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Understanding and navigating the veterinary experience can be intimidating and overwhelming. Each veterinary hospital may vary from another, including policies and procedures. The daily operation of a veterinary hospital requires a variety of different roles that include veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and veterinary assistants. While the role of the veterinarian is straightforward, what is the difference between a veterinary technician and a veterinary assistant?

A veterinary technician is a credentialed position (CrVT) that holds a national license, and potentially, an additional state license. In human medicine, a Registered Nurse (RN) would be a similar role to what a CrVT can do in practice. The duties of a CrVT are expansive and can be left up to the discretion of the overseeing veterinarian. Some of these duties may include anesthesia, venipuncture (drawing blood or intravenous injection), catheter placement, radiography, surgical assisting, and more.

Employees that work in a clinical aspect within the hospital but have not taken and passed the Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE) would be a veterinary assistant (VA). Many times, VA may have received on the job training and have extensive technical skills, experience, and knowledge. The duties and roles of a VA within the hospital are vast. Having multiple trained VAs can increase efficiency and effectiveness of both the technicians and the veterinarians.

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What educational experience and background are credentialed veterinary technicians required to have? Currently, a veterinary technician must pass the veterinary technician national exam (VTNE). In the United States, there are currently four different titles for veterinary technicians depending on the state of licensure.

Technicians can also pursue specialization in a specific area of medicine. Similar to the veterinarian specialist process, the veterinary technician must have a minimum set of qualifications and experience to apply. The application process includes case reports, knowledge lists, and advanced skills that must be mastered. If the application is accepted, the applicant can sit for the credentialing exam. Passing the credentialing exam results in the title of veterinary technician specialist (VTS). There are currently 16 different specialty Academies for veterinary technicians. These include emergency and critical care, dental, internal medicine, anesthesia and analgesia, just to name a few.

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There is no such thing as a typical day inside a veterinary hospital. The duties of a veterinary technician will also vary based upon the type of facility/hospital where they are employed. For a technician, the day often begins with patient rounds. The previous clinical shift will present the current cases in the hospital, their diagnosis, treatment plan, and any other pertinent information. After rounds, patients are assessed and evaluated, their vitals recorded and reported to the overseeing veterinarian. After completing patient treatments, it's time for appointments and surgeries to begin. Developing and implementing anesthetic protocols for surgical cases, performing radiographs (x-rays), delivering chemotherapy, polishing and cleaning teeth, placing intravenous catheters (IVC), client education, filling prescriptions, administering medications, and much more fill the hours between patient rounds, when the next shift arrives, or a new day begins.

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There are many reasons a pet may come into the hospital that may not require seeing the veterinarian (if the pet is an established patient). Technician appointments are ideal for procedures like nail trims, blood draws, physical exams, anal sac expression, and other tasks that do not require a veterinarian. This allows the team better utilization of everyone's time and increases patient care. Pet owners can call their veterinary healthcare team to see what type of technician appointments are available for their pet's needs.

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An excellent way to accommodate the high volume of patients inside veterinary practices and allow adequate time for some treatment modalities, are drop-off appointments. This type of appointment usually has the pet owner dropping off the patient before a set time (depending on the clinic). A veterinary assistant or veterinary technician may be the staff member admitting the pet to the hospital. Common reasons for a drop off appointment would be for surgeries, diagnostic tests, treatments, grooming, and dental procedures. If the pet is on medications or certain foods, pet owners should also bring a detailed list of those medications and type of food.

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Routine visits with the veterinary team help ensure pets are living healthy and well. Although there are many types of veterinary visits, as pet owners, it is best to be prepared for what may or may not happen at those visits.

First thing's first, safety! All pets should be on a leash or in a carrier if possible. It never fails, if a pet gets loose, they WILL be scared and could escape or be injured. Those situations can be prevented by securing pets before entering the clinic. Use caution when walking into the clinic--there are likely other pets on the other side of the door. No one likes awkward meetings and neither do our pets. It is important to remember, while you are waiting with your pet for your appointment or to see a staff member, your pet needs to stay secured and safe with you. If your pet has pet insurance, bring that information as well as any/all pertinent medical history. If your pet currently takes any medications, bring a list with you that also includes when those medications were last given. If you plan to stay with your pet, bring a book or something to pass the time in case you need to wait.

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Veterinary visits can be stressful for both pets and their owners, but there are some things you can do to make visits go as smoothly as possible.

• Above all, be kind. Your veterinary team is doing all they can to care for your pet as efficiently as possible.
• Use a leash or a carrier for your pet.
• If your pet needs medication refills, plan ahead and call them in prior to Friday at 5 p.m.
• Ask questions! You are a valuable member of your pet's healthcare team.
• Feel free to take notes or record discussions. It can be a lot of information to process and remember.
• Ask what credentialed staff are employed at your veterinary hospital.