Celebrating 2022 Vet Tech Week
Every pet owner knows that a healthy pet is a happy pet, and lucky for us, there’s an entire week dedicated to some of the most important people who keep out pets healthy! October 16 through October 22 is National Veterinary Technician Week, so we asked Katie Leigh Stall to answer some questions to help us better understand what a vet tech does and why they’re so important. Katie has 20 years of experience in the vet field, 8 of which were as a vet tech. Join us in celebrating 2022 Vet Tech Week!
What do vet techs do?
Vet tech is short for veterinary technician. In the simplest terms, a vet tech is much like a nurse. They’re the person who does all of the prep work and standard operations for the vet. Examples of a vet tech’s job duties include administering medication, drawing bloodwork, preparing exam rooms and surgery suites, and filling prescriptions.
“You are an x-ray tech, a dental hygienist, a nurse, a phlebotomist. Anything you can do in the human medical field (which is usually broken down to one person per job) is what one single vet tech does in one day.” -Katie Leigh Stall
Trained to perform technical tasks and to act as professional assistants to veterinarians, veterinary technicians need to know how to do everything short of diagnosing and operating on patients. They work closely with their clients, ensuring owners are educated on the proper of their pets and working directly with the animals to get them back to their healthy selves.
Why is Vet Tech Week important?
The main reason for celebrating Vet Tech Week is the role they play in keeping our pets healthy. Pet owners do the day-to-day work of keeping our pets healthy, like taking our dogs for walks or ensuring our animals have a healthy diet, but when our companions inevitably need a trip to the vet, we work directly with vet techs more than the veterinarian.
Vet techs also deserve recognition for how much work they do. Because of their workload, vet techs often work long days. It’s normal to spend 12 to 16 hours at work each day. It’s exhausting work – both mentally and physically – but also very rewarding. The happy days of helping a patient recover make it easier to bear the bad moments when a patient doesn’t pull through.
“You have to have compassion and empathy to be a tech, but it’s a lot to carry. It can be really hard to have to assist in a euthanasia of a client you’ve watched grow up and grow old and then have to go into the next appointment to help a new adopted puppy get a nail trim. But we do it because we love it, and we want to help the floofy babies.” -Katie Leigh Stall
The process of becoming a vet tech varies from state to state. In Louisiana, you must earn an associate’s degree in veterinary technology by completing a program accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association. Then, passing the Veterinary Technician National Examination earns you a license. The final step is to apply with the Louisiana Board of Veterinary Medicine to become a registered vet technician. All of those steps ensure that vet techs are well-educated and prepared for the technical aspects of the job. However, vet techs also experience the same emotional and mental struggles of any job in the medical field, including compassion fatigue. Katie offered this advice for anyone interested in becoming a vet tech:
“Be prepared for the hard things. Understanding how life is and appreciating the time you have is important. Have empathy and compassion and patience. It’s definitely a very under paid job, but it’s so rewarding, and when you love what you do it doesn’t feel like work.” -Katie Leigh Stall
How can I support and celebrate Vet Tech Week?
Now that you know how awesome vet techs are, you may be wondering how to show your support. The good news is that it can be as simple as thanking your local vet techs for their hard work. Just recognizing everything they do can be all a vet tech wants to hear!
“I think having a general understanding of just what all your vet tech does would definitely allow people to see just how important we are. Like any nurse in the human world, we deal with gross things and then have to wear it the rest of the day. For me personally, anytime a client just thanked me for actually caring about their pet and educating them on a situation was always the most touching to me.” -Katie Leigh Stall
If you want to go above and beyond, Katie recommends treats and snacks. With so much to do, a vet tech is always on the move, so goodies that are quick and easy to grab and eat on the go make for perfect gifts.
There’s no doubt that the work vet techs do deserves a week of recognition. Just by reading this post and learning more about vet techs, you’re already celebrating 2022 Vet Tech Week! Now that you know how important vet techs are, make sure to thank your local vet techs the next time you’re at the vet’s office, and consider giving your vet tech friends a special gift to show your support.
Every pet owner knows that a healthy pet is a happy pet, and lucky for us, there’s an entire week dedicated to some of the most important people who keep out pets healthy! October 16 through October 22 is National Veterinary Technician Week, so we asked Katie Leigh Stall to answer some questions to help…