mrparhamrvt

I know I came here initially to gather insight about the field in general. I was looking for some history on what actually worked with your profession. Yes we have boards, yes we have forums, I am part of the state organization (President actually), been a member of my national organization since I was a student, go to our state board meetings every other month, attend any meetings of our state Vet Association. Unfortunately, it is like beating my head against a wall somedays - old school docs wanting to pay high school kids to perform surgery behind closed doors because it is cheap and those of us who have a college degree and licensure in our state getting the short end just because we want more than minimum wage and no benies. So I come here and to other health profession boards to try and learn what worked for you in your fight for recognition. I also hope that maybe someone will wonder about that next "tech" who takes their pet to the back and whether they really are a tech or just some OJT assistant who may not be legally allowed to do half the stuff they are about to on your own pet. Oh if you only knew - each state is totally different (much like nursing from what I have heard). We have RVTs here in Georgia, LVTs in South Carolina and CVTs in Florida. Georgia has some pretty strict rules on the books (now!!) and require the title only be used by those who hold licensure in the state. They also allow grandfathering of OJT personnel after 5 years (to end this next summer - thank gawd!!!). South Carolina has mention of techs in their practice act, but that's about where it ends. They require schooling to be a VT, but there is no mention of the title, no requirement of licensure to perform specific duties etc. Florida mentions the CVT, but the Vets and the VTS actually fight back and forth continuously about who should regulate the VT (seems like we should regulate ourselves personally???) but they both require schooling and state and national exams to hold the title. There is also mention of a few duties that require either schooling with the CVT OR other training to perform (euthanasia). Anyways - I really don't want to use the title nurse. My job entails so much outside of typical nursing skills. Heck I would be better fitted to something in the dental field most days. Or anesthesia - guess "veterinary nurse anesthetist" would be fitting too. I mean my main job title is "Surgery/Anesthesia Technician" and I really kind of like it. That is on the days when I am not stuck in the dental suite trying to train students (vet and VT) how to perform a proper prophy - seems like I would get further banging my head against that wall again!! Anyways, I guess I have come to terms with the title I have been given, I just want to fight for the recognition. I had hoped to get input and maybe some ideas from the nurses who have been through some of the legislative changes in your field. I had also hoped to maybe enlighten some people on some of the legalities and issues that may be going on in their own vet clinics. If you just assume the "tech" has schooling and licensure, you may be allowing an untrained OJT assistant to perform anesthesia, extract teeth or even worse - perform minor surgeries.

asoldierswife05 My last post came off somewhat strong. I apologize. Thank you for your support. If any of you know of some good sites where I can find the information I am looking for, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank You!

I am the PRESIDENT of my state organization. I sit on the advisory board for a local college's VT program. We have a member who acts as a liasion for the GVMA. We have numerous members attend the state board meetings. All I wanted was some history of what steps were taken by the nurses .... some info on the changes and when they took place, NOT help.

I understand where you are coming from. I respect your title and followed initial threads (some time ago) from our own forums to this site. I have been active on some threads and lurking for the majority. I do have to say that the attitude of superiority that is displayed is sometimes sad. I know I have asked our own state organization (for Nurses) for some help. I do NOT want them to back us, I do NOT want to use the title, heck I do NOT even want to use their name in any way shape or form. All I wanted was to speak with representatives in an effort to discover the different levels of nursing recognized by our state and the responsibilities for each. I also wanted to be educated on the history of nursing without having to go back to school to do it. I already have 9 years of college education {VT (AVT), working on VT (BVT), management, marketing} under my belt and no wish to add another minimum of 2 just to find out some of the efforts nurses used when fighting for recognition some 200 years ago when the profession was first starting in its infancy. Do you know what my response was? A snotty email and phone conversation that said "We are not vet techs, we suggest you contact your state group, other state groups, your national group or perhaps the vets that regulate you." Well heck, why didn't I think of that before. Perhaps, I already had and truly wanted info from their group about what worked and the different steps etc so I as the President of my state organization, GVTAA, could work on a strategy to improve our efforts and set up some realistic expectations.

Please believe me when I say ... no self respecting educated VT would perform surgery on a patient. They would understand the ramifications of their actions. We (as in the students I went through school with and the coworkers I currently work with) understand our role clearly and would not deviate from it. I personally am appalled that someone in this day and age would perform surgery without the legal right to do so.

