What To Expect In Your Vet Tech CareerJanuary 5, 2015You’ve got the degree … now what? For many people, the prospect of helping heal animals is an intriguing profession. In our last article, we explained the differences between similar-sounding fields (veterinary technicians, technologists, and assistants), and outlined the different types of secondary education programs for veterinary technicians. Once you’ve completed a 2- or 4-year degree at the university of your choice, what’s next on the career path? You’re Not Done Studying Yet Before a veterinary technician can accept their first job, they must pass the Veterinary Technology National Exam in order to become credentialed. Credentialing requirements vary (like everything else) by state, and some do not require technicians to pass this particular test to get their licensed, though most do. The VTNE is administered by the American Association of Veterinary State Boards and is offered three times per year. The three-hour test consists of 170 multiple-choice questions and costs $300, with additional fees for practice tests. The VTNE covers pharmacology, surgical nursing, dentistry, laboratory procedures, diagnostic imaging, anesthesia, emergency medicine, pain management and animal care/nursing. The VTNE is made more challenging by its general nature—even if you know you’re only interested in practicing in one or two species, …
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How To Become A Vet TechDecember 18, 2014My childhood cat, Tom Kitten, was generally a nice guy. He considered himself my home tutor (evidenced by his tendency to sit on textbooks) and happily cuddled on the couch with me in the evenings. That’s what we told everyone at the veterinarian’s office where he was unwillingly examined each year. Despite his wailing, growling, and flailing, the (wisely) leather-gloved veterinary technicians patiently soothed him through the process every summer. Anyone who’s taken their pet to a veterinarian knows that the job of caring for Fido or Fluffy is more than a one-person operation. It’s easy to imagine that (when dealing with more docile patients than Tom Kitten) the task of greeting animals and helping heal them must be very rewarding. And indeed, many veterinary technicians say the opportunity to help animals and their humans is an excellent, if demanding, vocation. If you’re interested in becoming a veterinary technician yourself though, navigating the various exams, acronyms, and training programs can seem like a full-time job in itself. Clarifying the Terminology The first step is discerning the difference between “veterinary assistants,” “veterinary technicians” and “veterinary technologists.” Although they sound remarkably similar, each requires a different degree of training. Veterinary technicians have …
Wanted: You as a Supervisor?December 17, 2014There are several reasons why you may be selected for a promotion into management. As difficult as the truth may be, you should be clear as to why you’re being considered for this promotion. That way, you have a glimpse of your potential and the support that is being offered to you by those who want you in the position. Too Much for the Top It makes sense that when the manager at “the top” becomes overwhelmed with too much to do, they will start to implement some levels of middle management to help them get all the work done. This makes sense, except often times the middle managers are still spending 75 percent of their time “on the floor” being the receptionist, technician, etc. So everyone needs to be clear as to what percent of time this middle manager will be given to complete administrative or “management” type work. This may need to be modified as time goes on, and certainly the team needs to appreciate that the new manager will be spending less time helping them in that moment. Too Many for the Bottom When a manager ends up with too many people to directly manage, …
Time For The Top?December 10, 2014Most people in veterinary medicine enter the field because of their love of animals. Nothing seems better than spending the work day surrounded by animals, helping animals, and yes, helping the families of those animals. When you’re on “the floor” either up at the front desk or in the back treatment and surgery area, you get your wish of being around animals most of the time. But if you take or make the move into management, you are veering away from your initial goal. So why consider becoming a member of management? Here are just some of the reasons… The Need for a Chair As the years go by, our bodies begin to feel the effects of working a very physical job. If we’re up front in the practice, we are spending a lot of time on our feet. In the back, we are wrestling Rottweilers, tackling tabbies, and lifting Labradors. We get to the point where physically, the job becomes too demanding. The result of years in the trenches can include a bad back, blown knees, drooping feet and more. We don’t want to leave practice, but we need to look for a position that requires more mental energy, and …
Silliest Client Behavior Contest (part 3)December 5, 2014I try really, really hard to remain diplomatically correct in this blog. But I do have to share a few stories that portray some of the silliest client ideas and behaviors. We continue our recollection of some of the wackiest client ideas and behaviors. Some were my clients. Some were my colleagues. * I had the most baffling phone conversation with a client recently. Here is the gist of it (out of pity for you, dear reader, I will only share the beginning!): Me: “Hello, this is Dr. Zeltzman.” Her: “You mean Dr. Zeltzman, Z-E-L-T-Z-M-A-N?” Me: “Hmm, yes. Is this Ms. Ferguson*?” Her: “Yes, Ferguson, F-E-R-G-U-S-O-N.” Me: “I was calling about Bailey’s surgery*” Her: “You mean Bailey, B-A-I-L-E-Y?” Me: “Hmm, yes. Bailey is your dog, correct?” Her: “You mean dog, D-O-G?” What followed is the most agonizing, absolute longest, most excruciating TPLO consult I’ve ever done in my life. She continued to meticulously spell out words. I didn’t have the guts to correct the ones she couldn’t spell, no matter how much I tried to simplify my explanation. You try to find a synonym for cruciate and for ligament! * Several colleagues said that one of the silliest things …
