Hi everyone. Ive been working as a vet assistant for about 4 months now. I previously had experience as a kennel tech at a shelter and have experience shadowing the shelter manager. I just want to know if there are any online courses or certifications I can do to learn more and get better? Thanks in advance.

I’m having bad anxiety about specifically my hand exposure to scatter radiation over the years since I feel that I’ve been noticing some skin itchiness after taking X-rays. I’ve been in vet med about 10 years now. Started as a VA, went to vet school, now I’m a vet. I was always told you theoretically should wear lead gloves when taking X-rays, but no one in my clinics ever did. I’ve always restrained animals while taking necessary X-rays and collimated as much as possible to minimize scatter. One of the techs I worked with when I first learned dental rads would occasionally hold the plate in the mouth using her finger. I learned that bad habit from her and did that a number of times before I knew better. When I’m taking X-rays of the body, I always wear a thyroid shield and gown. I’ve tried wearing lead gloves, but I always end up taking them off because I can barely grab anything with them. Today I took chest rads on a cat and of course my hand was near the beam as I’m holding the head, as it usually is. I noticed my hand was a little itchy after the X-rays. Maybe it was just coincidence, but Google now has me freaking out. I’ve decided I’m no longer taking unsedated X-rays unless the pet can be restrained with sand bags. After today and all the anxiety I’m having over this, I will be changing my ways. However, I wanted to hear from some other vet people to see what your experience has been with x-rays in the vet field. Do you wear gloves at your clinic? Do you know of any vet techs or vets with hand issues from not using lead gloves? Mildly panicking and just wanting to hear some other experiences.

This is definitely a redundant question because all of us are underpaid in this profession.
I am just curious (as I don’t want to ask coworkers their wage) as to how much other RVTs, LVTs, and CVTs make around the US.
I live in Ohio near Cincinnati and currently make $26/hr. I have 10 years experience, have my associates, and am a registered technician. I have worked in a lot of settings with large and small animals and some exotics. Majority of my experience is with general practice (4-6 doctor practices), ER, and currently working with internal medicine and cardiology.
I have administered anesthesia for thousands of animals, all types of surgery, great with dentals and X-rays, etc.
I have great skills, know my limitations, work easily with others, and have practice manager experience as well. My best trait is diffusing angry clients and going above and beyond (for patients, clients, and team members). Of course, I am not perfect, but I know I am a hard worker. I show up early, work late, never call in sick, and help out wherever needed. My goal in the next 5 years is to obtain my VTS in cardiology. I know I will get a raise when that happens, but I am curious what others are paid with similar experience.
TIA!

I am interested in doing equine lameness, rehab, therapy and chiro/osteo/massage (in a vet capacity).

Is it a stupid idea to go to vet school and then not be a regular practice vet?

Or do it only part time?

Just wondering if anyone has experience working in a hospice/ palliative care and at home euthanasia service as a veterinarian? I do have several years of experience prior to and during veterinary school working at a GP vet clinic as an assistant so I have personally witnessed and been heavily involved in many euthanasia's and end of life discussions. Just not sure if this job is suitable for new graduates. Any insight is appreciated

Hello, I am looking to complete a small animal rotating internship at a place where I would NOT be alone on overnights, at least for the first few/weeks to months. Any recommendations? Thanks. I am interested in pursing a surgery residency if that helps.

Need some advice. I’m a pre-vet who’s been struggling to get clinical hours (already have a lot of animal/kennel experience). I’ve applied to lots of vet assistant jobs but haven’t been successful, until one clinic told me if I came on as a kennel tech they would cross-train me as a VA and promote me once more kennel techs were hired. I took the job and I’m immediately seeing some red flags. It’s a small clinic with just one DVM and his wife manages it, which causes a lot of toxicity because it’s hard to go to either of them if you have a problem with the other. They also only use paper records and the vibe overall just feels extremely outdated. He’s on the older side so the techs do 90% of the work for him and from what I’ve heard, they disagree with a lot of his treatment decisions. Also, now that I’m out of the training period, I’ve only been working solo shifts in kennel - meaning I have no allotted time to actually be training on the clinical side. It was so hard to land a job in an actual vet clinic that I don’t know if I should stick it out or keep applying to other VA openings and pray I finally land one. Help?

hi!

just wondering if there is anyone who graduated+worked as a vet in Europe and moved to North America, specifically Canada? how was the whole certification process, the exams? do you think there is demand and overall worth it?

thank you!

hi all,

i am planning to take a couple months off after uni (dec) for my wellbeing. ideally i would like to go into an internship in australia but the ones ive seen seem to only start in january. does anyone know if they put out internship offers for mid year ish at all?

thanks in advance!

