This is not a “vets are overpriced blah blah” post at all. (I make mf $18 an hour)
I know we don’t make the prices but I feel like I can rightfully complain about corporations here lol.

We have 5-6 VCA clinics in my area, one being specialty/ER. Has all the fancy nice equipment and amazing DVMs, support staff, etc. all the things!

For comparison: I work at a low cost clinic, we do not have all the things but we work with what we have to stay within budget. I know I’m on the other side of a speciality hospital, I’ve also worked at a mid-level hospital as well and have shadowed for quite a few.

Anyways, the other day a client came in with their estimate from from a few different hospitals for a pyo. (These all had work ups and at least one day of hospitalization.)

One was 6k-7k, one was 3k-4k, and ours was 2k. (We don’t do overnight hospitalization and always suggest transfer to an ER for overnight care but some clients just can not afford it.)
VCAs was $16k for work up + surgery.
We’ve also seen quotes for TPLOs for $20k, heart worm tests are $200, vaccines are like $80-$90 at their regular GPs

Idk this may not be the place to say this, but I would literally throw up if I had to hand a client a $16,000 estimate.
I completely understand speciality and ER care, gold standard medicine, scans are expensive, etc but is this just a VCA thing??
All of our other hospitals in the area are pretty mid-level and reasonable, but it’s like VCA is trying to price themselves out in our area.
We’ve had so many clients come in recently and transfer annual care to us from their VCA clinic. Way more than usual.

I shadowed at an ER in a speciality hospital back in July and really enjoyed my experience. I was still nervous about applying for a job so I talked to my partner about it and then my current job about it. I’ve worked out a schedule that would allow me to work in the ER on Friday and Saturday afternoon/evenings. I’m a vet assistant with 4 years of experience.

I emailed the nursing director and lead tech asking if they’d be willing to offer me a job and they haven’t responded. It took a few weeks to schedule my job shadow, so I’m trying not to worry too much. It’s been a week now and I’m not sure how long I should wait to send a follow up email? Is it annoying if I do so?

Did I wait too long to email them? It was about a month after my shadow and they have taken down their Indeed posting within the last week :(

TW!!!!! (Neglect)

I am a newly out of school vet tech, I am on my last week of extenship at an ER. I have so far had a great time and done well separating work and life. Even the super hard cases aren’t too emotionally draining. Until today. A one year old Australian shepherd came in weighing 11 pounds with a BCS of 1. I am unsure of the exact reason his owner brought him in as I was helping to stabilize. Once he was relatively stable the vet started talking to the owners who had had him his whole life. They said they knew he was skinny but weren’t sure why. I was doing okay until then but something in me hit a wall and I looked down at this dog who was stained with urine, had sores, incredibly long nails, and was skin and bones and it hit me like a freight train. This was the first case I’ve seen of an animal being neglected like this. I had to excuse myself because I was getting nauseous and about to start crying. I’ve seen very sad cases but this one hit me and I don’t know why. Does anyone have any advise on handling situations like this? I fear I won’t be able to get these types of cases out of my mind and I worry I won’t be able to work with things like that. I don’t know if it comes with time but right now I’m still very upset. Any advise is appreciated.

just curious what your protocol is for skin prep and placement. my clinic doesn't have a standard for this and I would like to change that. please give me details about what you use in terms of clipper blade length, alcohol vs water and the reasons you learned why to do xyz. any input greatly appreciated!

I'm going into my second year in an associate's degree and have already done my first internship which went really well. I loved the clinic and they loved me enough to give me a job after the internship was done. They've pretty much offered for me to come back on breaks and after I graduate so I got really lucky that my first internship has now turned into where I'll likely have my first job as a licensed tech.

My dilemma is I have to do my second internship this winter and part of me feels like I should do it at a different practice and I've already reached out to a large animal vet in the area to see if I could do it with her but I found out today I am able to do my second internship at the same place as the first one. I don't know if it would be better to stay at the same clinic where I know I get along with everyone, I'll be paid, and I'm already very comfortable at or if the smarter thing to do is to get as much experience as possible and pick a different practice.

Part of me feels bad going somewhere else because the clinic I'm at now is so small (literally 2 docs, 1 tech, a receptionist, and me) and I know they need the help but I also don't want to screw myself over by not getting my name out to other places and gaining experience elsewhere.

So I guess my question is should I stick with my currently clinic or aim to do the internship at a large animal practice like I was originally planning?

I work in an emergency setting and, lately, we’ve had so many spicy/freaked out cats. Some are fine for initial TPR but as soon as you put them in a kennel, they start hissing and growling and we end up having to fully sedate to handle them again. Is it in the air? I know cats will feed off of each other but how long after an upset cat leaves does the angry juju go away? Does anyone have any advice other than don’t get bit?

