If you are interested in being a small animal veterinary technician, you may wonder about your daily work life. Veterinary technicians are a crucial part of a small animal veterinarian's office. You will need to possess a variety of different skills to do the job. Therefore, knowing what to expect can give you an idea of if this is the right job for you. Continue reading to learn more about the daily life of a veterinary technician.
You Help Prepare for the Day
If your worksite has regular office hours, you will likely arrive before it opens. You will check the schedule and prepare for upcoming procedures. Preparation may mean arranging and cleaning medical instruments and ordering needed supplies. If you have overnight patients, you will also need to check and care for them.
You Perform Office Tasks
Part of your duties may include answering phones and scheduling patients. You also greet patients and their owners and collect basic information. You will likely be the first one to have contact with the pet. You may need to calm them and keep them comfortable.
Some veterinary technicians also do billing and record-keeping. If you work in a larger office, you may work with a dedicated office staff. In that case, you will likely do less office work and more animal-related duties.
You Assist With Examinations and Surgery
You will assist the veterinarian with basic medical examinations and surgical procedures. You will likely do the initial patient assessment. You also help with basic procedures like catheter insertion and medication administration. The veterinarian may ask you to perform x-rays and other diagnostic tests as well as maintain the equipment. During surgery, you help prepare the patient. For example, you may administer the sedative and perform intubation.
You Care for Pet Patients
You will be the one to clean the cages of your overnight patients. You will also provide food, water, and medication for them. Some pets may need more than one cage cleaning per day. So, you may find yourself cleaning cages several times of the day. You will also be the one to change their after-surgery dressings and give them injections or IV changes.
Veterinary technicians wear a variety of hats and deal with complicated situations. Therefore, you need a good range of personal and professional skills. Not only should you be good with animals, but also with difficult people. However, if you have a passion for working with animals and good people skills, this may be a career for you. Talk to your veterinary medicine school to get started on your search for jobs for vet techs.
