Veterinary Technician Essay

When someone thinks of a veterinary technician, they think of a person who is at a lower position than a veterinarian, and that their job does not have a major aspect into being in a profession. Whether a person is a veterinarian, doctor, or a nurse, everyone working for the benefit of others all share the same reasoning: to save a life and to heal anything that is not in full well-being. Everyone in a health profession has a goal of doing whatever they are expected to do in the best of their abilities.

People frequently confuse the jobs of vet techs and vet assistants, as they both work as aide to veterinarians. As Dan Swenson mentions, “Every member of the veterinary healthcare team plays a crucial role in making the hospital a successful

business and an enjoyable place to work” (NAVTA Journal, 2015). Truth is, being a veterinary technician and being a veterinary assistant are very different from each other. Veterinarians handle patients, give out treatments, handle operative care, and take x-rays. Veterinary technicians work directly with a patient by prepping the animals, cleaning them, and taking blood work. Veterinary assistants have less hands-on experiences with the patients, because they are in charge of managing files, cleaning kennels, and feeding the animals.
Based on the characteristics that are given on what the duty of each person has to do, it is evident that all of these occupations listed have their distinctive functions.

Each of these careers have their own types of schooling that they must achieve in order to become what they want to become. Veterinarians are the doctors of animals, so they are expected to be in a four-year program to get an undergraduate degree and from then on, they may take other programs to prolong their degrees. Veterinary technicians must complete a two-year program and pass a certification test in order to be a registered vet tech. Lastly, a veterinary assistant only needs a high school diploma or GED to work as an

assistant.
Veterinary assistants help interact with an animal’s family by greeting them near the entrance. Their job duties also involve scheduling appointments and updating medical records. They are also in charge of sanitizing equipment and prepping up the rooms used for surgeries or checkups. Veterinary assistants do not require the same necessities as with a veterinarian or veterinary technician does.
Compassion is the main priority that a person needs in order pursue what they want in life. In most cases, people who want to pursue a degree in caring for animals have sympathy towards caring for people and animals. The works of being in this field can be satisfactory, but “...aspects of the work can be unpleasant, physically and emotionally demanding, and sometimes dangerous” (Farr, 294). The ability to diagnose or treat animals in an animal facility is something that many veterinarians compel of when decided how they see their future.
Ultimately, there are a total of eleven different specialties or important elements in order to become a certified veterinary technician. Some of these include emergency and critical care vet tech, zoological vet tech, equine vet tech, clinical practice, anesthesia, and nutrition. Emergency and critical care vet techs give intensive emergency care for an animal who has gone through a traumatic incident. Zoological vet techs assist zoo vets as they work on exotic animals that may be seen at a typical zoo. Equine vet techs assist equine vet techs as they are to work on health care and surgical procedures with horses. Clinical practice vet techs give supervision to animals that compose of canines and felines, exotic animals, and production animals- which may consist of cattle, chickens, and sheep.
Emergency and critical veterinary technicians evidently work when there is a critical emergency involving an animal. They must be able to assist a vet to provide immediate care to an animal whose life may be in complete danger. Responsibilities may vary depending on situations or workplace. “Emergency and critical care vet techs routinely see animals that have been poisoned, hit by cars, burned, or injured in fights” (Kramer, TheBalance.com). An emergency technician must always be prepared of different conditions that an animal may be in.
Emergency and critical veterinary technicians need to have at least least three years of experience in the field of emergency and critical care. Emergency centers are obviously open everyday so in terms of working hours, they must always be on hand around the clock. While working in this career field, “you can expect an average salary around $36,000 per year, which is slightly higher than the average salary of traditional vet techs” (Vet Medicine Careers). If a person chooses this field, they can expect good pay, job security, and satisfaction that cannot be found in just any job.
Zoological veterinary technician is a job that stands out to me because it involves caring for wild animals, which are animals that are not your ordinary everyday animals. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my… In order to become one, you have to go through a basic two-year vet tech program. You also need to have knowledge of what it takes to maintain the job as a zoo vet tech. Like any other vet job, you play a major part in the health and comfort of the animals that you take care of. According to an online source, “The average salary for a veterinary technician specializing in zoo animals is about $42,000 to $44,030 per year” (VetMedCareers.org)
Equine veterinary technicians are responsible with caring for horses in many different ways.

Like a normal veterinary technician, they are to help the veterinarian with health exams and surgeries. In order to become an equine veterinary technician, a person is to take a certified veterinary technician two year program. Prior to becoming certified, they must have familiar experience with working with horses. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “the median annual wage for veterinary technologists and technicians was $32,490 in May 2016” (BLS.gov, 2017). Like other occupations, there are many benefits to being an equine veterinary technician which include health insurance, paid vacation days, or discounts for their own horses.

Clinical practice vet techs work in different clinicals ranging from zoos to animal hospitals. As stated before, they have more responsibilities than those of a vet assistant and get paid a bit more. Therefore, they need higher education degrees than vet assistants. Vet techs must be able to assist a veterinarian through tasks such as surgical procedures, injections, or cleaning up wounds. The duties of a vet tech can easily be compared to the duties of a nurse. Similarly to a vet tech, a nurse also assists the doctor with procedures and side

jobs.
In order to become a registered veterinary technician, a person must complete a two-year program that is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and receive their Associate’s Degree. During this program, one must attend clinical days to get to know the purpose of their job and get a view of what the future of their occupation will look like. Being a vet tech is not a simple job, as it involves many difficult tasks such as being attacked, having to euthanize, and holding down an animal.
There are many questions that someone may be asking themselves when it comes to becoming a veterinary technician. One question is whether or not the job is worth it. The next is if you can make a living with the job. Some people also want to know the benefits that are involved within the job. They also want to know the pros and cons of being a veterinary technicians. There are many different angles of what someone may consider a job as being “worthy” There is no right or wrong responses to whether or not a job is worth it. The results are what you make out of it. A person can make a living with the occupation that they have as long as they have a good plan on succeeding. Like many jobs, there are risks that are involved with being involved but in the case of being a veterinary technician, you will bump into many risks in the job.
A positive feature of being a veterinary technician is having the job of providing care for animals. In a way, you get paid to be around animals all day and you help a veterinarian in curing any issues that the animal may have. A negative feature of working in the field of caring for animals as a whole places a risk of being harmed during your job. A couple of years ago, a man took his rescued pit bull, named Buddy, to a Cook County vet to receive a check up. As he was getting inspected, Buddy bit a veterinary technician’s face and another’s arms. He was taken away from his family and his foster owner was fined $250.
As you may have sensed by now, being a veterinary technician is not all about getting to hold a puppy or being around animals all of the time. Although people are trained for these situations, sometimes things do not work out but you must keep doing what your heart desires to maintain your happiness of having a job. Veterinary technicians dedicate a majority of their time to care for an animal but they do not do it for the money. They become veterinary technicians because they appreciate their job and are committed to work doing what they feel is right.