Veterinary technicians are vital members of every veterinary team. The role of the credentialed veterinary technician is varied and includes everything from anesthesia induction and monitoring, client education, and cleaning surgical instruments to maintaining hospital cleanliness, managing inventory, and providing patient nursing care. As we continue to navigate a worldwide pandemic and increased caseloads, veterinary medicine is facing a growing technician staffing crisis. This crisis can be attributed in part to compassion fatigue and burnout, salary complaints, and overall job satisfaction.
Surveys of veterinary technicians regarding job satisfaction consistently cite low pay as one of the top complaints. While this is a multifaceted problem, it is simple to see the financial benefits of properly utilizing technicians and support staff—or as we like to call it, empowerment. When veterinary technicians are autonomous and trusted to perform in all aspects of their skillset, veterinarians are freed up to complete patient charts, perform client callbacks, book more surgical cases, and see more patients overall. Veterinary technician salaries run about one-third of veterinarian salaries.
Allowing this team to work to their full capabilities means more profit to the hospital for each procedure. This not only increases personal satisfaction but can also directly impact salaries. If a credentialed veterinary technician is legally allowed to perform a task and they have the education to do it, delegating those tasks will save the hospital money. When assistants are empowered to assist technicians or perform duties specific to their training and expertise, efficiency increases along with job satisfaction. All these changes may also lead to better patient care and client satisfaction.
Through their AVMA-accredited education, credentialed veterinary technicians have the formal education needed to participate in various patient care tasks. The experience gained in practice continues to increase their critical thinking skills. The tasks typically performed by technicians vary according to state practice acts, but generally include:
- Sample collection and laboratory sample preparation
- Taking radiographs
- Anesthesia induction
- Anesthesia monitoring
- Surgical patient preparation
- Administering vaccines
- Patient history
- Medical math
- Treatment skills such as ear cleanings, wound assessment, nail trims, anal gland expression
- Patient nursing care including alerting the veterinarian to patient status change
- COHAT from assessment to radiographs to charting, cleaning, and polishing
Credentialed veterinary technicians also perform a variety of client communication and education tasks:
- Puppy and kitten education
- Nutritional consults from maintenance to prescription diet information
- Breed specific health dangers
- Answering owner questions regarding medications, disease processes, behavior, and emergencies
- Post-surgical and post visit home care instructions
When veterinarians set expectations for their credentialed veterinary technicians and other team members to work to their full potential, they are freed to focus on specific veterinary responsibilities. It is understandable at the beginning for veterinarians to be resistant to giving up certain tasks and trusting their technician team. Change doesn’t need to happen all at once, and training should be arranged to ensure that teams continue to communicate well and perform duties correctly.
When veterinarians can focus on the duties only they can perform, the hospital benefits. The 2008 American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Biennial Economic Survey revealed that, on average, for every credentialed technician employed, a practice generated $161,493 more in gross revenue. With this data proving income generation by empowered staff, why are we still talking about this 13 years later? This is a strong endorsement for allowing credentialed technicians the freedom to work independently and earn the practice money. When the practice earns more, the staff earns more. What are you doing to empower your staff? Have you moved beyond 2008? Implementing technician exams is a great way to increase technician duties and free up the veterinarians. Examples of appropriate technician exams include:
- Vaccine boosters for patients that have had a veterinarian exam within the last 6 months
- Nail trims/anal gland expression
- Wellness blood draws
- Drug level blood draws
- Nutritional counseling
- Suture removal/post-operative and post-COHAT recheck
Many credentialed veterinary technicians perform nutritional counseling and follow up conversations about new medications
via email. This allows clients to respond at a convenient time, ask questions and continue to develop a loyal relationship with their veterinary hospital.
While many credentialed veterinary technician exams do not generate large amounts of money, the veterinarian is freed from these appointments to focus on new patient or sick patient exams that will generate revenue.