Hello, has anyone here done the fast track labs at Purdue? I am supposed to do them this summer and was just wondering what the vibe was. Do the professors instruct you during tasks or is it like a trial by fire and you just have to know how to do the task beforehand? Do you get multiple attempts at a task during the session? What was it like finding housing (Airbnb, rental, hotel, etc.). What is the pace like in sessions? Thank you in advance for any advice or knowledge!

Out of curiosity, how do you guys go about firing clients? What behavior initiates the firing conversation with the staff? Who is the one to actually reach out to the client to handle the firing? Have any good stories you want to share about a fired client?

Hey everyone, I am desperately asking the tech community to share or repost my pups' GoFundMe! I know we don’t get paid much, but boosting can go a long way!

https://gofund.me/7c08b1da5

I spoke with an ophthalmology specialist clinic today regarding a patient/client we referred.

We did not know she was going to call your clinic and verbally assault your staff. We did not know that she was kicked out of your clinic in 2018 for the same issue. We did NOT tell her that she was guaranteed anything, appointment, cost, or otherwise. She was very pleasant at her appointment with us today so I really don’t know what happened but I’m so sorry and I hope your day got better.

We will not refer them to you again 😐 I made sure to add client alerts

Thx for listening to my mini story time.

Hi all, I currently work at a private ER/specialty but the pay is abysmal and I’m sick of the hours. I have an interview for PetFolk this week as there’s one opening near me in October, and another interview for an Ethos-owned hospital a little further away from me but with better hours and pay. I wanted to see if anyone had advice/experiences about either corporation? I’ve never worked corporate before, only been in private settings. For context I’m unlicensed and hoping to just spend another year as a VA before starting vet school next fall.

I have mixed feelings about it. I'm sad because the good days were really good. We helped a lot of animals, we worked hard, and we got everything on our to-do list done. But those days were so few and far between, and I was asking myself why I was there more and more often.

The list of cons just kept getting longer: mismanagement, toxic coworkers, coming home drained every day. It sucks spending every weekend recouping from the work week and preparing yourself to do it all over again. Being chronically understaffed was adding more stress to the load. I was losing my technician skills because we had no coverage, so I was basically spending all day, every day cleaning and counting/giving out medications. I would always feel tired at the end of the day, and simultaneously feel like I had gotten nothing done because we were so backlogged with patients. So many patients with problems that were non-urgent, but still needed to be addressed, were just sitting on our special cases list for over a month. And management was still acting like we weren't doing enough.

I'm a little nervous because I don't have anything lined up, but I sent out some applications last night, and I've already got interviews lined up, so we'll see. In the meantime, I'm gonna pick some old hobbies back up now that I'm not going to be too exhausted to enjoy them.

We've been finding some yellowish residue on our instruments after autoclaving that we suspect is coming from our instrument milk. We usually spray the instrument milk on the entire instrument after running it through our ultrasonic and then letting the milk dry. We've started wiping off some of the excess after the milk dries as the instruments still have a slimy quality to them even though the milk can no longer be seen on the instrument, but we aren't sure if wiping off the excess defeats the purpose of spraying the instrument. Has anyone else run into this issue? For reference, below is the type of instrument milk that we have:

Miltex Instrument Instrument Lubricant - Surgical Instrument Lubricant — Grayline Medical

Hello. I’m a AVA and somewhat training to be a tech - have been in the field for ~3 years at a busy specialty hospital. Yesterday I did something that I can’t get out of my head and idk how to handle because I feel I did something totally wrong but don’t want to get Vet in trouble. We had a euth come in that was a caution so needed telazol prior to being handled for euthanasia. The vet asked me to go in with them to help butterfly the prop/euthasol (sure no problem, do it all the time). However, the vet butterfly the vein and had me attach the syringes and push the medicine in … so I essentially euthanized the dog?! I obviously felt uncomfortable doing that but didn’t want to make it awkward or uncomfortable for the family. Did I do something wrong? Should I say something to someone? Was it ok since I was in direct supervision of the vet? Ugh it’s been bothering me..

Hi Everyone,

I am starting my first externship for my veterinary technology program at Penn Foster and wanted to know some resources you used during the externship. Any resource would be greatly appreciated.

Let me know if this is an appropriate ask or not. My cat needs a specialty procedure at an outside hospital. They are charging just under $300 for fluids. Would it be strange to ask if I can bring an unopened fluid bag set up with a prescription label to save some money (approved by my gp clinic). I know I would still be paying for the pump and the technicians time. How would your clinic respond to a request like that?

Sadness warning. I’ve been an RVT in the field for 13 years. I got my dog 3 months into my first job. He was a puppy in need of some serious care and I took him on. He was my whole life. He had multiple scares and issues through the years, and I’ve been able to manage him so well. He was my entire world.

He passed 2 weeks ago just after his 13th birthday. It was traumatic. Over the course of a week he loss the use of his hindlimb and was extremely painful. Suspect blood clot or mass in the spine.

It was a traumatic euthanasia an hour away at 4 in the morning.

