I'm a nurse...for animals?

BelgianRN · May 12, 2012

I fail to see what the harm is. This woman made small talk to you a person she met in a store. It's not like she pushed you away during CPR claiming she is a nurse and you are doing a bad job. Even though it's a protected title, nurse to me is still a very broad word and has multiple meanings (as other posters have expressed). It's not like she called herself an LPN, RN, *insert letter combination of choice here*.

Of course she could still be an LPN, RN, ... that decided it was more fun/rewarding working with animals because they bark and don't worry about titles; but decided a casual meeting with a shoe shopping woman didn't warrant the explanation of her career choice.

In my experience you have people wrongly using protected titles and it either leads to a hilarious situation or it ends up with them scorned or arrested. The foot massage therapist that tried to pass himself off as an orthopedic surgeon that had to ask me what a scapula was comes to mind. Or the chem professor stating he is a doctor and then gets confused as you bury them in lab values.

Maybe I have a very light view to this matter since a nurse in Belgium is hardly ever referred to by using their official title (which would roughly translate to "skilled-nurse") but generally the term that translates to "little nurse-person" is used or they'll adress the nurse with "sister" or "brother". I'm so used to not being called by proper titles that reflect my education and skill level that I just respond to "brother". And having to share the term "little nurse-person" with everyone that ever held a washing cloth in their hands :) Just learn to let it go and only lash out when there is harm involved.

PetsToPeople · May 12, 2012

The way you stated how you were walking around with notes about PE, aortic dissection, etc...and it irked you a "vet tech" would call herself a nurse is what made me reply the way I did.
To address many of your further comments from above, you stated vet techs do not receive degrees in animal nursing is not true either. MANY vet techs are often pre-vet students majoring in animal science or some other science-related degree. MANY also go to a 2-year school for veterinary technology, so yes, they DO go to school for vet "nursing". In fact, those who go the pre-vet route take classes such as animal anatomy & physiology, 2 years of chemistry including Biochemistry, immunology, cell biology, developmental biology and many other advanced sciences most RN's will never have to take in their career. Many vet techs are also licensed or certified. Google it. Now, every single one may not be because many vets will offer on-the-job training, but most of these people take their professions very seriously and don't take too kindly to someone downplaying their knowledge, education or experience.

I don't like having pre-vet compared to vet tech any more than a nurse would want pre-med compared to them...as a vet tech I had a year of pre-reqs, all of which transferred and covered my pre-nursing req's except psych, A&P and a more advanced math...I had chem I&II, Bio I&II (which covered all my animal A&P but this is why I had to take human A&P), College Algebra, microbiology and all the general req's.

There are problems in the Veterinary world similar to the problems nurses have as far as titles go...a vet assistant is just someone trained on the job, similar to a CNA and always seems to want to call themselves vet tech's, a vet tech hold an associates degree (some also have a specialties certificate in a particular field such as surgery, emergency, etc or can even have a bachelors although that is rare) and many call themselves vet nurses, and lastly there is the vet who holds a doctorate. A pre-vet student can work in a vet clinic but they are titled as vet assistants as they do not hold a vet tech license no matter how many advanced college courses they have taken...and FYI it is more difficult to get into veterinary school than med school, because there are about half as many vet schools as there are med schools.

Another FYI, vet tech programs only admit upon acceptance just as nursing programs do...I competed against 200 applicants when I applied, they only accept 60 each year and they reserve 20 positions for those on waiting lists.

SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN · May 12, 2012

As a previous post mentioned, "nurse" is a protected title in many states. So yes, if you title is technically "vet tech" and not "vet nurse", then it would bother me that a vet tech would call themself a nurse, especially without specifying that they work with animals and not people. This is not to degrade either profession but simply to delineate between the two.

PetsToPeople · May 12, 2012

"At this point I don't think you're getting the point of the OP so if you could, please address the concept of what you think about vet tech presenthing their selves as nurses to a lay person. Not an animal nurse, but just a nurse. That is what this thread is about. I'm asking what others in the nursing field think of a vet tech referring to herself as being only a nurse, not specifically an animal nurse. "

Of course they should not refer to themselves as a nurse...no one without the title LPN or RN should, this is obvious and is a beaten horse. This is ONE vet tech you spoke to, and she mentioned it off hand, it may have been an accident and does not represent the entire vet tech community. Heck, maybe she was just trying to be nice and relate to you as you were strangers...I'm sure she didn't think you would go home and rant about it on the internet like she had commited some heinous sin.

Will people continue to refer to themselves as a nurse when they are not? Yes! Is there anything that can be done about it? NO. Should you care? No. Am I tired of hearing about it? Yes. If I am a nurse and I know the other person is not, then I do a little internal pat on the back for all the I have accomplished and move on.

smurfynursey · May 12, 2012

I took my dog to Banfield once (the vet hospital in PetSmart) and they have a tech whose title is Pet Nurse

PetsToPeople · May 12, 2012

Although I personally think Banfield is an awesome company, it is a corporation and is not well liked in the veterinary field. They are the only company that uses that title, which I happen to like. In their early stages they were actually boo'd out of veterinary conventions, which are basically the same as those that doctors and nurses attend for continuing education, and are still barely tolerated by vets.

canesdukegirl, BSN, RN · May 12, 2012

Blame it on my being tired-to-the-bone, but my opinion is that there are far too many other things to worry about than if a vet tech calls themselves a nurse.