What Are You Grateful For?November 26, 2014Hard to believe it’s THAT time of year again—time to rake the leaves, prepare the feast, and remember what we are thankful for in our lives. Years ago, I bought these little foam trees, and the idea was to write something you are thankful for on a leaf, and attach it to the tree. I’ve shared this tradition with my family for many years, and it occurs to me, why not apply this activity of thankfulness with our work “family.” Despite the tough days, hissing cats and snapping clients, we all have things we are thankful for, or else we wouldn’t keep coming to work! So get your team thinking about being thankful. One idea is to make a cut-out of a big tree to tape on a wall in the back, and provide cut-out leaves to fill the tree (along with some brief instructions to keep it clean!). Among the many things I am and have been grateful for in my career, here are a few to get your wheels turning (in no particular order): Thankful that I HAVE a job, when there are others out there without employment. Thankful for a boss that listens to my ideas, at least …
How Can Skyscrapers Be So Tall?November 10, 2014As I was admiring some futuristic skyscrapers in San Diego during the last ACVS meeting this October 2014, I was reminded of a fascinating documentary* on that very topic. Without the seven following engineering breakthroughs, we would not be able to build extravagantly tall towers. 1. Elevator The most obvious advancement is the elevator, which appeared in the 19th century. Architects knew that in order to make taller buildings, people needed a way to climb higher. To resolve this issue, the elevator was invented. The problem with the elevator’s prototype was that, if the rope suddenly broke, there was nothing to stop if from falling down. In 1854, a mechanic named Elisha Otis (yes, same as the company) created a safety device that would stop the elevator from falling. Should the hoisting cable snap, the wagon would securely lock into metal prongs along the sides of the lift. 2. Steel The next problem to solve was that preventing taller (i.e. heavier) buildings made of stone from sinking into the ground. When the triangular Flatiron building (87 m tall) was created in New York City, architects used steel columns and beams to develop a steel skeleton—which was thin and light enough …
Membership Drive a Big Success for Vet Tech GroupOctober 31, 2014Hoping to reel in 200 new members in October, the National Association for Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) may have hooked thousands. The hugely successful membership drive was bankrolled by Merial Ltd., which donated $10,000 toward the effort and followed up with an additional $11,000 as the applications flooded in. “Within the first 48 hours, we far exceeded our established goal,” said Julie Legred, CVT, the executive director of NAVTA. “We are thrilled with the outcome we’ve seen so far and look forward to continued success from the digital membership offering.” 犀利士 NAVTA had about 12,000 members before October. “We received over 5,000 memberships during National Veterinary Technician Week and with the Merial offer,” Legred said. “We are still sorting through those received as to the number of those that are new and the number that are renewals. “It is very common for us to receive memberships at this time of year, but not at the pace they came in during that week, and the Merial offer certainly drove them in,” she added. “It will be very interesting to see how many of those that came in are new members.” Merial paid for …
Clearly Compassion FatigueOctober 29, 2014As some of you know, I am big into the topic of compassion fatigue. In fact, some of you may be fatigued from hearing me talk about it! When I speak on the topic, I unashamedly admit that I am the “poster child” for compassion fatigue. Some of my wounds have healed, leaving the tender scar tissue. Many more still remain, some of them irritating scratches, like paper cuts. You know the kind: they can be the smallest little slit, but it hurts like crazy. And yes, I have some big, gaping wounds that I know will likely never heal. When it comes to compassion fatigue, I have literally “been there, done that.” I think I finally realized how deep some of these wounds are when I was stopped dead in my tracks by the annual Compassion Fatigue conference in Kingston, Ontario. I began my training on CF up in Kingston with a private firm, and then extended my learning by attending two of the annual conferences. Typically they have presentations from different lines of work that can suffer from compassion fatigue, such as mental health providers, humanitarian organizations, even the “human” medical field. It’s funny, well OK, sad, that I …
Balance Out Your Team's Strengths and WeaknessesOctober 23, 2014Do you hear what I hear? It’s okay if you don’t. As you know, there are all kinds of people in veterinary medicine. We all have our strengths, and we all have our weaknesses … when we’re honest with ourselves. When you put a variety of people together in the workplace, it would be ideal if the strengths and weaknesses created a complete picture, like different puzzle pieces, working together to create an image. I was talking to “my good friend, Val” and she was taking this concept one step further — to employee development, performance evaluations and job fit. This is sorta how it goes. We take a person who has their own set of strengths and weaknesses, and let them loose at the practice. What they do good in, great, “no news is good news” is often the management tool we use when things are going well. That’s because if you do something wrong, you WILL hear about it. This could be an informal conversation, or it could occur during the annual performance evaluation (you’ve got that, right?). Val’s point is, we take someone and say very little about what they do well, but spend an awful lot of …