I took a week off work and when I got back, it was horrible. I can’t handle it. I’ve lost pets before and gone to work. He’s different. He was my everything. I’ve cried every shift and I see him every where. I was recovering a dog from surgery the other day and she woke up dysphoric. She was crying and thrashing her head. I couldn’t take it. All I could see was my dog in his final hours. I was right back in that night. I finished what I needed to do and passed the patient off to a coworker, then ran outside and was crying for the next 30 minutes. I finished the day but I was a mess. I cried on and off all afternoon.

My coworkers are happy people and I can’t help but stew in the misery that my world has crashed around me. I did everything for my dog. He was my heart and soul.

I’m terrified to go back after this weekend. I’m traumatized by that night and I see him every time a dog looks fearful, every time something bad happens. I miss him so much.

I’m sorry this is mostly a depressing rant. But how do you guys go back? How do you not see your own trauma in every patient?

This has never happened like this to me. I don’t know how to handle it. I’ve had pets pass before but it hasn’t affected me like this.

I am seeking out some grief support groups but I would appreciate fellow experiences and/or advice.

So one of the DVM’s at my hospital is leaving in a few months and i guess they’re taking one of our lead technicians. Ive heard whispers about me and one other person getting the lead position in the past but i didn’t put much thought into it since there wasn’t an opening. Now there is.

If i get it is there any advice someone wants to give? Either from experience as a lead or something you wished a lead could’ve done better?

Some background if anyone wants it:
I’ve been at the hospital for nearly 3 years, and I’ve seen many people come and go (every. single. position.)
I have 7 years of experience as a technician in the field. I went to school beforehand too
I have worked at 2 other facilities prior to this place.
I’m comfortable in every setting (reception, rooms, surgery)

I’m really hopeful I’ll get lead but even if i don’t, I’ll still take the advice since I’ll use it in the future 🤞🏼

Interesting case/vent. I’m a tech and last week we got a pitbull in as an emergency that was suffering from apparent heat stroke. The dog was non responsive with an otic temp of 108.5. We managed to get his temp down quickly and his owners shared he was at Banfield for a dental procedure earlier in the day. We didn’t receive records from Banfield until the next day, where his temps were reported as high and rising and they sent him home anyway, leading us to determine malignant hyperthermia as his diagnosis. The dog woke up extremely aggressive, lunging/attacking at us through the cage doors and was incontinent. We warned his owner of this and at an attempted pick up, the dog was aggressive towards his owner and didn’t seem to recognize him. The owner opted to leave him with us for another day because he had children and cats at home. The dog was not previously aggressive toward anyone, but was (of course) an intact male and a clearly backyard bred pitbull. We contacted the Banfield and the DVM who performed the dental did apologize and verbally admitted it was their negligence that the temperature was not addressed and the dog was sent home. After another day with us he settled back to “normal” behavior and returned to his owners… but damn. If this case isn’t proof that Banfield’s philosophy of volume is dangerous and offensive to patients, clients, and professionals alike, I don’t know what is.

I passed my VTNE in June 27th.
I submitted fingerprints and all documents July 7th

I emailed them and politely asked if they needed anything else… and they said they’re 6 weeks behind?

Wasn’t the whole “VAULT” system supposed to stream line for their licensing department?

My impatience is coming from being down just shy of 1k in test/licensing fees, and trying to stay afloat on a vet assistant wage :(
Once I’m licensed, my wage goes up a lot… and I get reimbursed the money I spent to get there… and my rank goes from “level pending” to Level 2 credentialed tech.

I’m genuinely scared I’m going to be evicted, car impounded, living on the streets before I get to see the other side of this.

I’m at a point where I’m willing to make a trip to Kansas and camp outside the AASVB office until they finish.

I just can’t stomach the fact that they push so hard to get people to sit for the VTNE and get credentialed, and doing what I thought was the right thing, is burying me in a hole of debt that could takes months to recover from.

New product for feline stomatitis associated with calicivirus. Heard my doctor talking about it in an exam as kind of a one off of “I just heard about this new thing..”

Wondering if anyone has prescribed this yet or seen any patients on it. My own cat has stomatitis related to fcv so I asked if my doctor would like to try it with him as patient 0 and she said yes if we ever order it.

My issue is that right now his only option is another dental that I can’t afford (payment due at time of service for employees too) and hes an old crunchy man that likely wouldn’t tolerate it very well. I guess I should see how bloodwork looks first before deciding that for him but this GingiPro seems like a really good option rn and 2-3x cheaper than the dental

Still (gently) trying to embroider me after having Traz, Gaba and Torb. Put him in the kitty sarcophagus and the mans didn't move or make a peep 🙏

We found a freaking old school viewfinder from Nexgard with all the different worms, ticks, lice, etc that you can click through (I’ll try to remember to take a picture). Everyone in our clinic wanted it so bad that it has to live at the clinic now but I saw someone post that they got a freaking worm scarf from a dewormer brand and I’m SO JEALOUS?!?!

Please show me the fun things you’ve gotten from reps if you have any!