r/VetTech

I'm a clinical psychologist and I've spent a good chunk of my career working with grief—including pet loss, which doesn't always get taken seriously in clinical circles. It absolutely should.

One thing I've picked up on is how vet techs carry a disproportionate share of client grief and almost nobody prepares you for it. You're in the room. You're the one who stays in the room after the vet leaves. And then the next patient is already waiting.

I built a grief support resource specifically for pet loss—it's a guide clients can use in the days and weeks after losing a pet (link in comments). I've been sharing it through a few vet clinics and the feedback from front desk staff and techs has been that it gives them something to hand someone when they don't know what to say. Which, honestly, is most of the time...nobody knows what to say.

Also genuinely curious: how do you all handle this? Is there any training or protocol at your clinic for client grief?

As stated previously before in this thread. I got promoted to lead at my job as I work at an in-home euthanasia company. We are all remote and I like to do fun trivia to get everyone involved away from all the sadness (both care coordinators and doctors included!) and now I would like to do would you rather questions!

Anyone have any suggestions vet med edition??? First one I did was “Would you rather get anal glands on your scrubs or cat pee in your shoe?”

Alright my ECC baddies. I’ve been in the field for ~16yr and can slap an IV into about anything but the one that genuinely gives me a harder time than others are these thicker than life bullies with allergy ridden Rubbermaid skin that are in shock, which ofc need access and boluses asap. I’ve had a string of them recently and have ended up defaulting to dorsal pedal when all other options fail. What are our best tips with these?

I'm not trying to be obtuse with this question, but is there a standard of what a Tech Appointment is, or rather, should be?

From being in the field for a few years now, what constitutes a Tech Appointment has varied by practice.

Some practices only allow routine grooming (e.g. nail trims, ear flushes (Rare now.), and AGEs, etc.) and blood draws.

Others will allow for vaccine boosters within a given series, or a booster of an annual in so long as the patient has been seen recently. What constitutes "recently" varies.

But in general, weight and temperature (I worked at a practice where the doctor didn't require them. No, they weren't old school either. ), and the corresponding service.

Finally, I worked at a practice where a smaller exam of types took place. The Technician would listen to the patient's heart and lungs, insure that nothing abnormal was heard, took a weight and a temperature, and administered the treatment ordered by the doctor.

I mention the last one, not because I see an issue with it, but because of something a colleague of mine, that is a doctor, recently mentioned. They stated that ideally patients should be seen by the doctor for vaccines, to insure that something isn't being missed (eg. Respiratory etc.) vs. just giving a treatment and sending the patient on their way.

I thought about it for a bit, and thought about the Technician Appointment with a mini exam. It was the one practice where they actually charged a Technician Fee, which seems justified under the circumstances. Mind you, I also worked at places where a fee was charged and no such exam took place.

Would this be a good example of a Technician's skills being used to their full potential?

We have a brand new just licensed tech. She was a very part time assistant for some months, then dis her PIMA externship with us. Once she got her license the medical director gave her a skills list that she had to have signed off before she could do those things solo. Ie: intubate a cat 10 times with supervision same for dogs. This is something that is expected of everyone who is licensed and is new to our clinic. Ive done this before at other clinics too. The problem is this person refuses to do it because she has her license and should just be allowed now.

She did her externship with us but would regularly refuse to do the skills due to anxiety. Her attitude since getting her license is that she should just be able to do allbthe things withput actually proving she can perform the skill. On top of all this she constantly complains about the Dr's not trusting her. If she would do the check off list then the Med Director would tell them that she performed the required skills safely and is cleared.

Is this so weird to have a skill check off list? Do ither clinics regularly just hire a fresh LVT and not require that they prove they can do rhe skills safely. Ive never worked anywhere that just let people go without confirming they can do the stuff.

And it breaks my heart. I left a career in research and lab management (23 years in that field), moved to a new state, and got a job as a vet assistant/tech. I wanted a more peaceful life.

