Former Veterinary Technicians?

Sour Lemon · Nov 2, 2016

I've been lurking here for a while, and I've seen a few posts by former veterinary technicians who have made the jump to nursing. Are any of you still around?
I'm curious how you like nursing. How is the job market where you are? How would you compare being a vet tech to being a nurse? What specialty did you end up in? How many of your skills transfer, if any? If you had it to do again, would you have stayed in vet med?
I think that's a start. :)

I have no formal vet tech schooling, but I did work as a vet tech for about seven years (at two different practices). Some things I did were, give injections (SQ and IM), "run rooms" (start anticipated diagnostics prior to the DVM seeing the animal), x-rays, labs, prepare for surgeries, assist with surgeries, monitor anesthesia, dental cleanings, LOTS of teaching, wound care, prepare medication (mix/dose/label), etc. I also worked in the front office. I didn't do much with IVs or place urinary catheters. I didn't intubate (ever) or draw blood (except maybe a handful of times).

I think working with veterinarians gave me a huge advantage. There's a lot of similarity in disease process, diagnosis, complications, medications and terminology.

Nursing is very different from vet teching, because in nursing, the doctor is typically around for ten minutes of the 24 hour day. When you're a vet tech, you generally have the luxury of clarifying things as they pop into your mind ...and you never have to decide if an issue is important enough for a 3AM call to the doctor's home.

In nursing, things are more formal and liability concerns are greatly are increased. Although we always cared about our animal patients, liability was limited to the cost of the animal. That meant we could start a blood transfusion without a 45 minute check-off process. Roles are also more defined due to that formality. I did things as a vet tech that I would never be asked or allowed to do as a nurse.

Working in veterinary clinics certainly hardened me to the financial aspects of healthcare. There is no government safety net for animals. If they're brought in with an arrow protruding from their head and the owner has no money to pay- they don't get treated. This is one big reason why veterinary care is not for me. I find it very depressing. There are a lot of losers who own pets and shouldn't. While people may not always get exactly what they need, they're not left dying in the street. At the very least, they get stabilizing, emergency care.

There's also a huge difference in pay. Vet tech is something that I've seen most people move on from as they "grow up" and realize they have bills to pay. The highest paying vet tech jobs seems to be in medical research, and I never had any desire to participate in that.

And my final thought: Human patients bite, too! Seriously- look out for that.

Wuzzie · Nov 2, 2016

I think all of us have the utmost respect for those who choose to care for our furry friends. Much of the skill set is similar (my sister is a vet tech) and the anatomy, while different, is really more similar than one would think. Vet techs need to have good critical thinking and assessment skills just like nurses. The difference lies in the level of responsibility when you compare caring for animals vs caring for humans. The stakes are much higher. I hope you understand that doesn't mean I think animals are less important. I don't! But it's different.

We did have a poster come on here to let us know how superior vet techs were to nurses. I'm sure she's a peach of a human being. As you can imagine we didn't appreciate it much. Especially since everyone spoke very highly of the vet tech profession. For your reading pleasure...

Aug 25, '15 by AllisonLeighLVT

I'm a NYS licensed veterinary technician with a 4 year BS in veterinary science and passed my board exam years ago. Let me say that I do not call myself a nurse. I believe a nurse as the public views it is a much lesser title than what I deserve. I am a phlebotomist, radiology tech, dental hygienist, anesthesiologist, sx tech, lab tech, cytology & hematology & parasitology tech, ultrasonography tech, oncology tech (admin. Chemo), cardio tech (places jugular/ central lines, reads EKG/ echoes), pharmaceutical tech, mortician, groomer, L & D nurse, neonatal nurse, aaaand an ICU nurse. So I feel nursing (handeling patients, cleaning, Caring, feeding, maintaining & medicating) only refers to a very small part of my job. It would take 2 dozen of you human med people to do what I do in a day. Forget the fact you only deal with male/ female or adult & pediatric, while we handle dozens of species daily.

so no... Nurse is an inadequate and much lesser term for what I do and would be ashamed to call my self such. I'm an LVT if anyone asks!

Wuzzie · Nov 2, 2016

Totally agree! And there are a few human parallels to SL's words.

There are a lot of losers who own pets and shouldn't.
There are a lot of loser families who shouldn't have had children or be allowed to care for their frail/elderly/disabled family members
And my final thought: Human patients bite, too! Seriously- look out for that.
They bite and they sue!!!!

CCJ21016 · Nov 2, 2016

There's also a huge difference in pay. Vet tech is something that I've seen most people move on from as they "grow up" and realize they have bills to pay.

That's pretty much where I'm at. I've been a registered veterinary technician for 15 years. My husband actually makes less than I do, but we're easily amused so we've always gotten by. But we just had a kid and it is just not working. Not that I would consider nursing soley for the money, but it is a rather large consideration.

Wuzzie · Nov 2, 2016

That's pretty much where I'm at. I've been a registered veterinary technician for 15 years. My husband actually makes less than I do, but we're easily amused so we've always gotten by. But we just had a kid and it is just not working. Not that I would consider nursing soley for the money, but it is a rather large consideration.

