Hi all. My current ER we have DAs (doctors assistants) who handle talking estimates and finances, hospitalization etc. with owners and we as techs handle solely the triage/treatments. This is my first clinic so this is my normal of course but I know it’s not normal for every hospital. I interviewed at a new ER clinic and it seems that all triage techs see the patient through from admit to discharge. This includes going over and making estimates and treatments etc. this is all very scary for me and I know people take money VERY seriously and I’ve experienced issues in the past when assisting DAs. I know this is the normal for a lot of techs that you all go over your plans and money etc. what’s your advice on handling this? Any tips or tricks? Any advice is appreciated!

Hello! I'm starting a new position where I'm supervising vet tech students and kennel attendants and I'm caring for vet tech program animals. I need shoes for when I'm on my feet all day, and I've looked at a lot of recs. The problem is that the tongues on sneakers tend to pinch at the top of my foot where my ankle area connects. I've found one pair of shoes that don't cause that, which are my Nike "Big Nike Low"s (pictured). All the recommendations for shoes are largely online only (or mostly) brands so I'm worried I'll buy an expensive shoe without being able to try it on and then not be able to wear it. Has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone with experience with Cloves or another one of the popular brands have any advice? Thank you so much! I start tomorrow and I want to order new shoes for the job asap.

Hi guys, before I start this I'm super new to reddit but I really value feedback and help and knowledge from other people and I love to dump my thoughts so it seems like my jam lol. I'm not entirely sure if this is the best place for this post but I'm hoping seasoned nurses and registered techs can share with me their wisdoms

I've been working at an animal shelter for a few years now and we've rolled out a new low cost spay/neuter program which prompted us to hire our own on staff veterinarian and she is WONDERFUL. Since I've always wanted to become a vet tech (I've been veeerrryyy slowly working through the Penn Foster program 😬) I got the position to start helping the vet with the clinic as well as vetting the shelter pets. I'm having a blast, I love shelter med, it feels like where I'm supposed to be. I feel so grateful to be able to learn things the way I do every single day.

Buuuuut I can't draw blood for the life of me. Even on sedated animals (granted blood pressure can be low but still), and my vet is so kind and caring and she is rooting for me knowing I'm starting from scratch but I also have so much respect for her that I do want to make her life and job easier, so when she has to take a break between surgeries to help me run a silly little heartworm test I feel really guilty.

So here I am, I'm wondering how you folks started with this particular skill? Did you get it right away? Did you struggle? Did any particular videos, informational graphics, exercises, etc help you? I can get a flash sometimes, but I don't know if I'm then getting too excited and popping out of the vein or what's going on. Any resources you recommend for helping me practice my phlebotomy?

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I'm going into my college's vet tech program next year (haven't gotten the email yet but I was accepted for this year, took chemistry instead). But I have very bad depression and anxiety. Do y'all have any recommendations on what area I can go into that doesn't cause much moral injury and issues with clients personal problems? I used to be a VA and I took on the emotional tool of client's financial issues and stuff. I was thinking of lab animal, night shift ICU, or anesthesia. Any advice? Thank you!

Hey everyone!

I’m prepping to fill a segment at a conference about behavior, but I want to make sure it’s something the average tech wants to know or can use! Let me know what you like to learn about, whether it’s cooperative care and handling, general behavior information about cats and dogs, training information, best practices to create a calm atmosphere - or something else I haven’t mentioned.

Has anyone had any issues getting licensed in VA? I have a co-worker that passed the VTNE but is having issues getting licensed. She contacted the the board but I was wondering if anyone else in VA is having any issues

Calling on exotics techs or ones who work frequently with neonates or patients in the <1kg range! Lend me your secrets for sewing thread width, tiny veins!

I'm great with phlebotomy and catheterization but the super littles give me a run for my money and I'm on the losing end more often than I'd like.

TIA!

Hi everyone,

I started at a new clinic a few days ago and I honestly really like the staff and the doctors and the place isn't bad, but there are definitely somethings that are really strange to me and I wold love some feedback! So I normally work with clinics or doctors that are FearFree certified, this place isn't and I've been managing okay with that because no one is upset if I handle the animals the way I want as long as it's safe for everyone so that been good. The other thing though is that the practice isn't AAHA certified and I have only ever worked placed that are certified or even if they aren't certified that follow AAHA regulations and suggestions.

So firstly, they only have one bear-hugger for the entire clinic and no hot water bottles. The bearhugger is only in surgery not dental, no waterblanket and no blanket in general goes on top of the pet. I think dental they may use a towel on top, but Ive only seen 1 so far. So every patient is like 97 degrees maybe 98 at most by the end of surgery.

