What is a Veterinary Technician?

Welcome Zoners to the blog zone.

I have been wanting to start a blog and page for quite a while now and to be honest, it's just kept being put on the back burner time and time again. Why was this the case? I can come up with a long list of reasons why but the reality is that they would deep down be chalked up to being an excuse.

Anyway, this is the blog zone. The place where I will be talking and hopefully discussing with you various topics related to veterinary medicine. This will include medical content, CE topics, humor, challenges and roadblocks, and quite frankly ANYTHING YOU would like to talk about.

As we are wrapping up National Veterinary Technician Week, I think a perfect BZone topic would be about technicians and what they do!!

Please comment, like and share this blog and let us know what topics you would like to see in the future!!

Licensed Veterinary Technician, Registered Veterinary Technician, Certified Veterinary Technician OH MY!! What do they mean? Who are we? What do we do?

One of the biggest challenges we face over the years is to have the general public understand who we are and what we do. I will be strategically venturing away from the technician vs. nurse debate (maybe for a later blog 🤔) and keep it as simple as possible!

A veterinary technician whether licensed, registered, or certified is an educated, trained and passionate professional with a broad list of skills and responsibilities as a member of a veterinary patient care team. Why the confusion about being an LVT, CVT, or RVT?

This comes down to simply which state you are practicing in and how they address and list your professional designation. Regardless of LVT, CVT, or RVT they are lawfully trained medical professionals that perform phlebotomy, place intravenous (IV), arterial, and urinary catheters, they are in the direct care of hospitalized veterinary patients. They are anesthetists, proposing and implementing veterinarian-approved anesthesia protocols. They monitor patient vitals signs (heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, etc.) prior to, during, and after anesthetics events. They administer medications prescribed by the doctor. They work in the emergency rooms triaging, stabilizing, and caring for critical patients. They are involved in obtaining diagnostic imaging like radiographs, cat scans, and MRI. They perform client education, teaching owners how to care for their family members post-hospitalization. Their role in the veterinary community is integral and public knowledge of their role is unfortunately misunderstood.

The third week in October has been slated as National Veterinary Technician Week. As we wrap up this week of appreciation, we must not forget these heroes and what they do for us 365 days of the year!

Happy Veterinary Technician week!!

The Veterinary Technician Oath:

"I solemnly dedicate myself to aiding animals and society by providing excellent care and services for animals, by alleviating animal suffering, and by promoting public health.

I accept my obligations to practice my profession conscientiously and with sensitivity, adhering to the profession’s Code of Ethics, and furthering my knowledge and competence through a commitment to lifelong learning."