If the financial aspects of it are your primary reason for considering nursing (and that's a perfectly acceptable reason) please, please, please research your area to make sure there are new grad jobs available before taking on loans. Also make sure whichever route you choose (BSN vs ADN) will make you marketable in your city/town/village/kibbutz. You also need to consider that working full time may not be possible while you're in school. Some people have done it but with a little one to care for as well you're going to need a lot of support.

CCJ21016 · Nov 2, 2016

If the financial aspects of it are your primary reason for considering nursing (and that's a perfectly acceptable reason) please, please, please research your area to make sure there are new grad jobs available before taking on loans. Also make sure whichever route you choose (BSN vs ADN) will make you marketable in your city/town/village/kibbutz. You also need to consider that working full time may not be possible while you're in school. Some people have done it but with a little one to care for as well you're going to need a lot of support.

Thank you for the advice, it is much appreciated!

Luckily I have been working a very flexible part-time job on the side so that should help some, but I think you're right that my full-time job would have to go. Especially since I want the option of continuing my education later so I need to get good grades.

However, I know that returning to school is going to be a major financial hardship for my family so I've been researching the heck out of it. Fortunately for me, I live in a rural midwestern state so the job market isn't as tight as it could be. Plus I think my interest is going to be in psych (thank you veterinary clients!) and this area seems to have good prospects for that specialty. But there's also a lot of long-term care facilities around as well who are willing to take on new grads. I'm not going into this as a starry-eyed optimist, I just want to know that I can feed and clothe my kid and maybe even take a vacation every once in a while. :wideyed:

Sour Lemon · Nov 2, 2016

Not that I would consider nursing soley for the money, but it is a rather large consideration.

It is absolutely fine to consider nursing for the money. That's the #1 reason why I chose it.

As long as you take good care of your patients, it doesn't matter what's motivating you.

CCJ21016 · Nov 2, 2016

It is absolutely fine to consider nursing for the money. That's the #1 reason why I chose it.
As long as you take good care of your patients, it doesn't matter what's motivating you.

Thank you for saying that! Of course I would give my patients the best care possible, I couldn't live with myself otherwise.

Wuzzie · Nov 2, 2016

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However, I know that returning to school is going to be a major financial hardship for my family so I've been researching the heck out of it. Fortunately for me, I live in a rural midwestern state so the job market isn't as tight as it could be. Plus I think my interest is going to be in psych (thank you veterinary clients!) and this area seems to have good prospects for that specialty. But there's also a lot of long-term care facilities around as well who are willing to take on new grads. I'm not going into this as a starry-eyed optimist, I just want to know that I can feed and clothe my kid and maybe even take a vacation every once in a while.

So good to see someone going about this in a responsible manner and not insisting that they will only work their dreeeeaaammmm job (which is L&D, OB, ICU and Peds like practically every grad in the nation) that is until they get into NP or CRNA school. Options as a new grad may be somewhat limited but get that golden one year of experience and lots of doors will open.

And vacations are the bomb!!!!

lavenderskies, BSN · Nov 2, 2016

I think all of us have the utmost respect for those who choose to care for our furry friends. Much of the skill set is similar (my sister is a vet tech) and the anatomy, while different, is really more similar than one would think. Vet techs need to have good critical thinking and assessment skills just like nurses. The difference lies in the level of responsibility when you compare caring for animals vs caring for humans. The stakes are much higher. I hope you understand that doesn't mean I think animals are less important. I don't! But it's different.
We did have a poster come on here to let us know how superior vet techs were to nurses. I'm sure she's a peach of a human being. As you can imagine we didn't appreciate it much. Especially since everyone spoke very highly of the vet tech profession. For your reading pleasure...
Aug 25, '15 by AllisonLeighLVT
I'm a NYS licensed veterinary technician with a 4 year BS in veterinary science and passed my board exam years ago. Let me say that I do not call myself a nurse. I believe a nurse as the public views it is a much lesser title than what I deserve. I am a phlebotomist, radiology tech, dental hygienist, anesthesiologist, sx tech, lab tech, cytology & hematology & parasitology tech, ultrasonography tech, oncology tech (admin. Chemo), cardio tech (places jugular/ central lines, reads EKG/ echoes), pharmaceutical tech, mortician, groomer, L & D nurse, neonatal nurse, aaaand an ICU nurse. So I feel nursing (handeling patients, cleaning, Caring, feeding, maintaining & medicating) only refers to a very small part of my job. It would take 2 dozen of you human med people to do what I do in a day. Forget the fact you only deal with male/ female or adult & pediatric, while we handle dozens of species daily.
so no... Nurse is an inadequate and much lesser term for what I do and would be ashamed to call my self such. I'm an LVT if anyone asks!

Wow! Someone doesn't really have much knowledge of what nurses do these days does she? That said....I love my fur babies vet techs....I hope they don't view me with the superiority that this gal does. :unsure:

CCJ21016 · Nov 2, 2016

Only if you're one of 'those' nurses. I had one who treated her dog's arthritis with Aleve. Dogs don't process nsaids the same way we do and it took immediate and aggressive treatment to save his kidneys. Unfortunately most vet techs have many similar stories. For some reason nurses have developed a reputation for trying to treat their pets like small furry people, and believe they know better than the veterinarian and their staff, sometimes with tragic results. On the other hand, some of my absolute favorite clients are nurses!