RN in a Vet's office

[alrighThen]

Hi everyone,

I noticed here in Baltimore when I took my dog to a vet that they hired RN's to work in the clinic. I didn't get to ask about it but I distinctly remember that they advertised that RNs worked there. This was over two years ago and I have since moved and switched vets and have never heard of this situation again.

I was wondering if there are any nurses in this forum that work in a vet tech capacity or were hired as RN's in a veterinary hospital or clinic. Is a vet tech salary similar to that of a CNA or nursing tech I wonder?

I've always thought about how happy I would be to get out of the bed if I knew that I would be working with animals all day. Just thought I would ask if anyone else had heard of nurses working with animals. Thanks!

[Pets to People]

Someone needs a Valium.....

I was saying it's a ridiculous expense to become a RN in order to work a job that can be filled by Joe blow off the street.

Yes, you're a licensed vet tech, but many vets offices hire unlicensed people to do your job for near minimum wage. Much like being a medical assistant, there are no laws stating one has to be licensed or certified. Unlike nursing, where ALL nurses are licensed and the word "nurse" is a protected title. Fair or not, a vet tech has more in common with a medical assistant than it does with a RN or LPN.

Yes, Orange Tree, you learned to mimic/copy/memorize how to do things because you were trained on the job, but you have no clue why you do those things and the reasoning behind them. I have met many assitants like you, who think they are just the same as an RVT because they learned how to copy us very well, yet they are more dangerous than they realize. They have no respect for what they are doing or the potential for danger...they push meds when they have no idea what it does, the side effects, why it is being given, what changes you should be looking for in the patient, for example.

Don't get me wrong, I have worked with many great assistants, but they also were always willing to learn and didn't think they knew everything, which is also what makes a good VT.

And a veterinary assistant trained on the job calling themselves the same as an RVT is like a medical assistant calling themselves a nurse, and we all have seen those threads :/

Again, why do people chime in with such strong opinions when they have no clue what they are talking about? Brandon, yes THERE are laws stating what particular roles are to be done only by an RVT/LVT and are not to be done by unlicensed professionals, however, these laws are not strictly regulated/enforced as they are on the human side. That is why EVERY veterinary clinic (this varies by state but is true in the two states in which I have worked) must employ ATLEAST one VT, so they can atleast believable fudge the truth on who does what when they are inspected by their state board under the veterinary practice act. (I believe there is another regulatory body, other than AAHA, which is voluntary...perhaps some of the other VT's can help me out on this one?) Otherwise, why would they bother ever hiring a VT and ponying up the extra cash, if they can just train any yahoo off the street?

And RVT/LVT is a protected title as well. But please, continue and tell us more, since you seem to be so knowledgable.

This is one of the several reasons why I left the veterinary field to join the human side of medicine...higher standards, more automy, stricter regulations.

[wschless]

I have been a vet tech for 7 years and I am really considering leaving the field(looking into nursing). Really, it's a depressing, dirty job that pays very poorly and has no benefits and no room for growth. I work full time and make barely $24,000 a year---and I'm a lead technician, been in my clinic for 4 years! I think a lot of people think vet techs pet puppies and kittens all day, but it's not true. These animals don't know you, they don't necessarily feel safe with you. You are a stranger who wants to restrain them and poke them with needles and do other painful procedures that they don't understand. If anything, most vet techs are scary to the animals. YOU are the enemy. YOU are hurting them(yes, it's for their own good, but tell them that.).

Plus there's the deaths. Animals die all the time. They die because their owners don't want them any more. They die from illnesses that could have been prevented with a vaccine. They die from neglect/abuse. And it's your job to put them down. Then, half the time, you do a necropsy and cut Fluffy open and pull her organs out. Then put her in the freezer and move on.

It's sad because even the most sensitive person will eventually harden to this. You have too. It's a defense mechanism. You can't break down every time a beloved pet dies(and it's frequent). Its a part of the job.

Vet techs are overworked. There were days when I worked that I didn't even have the time to wash the feces and blood off myself between surgeries. I work practically 7 days a week because even though our hospital is closed on the weekends, SOMEONE has to come take care of animals in the hospital who need treatments. Sure, it's "my day off", but I'm still in there 3 times a day for maybe an hour each time.

Plus, much likes nurses I'm sure, vet techs are catty to each other. Female dominated field, so you will constantly have someone on your tail, trying to get you in trouble. Vets yell, throw things, call you dumb. And don't think because you are a "tech" that you don't clean kennels, because you most certainly do. Most clinics I have worked at have you doing it all.

I would so very highly recommend that you shadow a vet office for a decent amount of time before investing in the school for this. Is this really a job you want to go to school for for two years to make $10-14 an hour, forever?

[Pets to People]

7) Mrs. White thought that the Frontline+ (flea & tick) medication she picked up at her local pet store was to be given orally.

Or how about the K-9 frontline or OTC K-9 flea med given to the cat, because they got more for the same price versus the cat size? Poor things.

8) Ms. Jones refuses to administer the recommended pain medication for the following 3-5 days after 'Scruffy's 4-paw declaw...oh and 'Scruffy' is 7 years old and 16 pounds.

I was soooo happy when Metacam liquid came along! Smells like ferrets and tastes like honey, the cats looove it. I had not had a single cat not take it without a problem and this was such a help with those who you knew wouldn't be complaint...just a few drops on some food and that all they would have to do.

[Jenni811, RN]

This is my dream to work with animals as an RN. I've even asked my vet about it but she said she doesn't know of any vet clinics that hire RN's . How about we all get together and open our own! I would love to go to work everyday![/quote']

I'm in!!!

[Jenni811, RN]

I have been a vet tech for 7 years and I am really considering leaving the field(looking into nursing). Really, it's a depressing, dirty job that pays very poorly and has no benefits and no room for growth. I work full time and make barely $24,000 a year---and I'm a lead technician, been in my clinic for 4 years! I think a lot of people think vet techs pet puppies and kittens all day, but it's not true. These animals don't know you, they don't necessarily feel safe with you. You are a stranger who wants to restrain them and poke them with needles and do other painful procedures that they don't understand. If anything, most vet techs are scary to the animals. YOU are the enemy. YOU are hurting them(yes, it's for their own good, but tell them that.).

Plus there's the deaths. Animals die all the time. They die because their owners don't want them any more. They die from illnesses that could have been prevented with a vaccine. They die from neglect/abuse. And it's your job to put them down. Then, half the time, you do a necropsy and cut Fluffy open and pull her organs out. Then put her in the freezer and move on.

It's sad because even the most sensitive person will eventually harden to this. You have too. It's a defense mechanism. You can't break down every time a beloved pet dies(and it's frequent). Its a part of the job.

Vet techs are overworked. There were days when I worked that I didn't even have the time to wash the feces and blood off myself between surgeries. I work practically 7 days a week because even though our hospital is closed on the weekends, SOMEONE has to come take care of animals in the hospital who need treatments. Sure, it's "my day off", but I'm still in there 3 times a day for maybe an hour each time.

Plus, much likes nurses I'm sure, vet techs are catty to each other. Female dominated field, so you will constantly have someone on your tail, trying to get you in trouble. Vets yell, throw things, call you dumb. And don't think because you are a "tech" that you don't clean kennels, because you most certainly do. Most clinics I have worked at have you doing it all.

I would so very highly recommend that you shadow a vet office for a decent amount of time before investing in the school for this. Is this really a job you want to go to school for for two years to make $10-14 an hour, forever?

It sounds exactly like nursing except with people. Shadow a nurse too.

[ClearBlueOctoberSky]

1) 'Fluffy' doesn't feel good, but he can't tell you where he hurts.

2) 'Spot' is being brought in for a euthanasia.

3) Mr. Smith cannot (will not) comply with suggested ear medication for 'Fido's' bilateral ear infection. 'Fido' will have to live with that

ear infection.

4) 'Smokey' is going into anaphylactic shock after vaccine administration.

5) Mr. and Mrs. Roberts want to breed 'Scrappy' who is aggressive and has Stage 1 hip dysplasia.

6) 'Princess' needs her insulin.....but I'm pretty sure she'll bite my face off since she's hissing and spitting....oh yea, she has all her claws.

7) Mrs. White thought that the Frontline+ (flea & tick) medication she picked up at her local pet store was to be given orally.

8) Ms. Jones refuses to administer the recommended pain medication for the following 3-5 days after 'Scruffy's 4-paw declaw...oh and 'Scruffy' is 7 years old and 16 pounds.

9) Anonymous leaves box of 7 kittens on front porch of vet hospital over night.

10) Mr. and Mrs. Robertson are having their first child and they don't want 'Champ' anymore -- nobody wants to take him, so they try to bring him in for a euthanasia.

This is why I couldn't continue on with my two year Vet Tech Program. I completed the first year, no problem. Then to my good graces, life got in the way, and I had to go on LOA. That was my saving grace of being put in a job that I might not have liked very much.

[kalevra, BSN, RN]

I would rather have puppies die than watch babies die. Nursing isn't all unicorns and rainbows. BTW, your gonna go from one dirty job to another.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

I would rather have puppies die than watch babies die. Nursing isn't all unicorns and rainbows. BTW, your gonna go from one dirty job to another.

I'm so totally the opposite.

[wschless]

Yes, they are both dirty, stressful, and sometimes depressing/thankless jobs. I understand this. The difference being that one of them pays poverty level wages with no benefits. The cost of my health insurance alone eats up nearly 50% of what I make in a month. Can you afford to live on $1400 a *month*(before insurance)?

I, personally, cannot really see myself in a non-medical field. That's just where my interest lies. I want to be a caregiver. I do not mind dirty jobs. However, my husband and I really struggle with my vet tech salary. I'm just saying that unless you have a rich spouse or for whatever reason don't have to worry about money, being a vet tech just can't pay the bills for a "grown up"--regardless of how much you love animals. It would probably be a great job for a young person with no responsibilities/children(which sums up most of the people I work with).

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

Vets yell, throw things, call you dumb.

I know every profession has it's array of personalities but just recently I cared for the infant of a vet who called me dumb (not to my face) and threw things. I know this person was in a stressful situation but none of the other parents were calling the nurses dumb and throwing things so I'm just saying. . .

I'm sure this particular vet is a "true peach" to the vet techs/assistants at their clinic.

I guess I want to reiterate that human medicine, vet medicine, human nursing, vet teching/assisting all involves difficult situations and heart wrenching situations. Luckily (for me at least), nursing pays better and in general I believe there is great respect given though I'm certain that depends on one's individual job situation.

I once more encourage the OP to seek a shadowing position and perhaps volunteer for a while before committing to pursuing this line of work.

[kalevra, BSN, RN]

I'm so totally the opposite.

Actually I really dont like children at all. That high pitched scream makes my blood curdle. But they are people and I have , begrudgingly,to put peoples needs in front of animal needs.

Puppies are the best though.

[sharpeimom]

Yes, the RNs do receive a good deal of additional training in this practice. Some of it is on the job from the vets and the vet techs, and the balance of it comes from taking vet tech classes which the practice pays for.

The vet's wife (his second wife who is in her fifties and finished rearing his kids after his first wife died) coordinates the training, coursework, etc. From what I understand, they never intended to hire RNs, but they applied and were the best candidates for the job. The additional training and coursework were a condition of taking the job.

One of the neater aspects of this practice is that when your pet has surgery or a prolonged stay, assuming your baby is stable enough, you are encouraged to come and hold and rock him/her. It really comforts you and your furkid. I know.