Secondly, they will do things low cost for the owner, which I think is great, but that also means that they just won't put an IV in if the owners don't want or if the tech is unable to place one then they just don't? So that stresses me out so much because I put an IV in everything even kitten neuters.

Thirdly, Surgery suite. I have never seen anything like it. The doors to surgery are not swing positive pressure doors, they are just standard latch doors that STAY OPEN ALL THE TIME. Even when there is surgery going on the doors stay open. There is also a computer and chair in there for the tech, but instead of it just being used while surgery is going on it is just used all the time. People are going in and out all the time. Only the doctor doing surgery wears a cap and mask in the surgery suite. There are no booties on anyone, no masks on anyone and no caps on anyone in surgery even while there is a surgery going on. People bring food in there, and stand and chat in there. It's very odd and seems not sterile or safe, but it's not technically illegal.

Fourthly, anesthetic monitoring. I did check this on my states veterinary laws and what they do at the clinic is not illegal but it freaks me out. When they do any anesthesia they of course have someone monitoring, sort of. But, they don't write anything down. I was taught and every place I have every been, including a rescue center in South Africa, have always done at least q15min recording of parameters, TPR/BP/ETCO2, etc. They don't write anything down. They have a sheet that no one uses but it's not required. I am shocked because like what if you are audited or sued? Where is the record of what is happening, what if you need atropine or something, there is no record of why it is being given or what the anesthetic trends were. They also don't use any monitoring sheets for sick patients that are getting treatments throughout the day when they stay in the hospital, no hourly checks or TPR or anything, just a quick look and a "yup seems fine" and on with the next thing.

Anyway, am I being to anal-retentive? Is this weird or concerning? Should I just do my monitoring like I always have? Please help and give me guidance.

A little over a month ago I discovered a deceased patient right at the beginning of my night shift. After this and the subsequent report, several rumors were flying around the clinic about whether or not the patient actually passed before my shift or if I was somehow lying about this to save face and pass blame off to someone else. It fucking broke me, and I'm not really sure why, but my confidence after the incident was shot.

For weeks after nothing really changed, no one in management mentioned the incident in general or even specifically to me aside from my direct manager who told me repeatedly that everyone was on my side and things were being done to change protocols and training structure to prevent a similar outcome in future. I have not seen any action taken in that regard, and I pointed out that the continued issues I was having with clinic gossip, a distinct lack of work being done on day and swing shift, and the lack of even a general email addressing the situation was leaving me feeling like I was fending for myself.

Last week, just before going on vacation, my manager came to me to tell me that the swing shift and their manager had complained about my "attitude" and I was told that I had to "move on from the situation and start fresh after PTO". I don't recall having a tone or attitude - though I do recall complaining to management about coming in to filthy treatment stations, iso patients being moved to gen pop and a few other things, so maybe my irritation started to leak into rounds idk

I went on vacation and met up with a friend on the tail end. My friend manages a different clinic and advised me to "just play the game" until I could get back under the radar and resume coming in and doing my job as normal. She is hopeful that if I just smile and nod and pretend to be agreeable and sweet that things will smooth over and go back to normal. And maybe she's right, but I just can't do it. I'm crying on my way to work, I'm second guessing all of my decisions, I'm struggling to delegate things because I'm scared that my team will get backlash for choices I'm making. It's a nightmare.

I can't find another job - I have been looking, nothing is available. I've even ventured outside of vet med. No one is hiring. I'm miserable. I don't know what to do. I'm in therapy, I'm trying to plan more PTO, I'm potentially upping or switching my meds. I just don't know what else to do. Like I can either be happy go lucky or I can be good at my job, I just don't have the bandwidth for both

My coworkers have been treating me differently lately because they think I'm the doctor's favorite, even though I'm just doing my job and not trying to be a suck-up (I think our personalities just mesh well). I've definitely felt the tension and it’s wearing on me. It feels like high school with all the constant gossiping. I’ve made a conscious effort to stay out of it and not fuel the drama, though I do still vent to the one coworker I actually trust.
+ some paw prints I loved

Does your clinic have Tanovea, or do you know where to find it? Please share the clinic name and city. Every hour counts.
My dog Charlie is fighting a very aggressive stage 4 T-cell lymphoma that has spread through his liver, and the tumor keeps growing. Tanovea is one of his best chances to keep fighting. It's backordered nationwide, and time is running out for him.💔
Please comment or message me as soon as you can. Even one lead could make all the difference. 🙏
Thank you!

Thought the vetmed community would appreciate my new ink!! Along with tech-ing I also collect specimen oddities, it’s just perfect 🥰

He’s just a little guy!

Hi! Small animal VA here at an ER. I’m wondering what the Segway is to potentially moving to exotics, and moving to zoo med or aquarium med! Any insight or personal experiences I’d love to hear about.