What I worry about:

Did I give a complete report to the on-coming nurse?

Did I remember to chart XYZ?

Did I follow up on my pt's pre-op orders since I couldn't get a hold of the doc?

Did I alert the resident to let him know that his case was moved up?

Did I remember that I have a meeting at 1430? Do I have my notes?

Does the surgeon know that my pt is a Jehovah's Witness and that her crit is in the toilet?

Does my trauma pt have four units of PRBCs ordered and ready to go?

Are the implants for my pt's total knee replacement in house? Or do I need to contact the rep?

Do I have enough staff for this shift? Should I call in my prn nurses?

Do I have an OR open for a trauma?

Do I have instruments for the next lap chole?

When the brown stuff hits the fan, the real question is who is there to help you get through it. I know this is off-topic, but as I stated, there are just too many other pressing matters that take up the rental space in my head. If a vet tech wants to call themselves a nurse, then so be it. I would be happy to have her take care of my little mutt.

trauma_lama, BSN · May 12, 2012

D

Before you decided to get on here with your rant you should have taken the time to actually research what a Veterinary Technician is, because I am one, and I assure you that I DO in fact hold an associated degree in Veterinary Technology, for which I worked my hind end off and is fact, has given me a huge advantage in my RN program. A Vet Tech is licensed/registered (term is different depending on the state) in their state of employment and are required to maintain and submit biennial continuing education hours to maintain that license. My line has always been "I'm a Vet Tech, like a people nurse, except I work with animals." This is the easiest explanation no matter who I am talking to, because whether you are a client who's pet I am working with, a CNA/LPN/RN, etc, a friend, or some stranger I just met, (and I know this from years and years of experience from dealing with this) when I tell you I am a Vet Tech NO ONE knows what I am talking about. They automatically think you are a Vet and that is all they can wrap their minds around...just as to every pt in a hospital you are either a nurse or a doctor and that is all they understand or care to know. This is the second topic to come up over the title RN, and I admit, I will be very proud of that title upon graduation, but really, it's started to look bad on RN's that we seem so insecure of our title and position in the medical community that this seems to get nurses so upset.

When I say you vet techs don't have degrees in animal nursing, I mean that literally. Your degree title is veterinary technology, hence the name vet tech. I used my words selectively; vet tech title comes from veterinary technology degree. No less, no more than nurse, just different title. My degree is associate degree in nursing. Not human body healer, but nurse, as is implied by my degree.

NurseLatteDNP, MSN, DNP, RN · May 12, 2012

I guess here in Texas we are more strict. According to the Nurse Practice Act, “Nurse” means a person required to be licensed under this chapter to engage in professional (RN) or vocational nursing. This was accepted in 2003, and use of the generic title “nurse” was restricted to use by RNs and LVNs (LPN's) only.

While I completely agree that vet techs do a lot of medical procedures, legally they could get in trouble by calling themselves nurses. Same goes for medical assistants who do it all the time.

While I respect all professions for what they do, I am protective of my professional title.

trauma_lama, BSN · May 12, 2012

I fail to see what the harm is. This woman made small talk to you a person she met in a store. It's not like she pushed you away during CPR claiming she is a nurse and you are doing a bad job. Even though it's a protected title, nurse to me is still a very broad word and has multiple meanings (as other posters have expressed). It's not like she called herself an LPN, RN, *insert letter combination of choice here*. Of course she could still be an LPN, RN, ... that decided it was more fun/rewarding working with animals because they bark and don't worry about titles; but decided a casual meeting with a shoe shopping woman didn't warrant the explanation of her career choice.In my experience you have people wrongly using protected titles and it either leads to a hilarious situation or it ends up with them scorned or arrested. The foot massage therapist that tried to pass himself off as an orthopedic surgeon that had to ask me what a scapula was comes to mind. Or the chem professor stating he is a doctor and then gets confused as you bury them in lab values.Maybe I have a very light view to this matter since a nurse in Belgium is hardly ever referred to by using their official title (which would roughly translate to "skilled-nurse") but generally the term that translates to "little nurse-person" is used or they'll adress the nurse with "sister" or "brother". I'm so used to not being called by proper titles that reflect my education and skill level that I just respond to "brother". And having to share the term "little nurse-person" with everyone that ever held a washing cloth in their hands :) Just learn to let it go and only lash out when there is harm involved.

Hahaha!! Little nurse person! I love it. Thanks for sharing.

QueenMangin, BSN, RN · May 12, 2012

I'm ok with her referring to herself as a nurse. She is a nurse. If she said she was an RN, then I'd have a problem with it.

BlueDevil,DNP, DNP, RN · May 12, 2012

I don't care what people call themselves. I could call myself an astronaut but that wouldn't make it so. There are serious problems in the world, and if I'm going spend a single moment worrying about something I can't control, it would be something that means more than a hill of beans.