Not every credentialed veterinary technician is the same, and some will require more experience and practice in both medical skills and communication. Critical thinking skills are vital to the autonomous technician and can be fostered in the right environment. Critical thinking involves integrating all knowledge sources to lead to a decision. It involves book and school knowledge, asking intelligent questions, and thinking through past experiences. Those who think critically can adapt to new situations and puzzle out answers even when faced with unfamiliar information. Technicians currently employed in a practice where they are always told what to do may need education in critical thinking. This can be achieved with daily quizzes, expansion of duties, encouraging them to think through various medical scenarios, and conversations between the DVM and staff. A critical-thinking technician can think ahead and anticipate procedures, prepare for patient changes, and improve the efficiency of the practice.
For any major change in medical duties to be successful, a training or education program must be implemented. Specific staff training time and opportunities for questions are important to knowledge and skill growth. The team can utilize outside resources to provide this training until in-house modules can be implemented. Patience from the veterinarian is required and resisting the ‘it’s faster if I just do it myself’ mindset. During this transition of responsibilities, communication between veterinarians and the veterinary technician team is vital to success.
If a mistake is made, there should be a discussion about what went wrong and where in the process to prevent further issues from occurring. Trust in each other and trust in the process will pay off in better patient care, a happier and more efficient team, and a thriving, profitable practice. Veterinary technicians have talents beyond medicine. Interested technicians can also provide community education by leading classes geared toward pet owners. Loyal clients and potential clients alike can come to evening classes in the clinic and learn basic behavior tips, oral health, the importance of vaccines, nutrition, and other topics that interest the team. If your practice is lucky enough to employ a veterinary technician specialist, these highly trained technicians can incorporate more in-depth programs such as behavior classes or emergency first aid. Some technicians may not even realize they are interested in these types of activities until the opportunity is presented.
Are you empowering your technicians to their full potential? Are you allowing them to grow in your practice, and more importantly, giving them an active role in growing your practice? By properly empowering your credentialed veterinary technicians and your entire team, veterinary hospitals can see an increase in not only their bottom line but also in the loyalty and happiness of their technicians. As technicians are recognized for the unique skills they bring to the practice, their loyalty, job satisfaction, and pay all increase. These technicians will be happier in the long term and provide many years of service to the practice and to the profession.
About the Author
Megan Brashear, BS, CVT, VTS (ECC)
Megan Brashear, BS, CVT, VTS (ECC) graduated from Brigham Young University in 2000 with a BS in Animal Science with an emphasis in Veterinary Technology. Megan earned her CVT in 2000 and then in 2004 achieved a Veterinary Technician Specialty in
Emergency and Critical Care.
Megan is the Small Animal Veterinary Nursing Manager at the Purdue University Veterinary Teaching Hospital where she combines her passions for teaching, hands-on patient care, and team management. Megan was named the PetPlan Veterinary Technician of the year in 2014, has won Best Technician Case Report at both the International Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Symposium and the North American Veterinary Conference, and has been awarded the VMX Technician Speaker of the Year in 2017 and 2018. She has published veterinary technician articles in the United States, Canada, and the UK.
Eric Garcia
IT expert. Digital marketer. Industry thought leader. When it comes to helping veterinary practices streamline their technology and attract and retain clients, Eric Garcia has a proven track record of educating the industry and producing results. In 2009, Garcia began a new venture: Simply Done Tech Solutions. Building off his previous success (VP – Pets Vets and You, Inc.), he founded Simply Done with a mission to help veterinary practices everywhere improve their services and marketing communications efforts. Garcia’s technology, marketing and social media consultations start with a complete assessment of each client’s practice. Once a baseline has been established, he creates a custom technology and digital marketing plan designed to elevate the practice’s business results. By implementing these plans, clients can improve their internal processes, provide better patient care and effectively market their services to current and prospective customers. In addition to a long list of satisfied clients, Garcia’s work has been recognized throughout the industry. He speaks regularly at conferences throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. He has been published in top veterinary magazines and is a contributing author of The Five – Minute Veterinary Practice Management Consult due out in 2014. Garcia is a member of VetPartners, an association for veterinary practice development.