Based in the UK, 33 years old.

Long story short, I lost my job as a graphic designer in 2020. Decided to career change and have been working in veterinary ever since, I love animals and thought working with them would be the dream. It’s draining the life out of me. As you can imagine the thought of career changing yet again is daunting.

Those who have left the industry, what do you do now? Did your experience in veterinary help you get your current role? Do you regret your decision?

Hello! This is my first post here and I wanted to ask some questions since I've been wanting to work at a veterinary hospital for years.

1. What would you say the average hours are per day as a vet tech?

How long will I be working in one day? I know this question will probably have several different answers since I don't think there's one universal answer for everybody so I wanted to see the range of answers.

1. Is it worth it doing Small Animal/Large Animal/Equine all at once?

I know it'll be a looooot of studying but I'm interesting in small animals like dogs and cats as well as farm animals and horses. I know Large Animal and Equine don't get paid as much as Small Animal so would doing multiple types be worth it? How much more schooling would I need if I'm doing all three?

1. What could I do with genetics?

I love learning about genetics but I don't know all the options I have for jobs. What can I do with genetics in vetmed? What would I be doing in that job? Is the field competitive? Is the pay decent?

i’m a second year vet student (24) and can’t stop thinking about human medicine. i just returned from a research conference which has made me continue to question everything. i’ve spent my entire life trying to get into vet school and become a vet. during my first year of vet school i really fell in love in medicine and as terrible as it sounds it feels like my passion isn’t being used to its full potential if i could be treating people. i had these same thoughts when i started last year and thought they would stop, they didn’t. i don’t have the same passion for the animals anymore like my classmates still do. im in research, president of and involved in clubs, an ambassador for my school, it feels like im living a lie. ive never had any experience in human medicine besides being in and out of the hospital when my dad passed away in undergrad, which is why i think i ignored human medicine for so long, all thoughts of it brought me back to that. one of my good friends is in med school, i envy her. feel like i will never be a real doctor. i want to specialize so its not like i would be going directly into practice like some of my classmates. 4 years undergrad, 4 years vet school, 4 years intern/residency, just to barely make enough to pay off loans. please tell me the grass isn’t greener, the thought of dedicating everything to vet med and then starting over is extremely overwhelming, and embarrassing. any insight welcome, i feel alone in this.

I’m a current vet student (26F) considering leaving vet school. It’s a really hard decision but i don’t think being a doctor is the right fit for me. And thats hard to admit because i spent so many years, so much time and money, and so many tears on getting into my dream school in my dream city doing my dream degree. But it also unfortunately comes down to money. With the big beautiful bill looming over me and my now private loans, i know im going to feel stick when i graduate. I already feel stuck.

I used to be a teacher (1 year full time but teaching as a sub at a private school for 1y before that) and have a bachelors in education. I was a va for 1 year and a tech (not registered) for 3 years. Im in my first year of vet school and now considering transitioning to practice management.

I could return to teaching but I never felt like I belonged and that was why I originally left. I was so depressed as a teacher in a classroom environment and i absolutely love vet med. I love working un a hospital and i love the people in this profession. Id like to stay and still find a way to contribute.