That is a sad analysis of the situation and degrading to those of us who have taken the time and spent the money for the education. I would bet that any one of my counterparts, all of them EDUCATED paraprofessionals against any of your so called OJT assistants. There is no comparison. I do NOT want the title Nurse, it is demeaning to the nurses who worked for their education. I would however like some recognition from them that we ARE equally educated professionals who deserve respect.

Thanks everyone for the positive responses. It is nice for once to see so many of them. I just want to reiterate that I have NO interest in using the title nurse in any way, shape, or form. I am a veterinary technician, that is what I went to school for and as one poster said, my job is so completely totally different than nursing.

Thank all of you again for the replies. I am very active in my profession on the state level. There have been many changes in our laws on who can legally do what and what titles can or can not be used and by whom. Now we are at the point where unfortunately we just can not get compliance. While the state has set the laws, it is up to the vets to adhere to them. As long as our clients don't know or care who does what with Fluffy behind closed doors, there will never be a change. That is one of the biggest reasons I came onto this board some time ago. I was looking for innovative ideas and ways to get the public more aware of what we even were to begin with. I guess I also thought that even though we are vastly different, that perhaps with enough similarities, nurses would feel some sort of compassion towards our struggle with recognition and perhaps be willing to help ... even if it is as simple as asking "who is running anesthesia on FiFi today", "does your 'tech' have the credentials to call themselves such" etc.

I agree with you on this, somewhat. However, I think to say that our "nursing skills" are any less because our patients are not human would be incorrect. I can not tell you how many times I have sat with a patient recovering from anesthesia who is in painful and possibly dysphoric from the meds used. Not only must we quickly decide whether more meds would benefit the patient, we often have to climb into their cage and soothe them. Often it may be easy, other times all we can do is sit back and pray since some of our patients can be quite vicious. I have seen many in the field end up in the hospital because our patients unfortunately come to us in pain with no way of telling us what could be going on and often the pain incites fear which becomes aggression in many. I know all of you have experienced some of what I am talking about ... I am a very needle phobic person and often when I was younger, required heavy physical restraint. I guess my point is ... just because our patients do not exhibit the same human emotions that yours do, that does not mean we don't feel the same spectrum of feelings or deal with the same amount of emotional trauma. Please remember that often we deal with our clients ... trying to be advocates for our patients, their pets ... kind of like dealing with parents of small infants at times and yes I have kids so know how bad I can be on that front too - I apologize to all for the neurotic mother episodes).

For anyone interested ... here are some from Veterinary Medicine: R/L/CVT- Registered/Licensed/Certified Veterinary Technician This is usually different for different states RAHT - Registered Animal Health Technician Again dependent on the state Add a little "g" to any of the above - Veterinary Technologist Used when referring to someone with a bachelor's in Veterinary Technology VTS - Veterinary Technician Specialist Available in Emergency/Critical Care, Anesthesia, Dentistry & Internal Medicine, with plans for behavior, nutrtion, and equine medicine in the works There are MANY MANY more like CVA, CVPM, VNA, & others. If anyone is interested, I will gladly respond.

That is not my intent. Unfortunately, I realize that my post may be read that way. I assure you that is not my intent. What I wrote was more out of hurt and confusion than anger. In the past I asked in a very (I thought) non-confrontational manner and was immediately slammed. The previous posts included questions on who to contact for support from within the nursng community, how Nurse felt about some Vet Techs feelings on using the title Vey Nirse ( I do NOT agree with this stance), and even simple questions on requirements for the different levels of Nurse titles. We have AS and BS degrees available as well as different specialties that can be acheived and I was trying to find correlations between the 2 fields/professions to present in a public announcement type of presentation for HS kids and such. Anyways, I am a member of nearly every Vet Med forum board out there, including many many yahoo groups as well as those on myspace and the real forums similar to this. I was just looking for help and support from those of you in the human medicine side of things, including ideas and opinions on how nursing has made so many changes and how your field compares to ours. Thanks for all the honest and open responses. Sorry if the initial post came off harsh. Melanie R. Parham, RVT

Thank you for your honest response. I know that respect goes both ways and I am sorry that you have found negative feedback regarding RNs on another site. I guess it truely goes both ways. I also know about nurse being a protected title ... have seen, heard and preached on the subject to many of my counterparts across the field of vet med. I wish everyone understood that many states as well have laws similar, making the use of veterinary technician illegeal except by those of us who have earned such title. Again, Thank You!