I love the job, I really enjoy the work, the patients, and the clients. But after almost 7 months, the toxic culture 2 techs made at the hospital I have to leave. I dont get paid enough to have 2 people treat others and myself like we are trash for them to kick around.

Honestly, they are lucky I am not a bitch and just rip them some new assholes.

So, I resigned. I don't need people treating me with disrespect. I have done more than they have in my lifetime to deal with petty mean girls. They treat others like shit just to make themselves feel better.

I will miss the job, everyone else that works there, and all the clients and patients. Especially the ones that i have developed great working relationships with that ask for me personally to be their tech for their pets.

I do have a 2nd interview at a different hospital. And we will see how it goes. But i am not even sure right now i want to be working for a bit. My fiance said she will pick up more hours to help cover us. I bought my 28 acre farm outright (so no mortgage), and have a small bit of savings left. So, i may just work on my farm full time for a bit before i get a job again.

Thanks for listening to my vent! Have a fabulous day!

I genuinely want input from current/former managers and senior techs in vet med because I feel like I’m losing my mind watching what my old ER/VEG hospitals in general are turning into.

Full disclosure that while I am still an LVT, I have left the field and been out for a year now. But my old hospital and VEG in general have seemed to completely gone off the deep end and I would love perspectives of managers.

First, they moved to “rotating schedules.” Sounds fair on paper, right? Everyone experiences the hell of night shift every few months, right?

Except they are NOT rotating between days/nights. Day shift stays day shift. Night shift stays night shift forever. They’re only rotating the days of the week you work every month.

For context, I got hired on nights with an explicit, **written** promise that I would be put on days within two months. I was not. I was finally put on a *swing* shift 18 months later and only after I got a doctor's note and threatened legal action. So at this hospital, if you're hired on nights you're trapped there. Forever.

Now they’re rotating schedules monthly while STILL keeping people permanently on nights. So you get the instability of constantly changing workdays without actually sharing the burden of night shift equitably.

Second, staff are now being required to pick up an extra half-shift weekly because of understaffing, but the overtime structure only pays OT for the hours exceeding 40, so you’re picking up 6 extra hours for only 2 overtime hours.

Third, PTO has been reduced to essentially six 12-hour shifts yearly and you can no longer go into the negative, so because PTO is accrued, you essentially cannot use it for at least the first few months of the year. Want a spring vacation? Too bad.

Fourth, they introduced sick time after I left but it's also accrued, even slower than PTO. Springtime cold? Too bad! Come to work because you don't have enough hours to miss a day! If you run out of sick time, you’re expected to come in sick or risk disciplinary action.

Fifth, unpaid time off is not allowed.

Sixth, right before I left, they implemented a policy that PTO requests require 12 weeks of notice. 3 months. I know it's not the most egregious of the issues but if fucking Starbucks can get by with 2-4 weeks notice, so can VEG.

Seventh, and most recently, staff are being told they need “open availability” regardless of whether their life circumstances realistically allow that. Staff with children, second jobs, school obligations, or caregiving responsibilities? Doesn't matter. You work when they tell you to work.

One old coworker was reportedly told that if she could not comply with rotating schedules due to childcare constraints, she would need to go part-time. This is one of the most senior technicians in the building.

Eighth: overnight differential was $1/hour, and only applied from midnight-7am on a 7pm-7am overnight shift. Meanwhile human nurses I know are getting $10-14/hr differentials for nights. They're getting paid more in one hour of shift diff that we got in a whole shift.

That's it, I think? I would genuinely love any managers, *especially* VEG managers if there's any here, to chime in and tell me exactly what the fuck is going on? On what planet is this an appropriate way to run a hospital?

And before anyone says “well that’s vet med,” I know vet med has always had problems with burnout, understaffing, poor compensation, etc. I worked in this field a long time. But this is at a level of insanity that I've genuinely never experienced.

Sorry to have to ask this.

My vet clinic gave me a warning that it is their policy to recap needles before disposing them in sharps container.

At my last clinic, I had to do OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens training where it very clearly said generally not to recap needles.