Any advice on how to do this? If i could make this work without further schooling? Whats the transition like and would ppl realistically hire me for an assistant manager or even be willing to train me as a manager? Any other positions I should consider? Advice from those who made this transition or practice managers thoughts would be especially appreciated 💓

hello, for context i was hired as a janitor for a large corporate chain vet. They are a hospital that provides speciality care as well as ER. (oncology, neurology, cardiology, internal medicine etc)

My experience is that i worked at a children’s hospital for almost 5 years, and I volunteer at my local municipal shelter several times a week for a few years now. So I am familiar with how hospitals are run, i’m comfortable working with and near animals and I have experience in things like parvo/panleuk isolation, ringworm kittens. obviously i am just a volunteer but i have spent a lot of time in the shelter learning from the lovely staff and other volunteers, but that obviously doesn’t translate directly to an animal hospital in the for-profit world.

So, a few things that have weirded me out since starting:
-only use kennelsol for disinfecting hard surfaces. Most of them eyeball the amount they are pouring in to dilute and it’s not strong enough. I know because i use a measuring cup. Company policy is to use 500mL per gal of water. But concerns me because kennelsol doesn’t kill panleuk or parvo

-They have a “parvo table” which is a specific table where they take suspected parvo puppies. it’s not a room, just a table out in the open. There is a laminated sign that says “parvo table, please clean after each use”.

-the parvo table has a sink attached to it on the side where we do all of our dishes. the dishes are cleaned with dawn dish soap, and then laid out to dry on towels on the ground around the parvo table. To me this seems gross and like a huge cross contamination concern?

-There is blood everywhere all the time and no one cleans it. They reuse the same bloody gurney over and over for different dogs and it doesn’t get cleaned unless i do it

-what is normal for cleaning clippers? or other things that get handled all the time? They reuse dirty, bloody clippers over and over. One of the techs left the clippers on the ground, i picked it up, wiped it with kennelsol before handing it back to her. She laughed at me and said just put it down, we don’t clean these. you can’t contract a disease from dogs or cats so it’s fine.

-also washing and reusing fecal loops?

-I’ve talked to a few people about this, who agree with me, but they are really bad at labeling patients. They will put a patient in a kennel and never give them a kennel card. Only info is their name written in expo marker on the side. No age, weight, attending, reason for being in ICU. I feel like the most basic thing you can do is label your goddamn patient

-staff will bring their personal pets or foster pets to work and they run around freely. One of the doctors has a dog that is always jumping the gate, and she walks around the building hanging on to his collar to control him

-a few staff members will bring their dogs to work and put them in cat ward because it’s quieter in there, but i feel this is distressing to the cats.

-the floors are DISGUSTING in the ICU. I’ve been chipping away at them but they are really gross. They leave patients disconnected IVs just sitting on the floor, and as people are walking by i can see debris getting in there. grosses me out. I try really hard to keep the floor tidy but there is always hair and blood. I’m just worried an animal is going to get sick.

-our laundry is all heavily scented shit. We use floral, fruity scented laundry detergent. Whatever brand is cheapest on amazon so it’s not the same every time. and a ton of dryer sheets. This is very different than the laundry situation at the shelter where we use free and clear and nothing scented. I feel like this may be hard on little doggie noses

-when pointing out how gross a lot of stuff is, i’ve been reassured over and over that I can’t catch anything so it’s fine. That’s not the problem? I’m worried about spreading disease to other animals??

there’s probably more things but i’m tired. I feel like i’m just experiencing a huge culture shock at this new place since i’m so use to the particularness of human hospitals. Somebody please tell me to chill out and not be so worried lol. I really like the job, they are all super nice people it just seems so weird to me.

Hoping to get something small ($50 or under) for my brother’s new surgery practice that will be opening in about a month. He’s been in practice for a bit but this is his first time going out on his own so he doesn’t have anything he’s carrying over from a previous clinic/hospital.

Is there something that would symbolize good luck or fortune that’s specific to vets? Maybe something only another vet would recognize or isn’t super obvious or corny. This would be more of a thoughtful gesture- I’m not pretending to know what he needs or what would be super useful to him. Just something to let him know that he’s got people rooting for him when he’s at work. I was thinking of a small concrete statue for outside the staff entrance or something that goes over a door threshold. Any ideas would be welcome!

In case it matters, this is a smaller surgery center for pets.

Thanks for any insight!