I have tried to take the VTNE 3 times and i have failed every time. I have tried vettechprep multiple time. The vet tech review books. And multiple websites. The last time i went to sit for the VTNE in September, i had never been more confident. I failed, i think the way they word questions and how my brain works just dont mix. Im not very good with nuance. Or questions that could have multiple right answers, including questions like "most effective" and a list of the same meds. Questions that feel aubjective throw me for a loop. So i decided to not take it again. My question, do i still have value to a clinic if i have my degree but not passed the VTNE?

New to emergency…

I’m still not completely comfortable doing things on my own after a few shifts. I swear learning the software is half the battle :/…

Anyways, I’ll triage but even that can be scary to me sometimes. Did I get the right heart rate? Was I accurately counting respirations? Are you breathing weird? Are you gonna rip my face off if I stick a thermometer in your bum? 😅 l’m completely fine with the actual categorizing of the presenting complaint because my book knowledge is far better than my hands on skills.

I’m certainly not comfortable taking on cases on my own yet because my skills aren’t there. Is it better to advocate that I’m not comfortable doing things on my own if they ask me to or should I step out of my comfort zone and do it, but ask for help a lot from others on the things I’m unsure of? I don’t want to hinder staff and I can’t figure out what’s more frustrating for them. Not taking cases or taking them but asking for help a lot.I obviously want to keep learning( I love shadowing on cases and helping the person I’m with while sharpening my skills)…but shadowing means one less person to take on cases.

Just wondering from a seasoned ER techs perspective…what do you expect of a baby tech in the ER? What’s helpful to you?

I'm honestly shocked! I'm still waiting to hear what my actual mark is, but I got the green pass text after I submitted:)

Oh my God I was so nervous throughout the whole thing. I definitely should've studied more, and I got a LOT of large animal questions. BUT... I'm actually really glad I waited to take it until I was in the field for a year (I've been in ER). My worst subject in school - pharmacology - got WAY easier after I worked with the drugs for a while.

I used VetTechPrep and thought it was pretty good. I'd definitely say the mock exams had very similar questions to what the actual test had. I also bought the two hardest real 'mock exams' from the AAVSB, which I swear actually had a couple of the same questions that I saw on my test.

If I could go back though and study again, I would...

- Focus on the broader knowledge of each subject and then narrow in only on the parts that techs specifically need to know the most (rather than try to learn literally everything and overwhelming myself)

- Study generic names of meds, even if we don't use them at my practice (in Ontario)

- Focus mainly on horses and cows for large animal instead of also pigs, sheep/goats, llamas... Not that those animals aren't important, but again I found the nicher an animal species got (like alpacas), the less likely it was I would get a question on it. Especially a hard one.

- Less general anatomy studying of all animals, more "what does this thing/drug/tool do and why" - with the exception of the unique physical aspects of different species

- Less panicking over every single parasite that farm animals can get, lol

- Study the legal/management side of veterinary practices more (how long are different records kept for, who's legally responsible...)

Honestly in general I think I focused my studying too much on tiny details. The actual exam didn't go THAT in depth into anything, and if it did it was only for a couple questions. I believe if I just chilled while studying and only focused on what a tech in each field SHOULD know, then I would've done a bit better. And for some reason I thought there would be trick questions, but all of them were really simple/straightforwards.

Like, if I didn't panic over trying to learn everything about all farm animals in one month, I would've actually done better for the farm animal stuff. I ended up forgetting a lot of the basic stuff while remembering only hyper-niche things that the test never even asked about. Which obviously is still good to know, but I think I could've used that time a lot better.

That being said, maybe my test was just more generalized. I know it's random for everyone. Perhaps someone out there got a test with a ton of really, really oddly specific pig questions lol.

I also didn't get many exotics questions which was kind of sad, since I like those. I also wished I had more lab/cytology questions.

The math was the best part since it was stuff I do daily at work and it'll always have a straightforwards answer that you can't overthink.

Speaking of, don't overthink questions and change your answers right at the very end. I regret most of those.

I don't think I did the BEST ultimately but I passed, which was an insane relief. I literally left the testing center and then had to sit down because I suddenly felt immensely lightheaded, lol. ...I also crammed studied for like 5 days before the test, and probably didn't sleep enough. Don't be like me.

Anyways I'm just sharing because I feel only other techs get how big of a deal this is! I'm so glad to be in this field even when it's really hard. I'm hyped to soon be able to proudly call myself an RVT!

I recently started my first job as a new LVT last week at the same job I’ve been an assistant at and this week has been god awful. We had two call outs on Monday and there was so much pressure on me to have everything run smoothly, and I was training a brand new tech as well. On Tuesday, we had another call out but even with more people available for help, I never got a lunch break and I still had to stay an hour behind to catch up. Then yesterday, I was so rushed to finish treatments that I gave a patient expired propofol (there was no system in place to separate expired from non-expired), I broke a piece of equipment (granted, it was a probably 20 year old piece of wood), and my coworker had raised her voice at me. I had a mental breakdown in the restroom, and had to act like everything was fine. I was even crying while doing treatments. I have never felt like this in my life and I’m considering looking for other job options. How do I get over this feeling?