The clinic I am now at says they are exempt from OSHA's needle safety regs because it specifies that it is only applicable to human blood and some lab animal blood.

I'm confused.

1. Why risk recapping a needle if there is a sharps container present?

2. Are there needle safety regs specific to the veterinary field?

Hi guys. I just started a new job after relocating yesterday. Its only day two and, well, to be frank, I hate it. My first day was me sitting at the tech station or observing blood draws for about 6 hours. I tried to ask questions, get involved, but nobody really.. let me. Today was a bit different, though. We had two surgeries: two mass removals on a older pup. My first red flag is that both days, I haven't been taking a break, a lunch, nor seen any of my coworkers do that. We work all day. Second red flag-- the DVM doing the SX didnt scrub into sx and wore blue non sterile gloves during both procedures. Third red flag-- I dont know anesthesia. I dont know surgery. I don't know dental. I've only worked as a VA for 3 years and Im still considering myself to be fairly new to vet med -- they're expecting me to know anesthesia and their surgery protocols BY Monday. I work today and tomorrow and I'm off friday. Im not understanding how I will know this information overload in such a short amount of time. They said I'll be on surgeries on my own by next week.

With this being said... should I run? should I stick it out? Haaalllpppppp.

I'm in this weird place where I’m very skilled, but still relatively new and young in this field.

I’m the youngest person at my hospital and have the least experience at about 1.5 years. At the same time, I do consider myself highly competent, and in some areas — like venipuncture and radiographs — I’m stronger than some coworkers with significantly more experience.

I’m responsible to a fault. I study constantly, I’m close to finishing school, and I double and triple check everything I do. If I don’t know something, I ask. I take thorough histories, write strong medical notes, and several doctors have privately requested to work with me more in rooms because I excel there. I’m also one of the first people willing to step up and restrain fractious or aggressive patients.

As a coworker, I try to be the kind of person I’d want to work with: reliable, punctual, hardworking, and willing to go above and beyond.

But despite all of that, people constantly go out of their way to remind me how young I am.

It’s always:

“Well, you’re young.”

“I forget how young you are.”

“You’re so young and innocent, it’s adorable.”

“Your opinion will change when you’re older.”

I truly believe that if you do your job well, age shouldn’t matter, but at this point I genuinely feel held back and dismissed because of it.

The other day, I got singled out over a mislabeled fecal sample that I didn’t even label. When I explained it wasn’t me who misspelled the patient’s name, I still got lectured about how “you need to be more mindful of what you’re doing.”

I’ve also had coworkers override my radiographs even when I knew my positioning and collimation were correct. One tech insisted I collimate tighter on a lateral abdomen, which ended up cutting off the stomach completely. I pointed it out, but they insisted it was fine and showed the doctor anyway — and I ended up having to retake the image.

If I miss a blood draw, it immediately becomes an “experience” issue — “you’ll get it one day” — even though techs with years more experience miss veins too. Sometimes if blood flow is slow, someone holding will decide we “have enough” and pull the needle out themselves when I was still successfully drawing blood.

I also regularly experience stepping up for a difficult blood draw only to have another tech push me aside because “it looks like a bad vein,” watch them miss multiple times or blow the vein, and then get the patient handed back to me — and I hit it on the first try.

To be fair, there are a few coworkers who absolutely recognize my abilities. Some even specifically encourage me to work with more challenging patients because they know I can handle them, and that feels great.

But what really gets to me is that it’s never just about experience. They always make a point to mention my age.

And for some reason, people also seem determined to paint me as “innocent,” which honestly feels incredibly condescending. I’m an adult woman. I just carry myself professionally and don’t talk about NSFW topics at work, and somehow that gets interpreted as childish or sheltered.

I don’t know. I guess I’m wondering if anyone else has dealt with this weird dynamic of being competent, capable, and respected by some people — while still constantly being treated like a kid because of your age, and I'm also wondering if it will get better, or if it's something that won't change until I have a few more years under my belt.