My dog had her teeth cleaned yesterday at our vet’s office. Like any parent anxiously waiting for their child (animal or human) to come out of anesthesia, I was faced with the realization of just how much we depend on 2 people for the life-long well-being of our beloved pets – their veterinarian and veterinary technician.
I have a unique perspective, as I spend 20 years working in human hospitals as a rehabilitation therapist and have also recently earned my veterinary technician degree as the base of a new career in holistic animal healing. I have seen first-hand what vet techs learn in school and carry out every day on the job, as well as all that human nurses do.
Let me be clear that I am in no way down-playing what human nurses do – they are truly the cornerstone of our healthcare system. What I am describing is that vet techs do this also, as well as the job of multiple other important human specialists, without a fraction of the respect or financial compensation.
As much as I thought I realized this from the viewpoint of being a pet owner, my eyes were opened wider as I became a student, immersed in the world of vet tech classes and internships. Let me tell you that I had to work every bit as diligently to do well in the classes for this Associates degree as I did in those for my Masters degree for human therapy. This was even more astonishing to me seeing as I now had 20 years of medical environment experience behind me.
There were students from my vet tech class who left to pursue human hospital vocations because they found those programs to be easier to succeed in and could find jobs that would pay significantly more once completed. And let me assure you that these human medical field programs are difficult. What this underscores is the level of education and knowledge your pet’s vet tech has and how grateful we should all feel about that when our pets are left in their care.
I think this topic is also on my mind because it is the one year anniversary of being awarded my degree and this year’s new vet tech students just graduated last weekend. Although the field is not yet uniformly legislated in every state, let me help you understand what being a veterinary technician means in most states.
Since many more students apply to these programs as there is space for them, it is an honor just to be accepted into a program. Because of the competition, many students beginning these programs already have 4 year Bachelor degrees in related subjects. It is their love for animals that guides them into this more specific path for additional education.
Once in, there are 2 years (4 full-load semesters) of classes. There are also 2 semester-long internships at veterinary clinics (most done during the summers). Keep in mind, if you do not maintain a 2.5 GPA (75%) you are not allowed to pass, so there is no skirting through. Once you graduate, you have an Associates degree as a Veterinary Technician. (Some schools have 4 year veterinary technologist programs.)
To become certified (some states refer to it as registered), you then have to take a national veterinary technician exam (the VTNE). If you pass this, you are now certified (CVT) or registered (RVT) depending on your state. Then you apply to your states board, showing proof of your degree and certification, for licensure in that state. To maintain that licensure, there is then a mandatory annual continuing education requirement that must be maintained.
That’s the nitty-gritty. Here’s the big picture. That one vet tech helping to take care of your animal is the equivalent of at least fifteen human positions. They are your:
- nurse –
(taking histories, taking vitals, calculating medication dosages, administering shots and medications),
- nurses aid –
(bringing them to the bathroom, cleaning them, cutting their nails),
- phlebotomist –
(collecting blood samples for various types of blood tests),
- laboratory technician –
(running tests on blood and urine, preparing samples to be shipped out for further testing),
- radiology technician –
(positioning patients for specific views, taking x-rays),
- dental hygienist –
(performing dental cleaning, measuring gingival pockets, assisting in tooth removal),
- surgical technician –
(operating room set up, surgical tool management, dressing wounds, and post-op pain management),
- anesthesia technician –
(calculating medication dosages, intubating, medicating, monitoring oxygen, monitoring vital signs),
- pain management technician –
(for acute, post-op and chronic pain issues),
- pharmacy technician –
(calculating medication dosages, filling prescriptions, medication information),
- rehabilitation therapist –
(maximizing recovery from injury as well as maintaining function with progressing age),
- orderly –
(transporting patients to and from different rooms, cleaning exam and surgical rooms after each patient),
- administrative assistant –
(maintaining medical records, managing communications between clinic, clients and outside labs),
- counselor –
(educating us on every aspect of animal healthcare and emotionally supporting us in our times of greatest stress), and
- housekeeping staff –
(often responsible for cleaning rooms between clients as well as entire clinic at end of the day).
Anything shy of diagnosing, prognosing, prescribing medication, or performing surgery is within the scope of practice of a vet tech.
This makes sense when you realize that a veterinarian has the pressure of being an expert on multiple species, running the care spectrum from primary care wellness to dentistry, to performing surgeries (across the various body systems), all the way to end of life care. We expect our vet to know EVERYTHING about EVERY ASPECT of our beloved pet. Yet we also accept that our own human doctor will send us out to a specialist regarding each component of our being.
Interestingly, in other countries, they label this right hand position to the veterinarian as “nurse”. Here in the United States, despite years of attempting to get legislation passed, they are not allowed to use the term veterinary nurse – despite all that they do. And though there is just one human body (with all its anatomy and physiology), think of how many small and large animals there are – each with a distinct set of parameters – so that a veterinarian, and vet tech, needs to know ALL of them.
Now realize that a vet tech is doing this for the love of our animals, not the pay. Most vet techs make just over minimum wage (though the exact amount varies depending on state and facility). Hourly pay begins at about $10 per hour, with a US average hourly wage of $13 once you have your degree, $14 if you are certified/registered, and $15 if you are also licensed. Compare this to an approximate starting salary for a registered human nurse (RN) of about $21 per hour, with an average around $27 (payscale.com January 2016).
I have worked with many amazing human nurses. They are among the smartest and most capable people I know. They are over-worked with a heavy load of responsibilities on their shoulders every day. What my intention is here is to begin a conversation by creating awareness. Awareness that our PETS’ nurses, their vet techs, also carry an incredible responsibility every day caring for the lives of our family members.
They, however, do it while also being under-payed and not given the same level of respect and appreciation as their human nurse counterparts. Many of us see our animals as our children. And we expect every bit as much from our veterinarians and vet techs as we do from our TEAMS of human doctors.
The level of the discrepancy would be easy to not realize, had I not been involved in both worlds. Both careers have a similar education requirement of 2 years for career specific courses (taking into account that a 4 year RN degree has 2 of those years as general education classes). I can attest from experience that the difficulty level of the courses on each path is equal. Both have national exam requirements as well as annual continuing education requirements. And both are involved in maintaining the lives of our family members.
As I finish this article, I look over at my little cocker spaniel, full of thanks that she is back home safe and sound. She is one tooth lighter now, but 100% alive and healthy. She sleepily looks up at me, thanks to her pain control medications, and her doggy smile frames her freshly polished pearly whites.
My eyes tear up as I feel the enormity of my gratitude for our angels at the animal hospital for always taking such amazing care my furry kids. I hope they all know how much each and every one of them is loved and appreciated. Note to self: thank God for them in my prayers EVERY night before I go to sleep.