Hello. I am a RVT in GA. For those of you who do not know what this means ... I am a registered veterinary technician. I graduated from a 2 year degree program that covered the many different disciplines applied to many different species of animals. After graduation, I took a national exam to "prove" my level of acquired competency. I do NOT want the title of Nurse nor do I like the thought of using it in any way. However, there are many in our profession who feel that it describes what we do more accurately. I have tried repeatedly to find support with people who work in the nursing field. Every single time, I have received negative responses and ridicule from Nurses who feel that my education and hard work were a joke. Why is this? Why do members of your field believe that our profession (veterinary technology) holds no value? While it is true that I may not work on humans (who yes I agree are worth more than animals) my job is just as demanding and heartbreaking. I work in surgery & anesthesia, and as a result I am required to know many different drugs and their effects on our anesthesia cases. Not only do I maintain anesthesia on our surgical patients, I also am responsible for their induction/intubation & recovery. I also work in our local practice, educating clients on normal/abnormal behavior, vaccination protocols, preventative medicine, nutritional counseling, and dental disease which is often followed by full cleaning (which require me to not only clean their teeth but also maintanence of anesthesia while I am doing so). There have been weeks when I have dealt with euthanasia daily, which not only includes performing the task but also helping our grieving clients work through the loss. I do all of this on an income that most of you would be appalled by, just like many others in our field. Would someone please explain to me why my job and what I do daily is looked down upon by members of your profession? Why is it that not one single nurse I have spoke to, looking for support, thinks that it is worth the time and effort to work together towards better recognition and respect for both of our professions? Sorry if this infuriates those of you who feel my profession is not worthy, but I am alittle upset after reading some of the many mean spirited and down right ignorant (in the way of what our profession entails) responses from others throughout this forum. I came here looking for help in getting our profession recognized and found some extremely negative attitudes.

Wow...how do yall do it? I think most human stuff is GROSS! If I hear someone coughing up something, I go into gag reflex. Anyways, I wanted to share 2 of my grossest ever moments. 1) We had an elderly gentleman come in one day complaining about his dog's breath. Well, the patient is soooo painful that he will not let the DVM touch his mouth. Since 90% of our patients have periodontal disease of some sort by age 5 and we see LOTS of FBs (sticks bones etc) lodged in the oral cavity that start to decay, the DVM gets consent for dental cleaning etc. Lucky me I am known as the "dental queen" or "tooth nazi" to many I know in the field. (I have done extra internships with a specialist, specialization courses and am working on my acceptance into a specialization mentorship.) Anyways...DVM gets dog fully PE'd, while I calculate and pull up drugs. The smell is one of the worst I have ever had to endure. Smells are one of my weak points! We induce right on the table, I pull out the patients tongue for intubation (gagging the whole time)...and see why this dog has such a horrific odor!!! There is one of the largest oral masses sitting right at the base of the tongue. Horribly necrotic looking and totally lumpy bumpy! I really do not know how the dog had been eating at all, it seems to be completely closing off everything back there! When I told the DVM he took a look and I thought he was even gonna puke! 2) Had a young guy come in on emergency one afternoon. He just purchased a Great Pyrenese (sp? those are the huge white cattle dogs that usually range in weight from 90-130 pounds). He had her spayed at another clinic couple of days before (don't ask me why he decided to come to us now?). He's giving the receptionists the down low and another guy is toting her in. She looks to be completely red at this point from the blood loss. Becomes obvious that she has dehisced at her abdominal incision. Has obvious intestinal loops protruding from the open site. It also becomes obvious that she had been chewing at them some. The only choice at that point is immediate surgery to resect the area that was torn through and through and run them for any perforations as well as copious flushing of the cavity to remove as much foreign material as possible. Takes 3 of us to hoist this gal on the table...all becoming saturated with blood. We start trying to induce her with a very light protocol since she seems to be going into shock. BP is in the toilet and dog is dysphoric already. Right as we start placing IVC, she proceeds to vomit all over our head RVT. Her vomit included close to 3 feet of intestinal loop!!! Gotta Love Veterinary Medicine!! Melanie R. Parham, RVT

TriageRN_34: ROFLMAO :rotfl: