree on Christmas Eve, I also realized that that meant the presents were somewhere IN the house BEFORE Christmas Eve. So, yes, I snooped … and yes, I peeked. Several years of snooping and peeking, actually. It was fun, like a treasure hunt. Then there was the excitement of discovering all the gifts (plus wondering which were mine because I had two brothers … it was usually easy to figure out). But then, once the snooping and peeking were over, the guilt set in. The first couple times, the guilt wasn’t strong enough to outweigh the thrill of finding the presents. But then, one year I remember telling my mom that I had snooped and found them, and the look on her face made me so sad … that was the last time I snooped. In fact, for years afterwards, she would let me wrap all the presents, trusting me to not open mine even though they were only secured with a couple pieces of Scotch tape. I …
