Have you ever wondered who was behind the scene when you had a stressful encounter with your beloved pet? Having that dreadful moment of bringing your loved one into the emergency room, not knowing who was taking care of your baby besides the veterinarian. Those superheroes are called veterinary technicians. Even though we do not play with cats and dogs all day, we have just as much of a stressful job than any other human nurse, as we find definitive answers on silent patients, and we passionately grow with clients as we learn new information.
First thing to remember, working in the medical field can be described as one of the most stressful jobs as it requires a great deal of critical thinking and efficiency. One of the most important items to have is a team that works well together, especially not knowing what is going to be coming through those doors. Whether one is a nurse, assistant, technician, or a veterinarian there is always one goal in common amongst all, to save lives and to heal as many ill in any form possible. A veterinary technician can be defined as a skilled technical assistant to a veterinarian. We practically are the reason why animal hospitals are up and running, we do everything besides prescribe medications, diagnose (even If we know 100% what is going on), and perform surgery (but we are their anesthesiologist). In fact, not everyone knows about emergency care for animals until something major happens to one of their pets.
On the other hand, a lot of people mistake our job as professional animal cuddlers. Although that would be the worlds best job, that is by far what we do daily. In emergency and critical care, it’s not always preventative care with butterflies and sunshine, we celebrate life while mourning the ones who have crossed their way over rainbow bridge. Some days are harder than others, committing oneself to a patient for 3-4 days of non-stop care, and having to face horrendous news, alongside the owners. It’s important to believe that everyone’s soul purpose is to bring self-satisfaction to their life, or to find a purpose. This does not directly involve helping other humans but offering help to animals in need. A veterinary technician is such an important person in the work flow of a hospital, this occupation has proven to be emotionally and physically demanding.
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Unquestionably, I went into this career field knowing the passion I have for animals since I was a little girl. One of the best concepts in life is to challenge yourself, seek information out that you never would before, and be the voice of someone who cannot speak. A challenge to treat and diagnose animals who can not tell you where they hurt, or what happened is a challenge I accept every day. As a technician we are faced with abounding challenges and heartaches on a daily. I have come across situations that can be hard to bare through; sexual assault, malnourishment, abuse, and abandonment cases. Having to euthanize one’s family member knowing that the last person this animal will see are a bunch of nurses expressing as much love as they can, so their fur baby does not feel so alone. It is the hardest concept of having to say good bye to a pet, but it’s even harder watching an animal search up and down as you leave the building because it’s too hard to be with them in their last moments of life.
As a result of having one of the most stressful jobs, it is even harder to find answers to a problem no one can voice. Our job relies strictly on owners knowing their animal’s history, most vital are the recent days leading up to their emergency visit. In a time of much stress, it can be very hard to comprehend the days prior or even what is going on in that very moment. Thankfully, with the advancement of technology we can give a voice to the voiceless. We offer almost the same as any other human medical department would, radiology, oncology, dentistry, neurology, cardiology, and internal medicine. These are just prime examples that we go above and beyond our jobs to give animals the utmost healthy lives that we can provide for them. Because we cannot see it, silence is very easy to overlook the serious impact it can have on an animal’s health. Emergency animal hospitals are just like any regular human hospital, there is a flow, and everything is triaged and seen from the most critical to stable. Like any other hospital it takes time to get a definitive answer on a diagnosis.
Everyday is a new day to learn something. It is always best to have the mentality of excitement when learning something new. One of the biggest reasons why I love my job is continuing to grow with each client. Building relationships and sharing my knowledge to teach them something new, is one thing that brings a smile to my face every day. I take such pride in providing the valuable knowledge to help anyone become a more informative pet owner, not because they have too, but because they choose too. Owning an animal is just the same as having child. With this in mind, babies eat materials off the floor they shouldn’t, so do dogs, babies get sick randomly as do cats, all of these situations happen when we least expect them too. Under those circumstances, it makes the situation even harder on owners. As a result, from the above-mentioned it can consequently lead to more unexpected baggage. In the event that, one’s hair tie went missing, or loose ends of one’s carpet to be ripped up resulting in string material, this can be the worst situation for any dog or cat owner. For fear that, the string from the carpet wraps around their tongue and then swallows it, at this point we have a major concern for a linear foreign body or gastrointestinal obstruction and in need of emergency surgery.
All things considered, being a veterinary technician can be one of the most rewarding jobs, but also the most emotionally and physically draining. This is no a job for everyone and takes a special type of person who knows how to separate their work life from their personal life. Those superheroes running around cape less in scrubs, those are life saving technicians who drop everything to care for one’s fur baby. Even though we do not play with cats and dogs all day, we have just as much of a stressful job than any other human nurse, as we find definitive answers on silent patients, and we passionately grow with clients as we learn new information.