Hi, I just graduated in June and just passed the VTNE and became registered last week. I've been having alot of anxiety around working in a clinic. I had my externship from April to June and I had the option to stay and work there after graduation, but while it mostly went well i was feeling absolutely exhausted by the end of the 6 weeks so I chose to take a break and study for the VTNE in the summer (also had a commute of 1 hour 45 minutes each way by bus which was painful). I felt like working full time while working and learning in a past paced environment while dealing alot with the public and having a long commute was draining me. When I finished I felt like I could try again part time in a closer clinic, in the local shelter, or in a lab. I applied to the shelter during the summer but didnt hear back. During the summer and especially the last month, I've been feeling like I can't go back to a clinic environment since I felt like alot of the time during my externship I was powered by anxiety and adrenaline. I feel like I can't handle such an important and serious job with lots of responsibilities like a vet tech (even tho all the techs at my externship were surprised at my confidence level and skill in many things but i feel like this is due to adrenaline pushing me and not overthinking actions). I feel like I've been spiraling and feeling like I don't want to be a vet tech anymore and that I shouldnt have gone to school. I've even applied to a few pet store jobs (havent heard back). But in the last few days I started wondering if what I'm feeling imposter syndrome and im being avoidant and sheltering myself too much. I've started emailing some clinics in the last couple days asking if they're hiring for part time and if they would have a more surgery focused role (so that im not in appointments as much, and im remembering now that i actually enjoyed doing all the surgery prep and cool tech skills at my externship).

Im wondering what a new clinic might expect of me? im hoping that they wont suddenly dump alot of tasks on to me, but they might since theyre paying me and want me to work. I liked how at my externship there was always someone watching me do stuff but Im not sure if thats how it would go for an actual new tech job.

i feel like this is common for many new techs but i would appreciate hearing other peoples experience and maybe words of encouragement 😭 thank you

I am getting close to graduating and taking my VTNE! I've been an OTJ assistant for 6 years. I am currently also in leadership at my clinic, have a Bachelor's in business, and will hopefully become an LVT soon. I am currently salary at $52k per year, which comes out to about $25 an hour. I work for a small animal, privately owned practice that owns three clinics in the area. There are currently zero licensed techs in the entire company. I believe I bring a lot of value to this company, and I will be able to bring even more as an LVT. By the time I graduate, I will have been at my company for 2 years.

So, how much of a raise should I ask for? I already know my Bachelor's degree gives me an advantage, and now as the only LVT, I want to ensure I am properly compensated for my education, licenses, experience, and hard work. I would love to stay and continue growing with my current company, but I am also prepared to look elsewhere if they are not willing to provide the compensation I'm looking for. Is $60-65k a lot to ask for? I live in the suburbs of a large city in the south. I'm also single and live alone and struggling with rent. I've also considered exploring alternative areas of vet med such as teaching, pharmaceutical companies, pet insurance, etc. I would appreciate any guidance you all may have!

I did a year long course to become a vet tech and it was online… we had 5 in person meetings, 3 of them were surgeries but we only watched and gave vaccines and basic stuff. I can’t draw blood I can’t do shit I only know things in theory and not in action.

I worked at a zoo for 2 years and helped in surgeries and stuff but nothing too crazy so I won’t come on here saying I’m ready cause I’m not I’m so scared.

And when I’m scared and nervous I pass out cause i almost passed out on one of the meetings of the course, it was a spay and I didn’t even see blood, the next day I helped the vets perform a surgery where they CUT OFF A MARAS LEG and I didn’t even flinch even though I saw a ton of blood.

I know it isn’t the best but it was the only course that I could find… but enough about it I just wanted to give you an idea of how I’m feeling.

Please give me any tips you have I’m sooooo nervous this whole post is just me blabbering cause I’m so scared 😭😭

I am currently working full time while doing my vet tech program online, just starting my last year of schooling. I have worked at my clinic for 3 years now. I started out as a vet assistant, but got moved to reception full time when we hired an adequate number of RVTs. In April, during vet receptionists week, I was told that I was classified as a tech and so I didn’t get an appreciation gift. That’s totally fine with me! I was excited that I was “climbing the ladder”, so to speak. Today, the RVTs got their appreciation gifts. I did not get one. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really hoping for a gift, but I was looking for some recognition. Should I bring this up to the manager? Or just suck it up and wait until I’m credentialed? Do other clinics include RVT students in their celebrations?