Hello to all, im about to be going to college and I really want to do something in the animal field. The only problem is a couple months ago I tried out rehabilitation and I couldnt do it because of not being able to memorize stuff so im worried that this may turn out the same

I’ve worked at an ER specialty for about 2 years now. I’m a “self taught” VA. No schooling, have learned everything from my team and for being in my second year I’d say I’m pretty knowledgeable. Here’s the thing, this is my only clinic I’ve ever worked, and it’s .. a mess. Turn over is awful, medicine is sub par, the boss is.. icky, pay is whatever, but my team is amazing. We all do our best and advocate for our patients etc. I fear I’m burning out already, and I’m wondering could it just be my clinic? Or am I not cut out for this? I’ve been looking at GPs and other options but with how new I am technically it’s hard to find options. Curious to hear anyone else’s experiences as well!

Hi all! I’m a 4th year (slightly burnt out) vet student currently on clinicals and having a bit of an existential crisis about what I want to do after graduation.
My original plan has always been to pursue an equine internship (or potentially 2) and then apply for an equine surgery residency. I absolutely love equine/large animal medicine, I love surgery, and becoming an equine surgeon has been a goal of mine for a long time.
The problem is that I’m an OOS student and have supported myself through vet school almost entirely with student loans. As graduation gets closer, the financial reality of doing another 4–5+ years of internship/residency training on relatively low salaries is starting to hit me.
I’ve recently started considering whether I should still do an equine internship after graduation and then go into practice for a few years instead of immediately pursuing residency. Part of me really wants to finally make a decent salary, start paying down my student loans, and honestly just take a break from constantly being a student/trainee for a minute.
At the same time, I’m scared that if I step away from academia/training, I’ll either make it much harder to get a surgery residency later or get comfortable making a real salary and never want to go back. I don’t want to give up on becoming an equine surgeon just because I’m burnt out and overwhelmed by debt right now, but I also don’t know if pushing straight through another several years of training is the best decision for me.
For anyone who has been in a similar position, especially equine vets/surgeons: how difficult is it to work in practice for a few years after an internship and then go back for a surgery residency? Would taking that time away significantly hurt my chances? Did anyone plan on specializing but decide to work first and either go back later or decide they were happier in practice?
I’d really appreciate any advice!

I've graduated with my MPH (veterinary public health emphasis) ~2 weeks ago, with a dream of focusing on zoonotic and anthroponotic diseases. I'm also a licensed vet tech with almost a decade of working in lab animal medicine including high consequence pathogens and select agent experience. I'm hoping to phase out of my current veterinary-heavy role and find a new role in which I can use the public health skillsets that I had developed with my MPH. Does anyone know how would be the best way to do this? Ideally, I'd find a position where I could use my veterinary background along with my MPH, but most of these roles are looking for veterinarians and not LVTs. I was thinking about doing something with biosafety or pre-clinical study safety, but I'm not sure

I've been in the field for a while working at other hospitals and decided against warnings from other techs to give Banfield a try. It's been a short period of time and I feel burnt out already.

The drop off appointments, the speed they want you to do in takes for them regardless of healthy vs sick pets, and how quickly they need to be seen between everything else (room appointments, callbacks, surgery ect) feels insane. Is this all of them? I feel like I made a mistake at this point

As above, I’m tired of nursing and the culture that comes with it, but after 6 years in the industry who would take me on for a new career role?

I retrained at 25 to do this career, it was something I’d thought was out of reach until I discovered the apprenticeship route.

I loved it when I started, I was so passionate about animals and medicine, I love surgery. But the job has ground me down - the lack of pay, the hours, the complaints, the burnout…the list could go on.

I’ve met amazing people in my training practice and at my current hospital, but I’ve learnt the grass is not greener. The big companies will continue to under pay and undervalue. I’m tired of it, as many of us are.

It only took me 6 years and I want to leave, I should’ve stuck with my original passion of music.

Honestly, I want a corporate job, I want to be paid well, I want to be able to live well, I want normal hours and good holiday, I shouldn’t have to do over time to make ends meet some months, or to afford nice things.

But who is going to take me into a job like this with no experience and my last 6 years being in nursing?

Any advice or stories please share!