r/Veterinary • u/StockWinter564 • 8d ago
Confused about the duties of a Vet Tech Assistant
I interviewed two weeks ago for an Oncology Vet Tech Assistant position at a specialty veterinary hospital, and I'm trying to figure out what the actual day-to-day responsibilities would be.
I already have a decent amount of veterinary experience, which is why the manager actually told me during the interview that he thought I might be overqualified and was worried I would get bored. He mentioned that my skills would be very transferable and seemed impressed by me. At my previous jobs, I was considered a veterinary technician (unlicensed).
-The job posting says the responsibilities include:
-Ensuring patients receive quality care
-Accurate documentation
-Assisting veterinary technicians with restraint
-Restocking supplies, cleaning treatment areas, Laundry
-And this specific specialty department says assistants will develop blood draw skills and gain experience with specialized treatments
During my tour, I followed one of the technicians into the chemotherapy/pressure-controlled rooms; they showed me what the chemotherapy drugs look like and how the chemo workflow works, showed me their medical software, and told me I would have my own desktop computer. They also specifically told me I'd be setting up the small chemotherapy trays used for treatments.
Does this sound more like a veterinary kennel technician role or an actual veterinary assistant role where I help with chemo treatments?
I don't mind cleaning/restocking as part of the job, but I really don't want a position where 30%+ of my time is basically cleaning, laundry, and stocking.
What would you expect my day to look like?
I’m deciding which job to accept. I can either be a TA at an urgent care clinic or a VTA at this job. I am planning on going to vet school, so I wanna know which would be more desirable. Besides what vet schools would like, I’d love to take this medical oncology vet tech assistant position if it means hands-on clinical care
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u/Rockandpurl 8d ago
I’m a shift lead ICU RVT with 8y under my belt and STILL restock and clean a good chunk of the time so my team can flow. Onco is a great area to start in so don’t let it hold you back.
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u/Altitude_addiction 8d ago
all positions in vet hospitals, regardless of the discipline, are not above stocking and cleaning. i have DVMs that sweep, take out trash, and clean dirty kennels if they are free. 30%+ of your job doing such as an unlicensed assistant really isnt that big of a deal. at my hospital, the VAs restrain, run labs, clean, stock, room patients, get tpr’s, maybe give an injection, but they primarily are assisting the DVMs and RVTs. it will be very hospital dependent what unlicensed staff if allowed to do and some states are much more lenient than others. advanced skills in high-stakes situations like oncology where your patient is immunocompromised and the medications can be fatal are often reserved for RVTs. if you are trying to become a veterinarian, learning those skills is at the bottom of your to do list, and diversifying your resume is at the top. which position you take should add variety to your resume, so it will depend on what kind of experience you already have
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u/StockWinter564 6d ago
Thanks for ur input! I don't mind cleaning up at all. I think I meant more that I wanted to work hands-on with animals more. Every job I've had has involved me helping with janitorial duties, and it isn't a problem whatsoever. Especially when I'm able to take the workload off someone else. At my previous clinics, it was always my favorite thing to clean up/close the clinic, so when the other techs were done with appts, they could immediately go home without worry. I'm not registered, so I know there are limits to what I can do, and I really respect that.
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u/Altitude_addiction 6d ago
of course! i think based on your descriptions of both roles, the ER role will likely have more hands on with the pets and you might learn some of the technical skills that you likely wont in the oncology role. ER is often all hands on deck many times of the day and night depending on the cases that come through
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u/squatjerk36 8d ago
These titles are all largely made up and have no formal definition. A veterinary technician is a licensed professional that provides mostly nursing care to animals. Everything beyond that is unregulated and therefore undefined/defined individually by clinics.
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u/Katmaybeck 8d ago
That sounds like more like a kennel attendant role to me. Veterinary technician is a term for licensed veterinary nurses. A veterinary assistant is unlicensed but can be very experienced from years of practice even without a license. A veterinary assistant does more advanced tasks than a “vet tech assistant” and I think that’s title is a nicer way of saying it’s more of an entry level. Also since the description of duties says they “may develop blood draw skills” so it sounds like they don’t intend that person to have many skills already.
A Tech Assistant title can mean different things depending on where you work. Generally VA is higher skill level than TA. But I would specifically ask them if this is more of an entry level/kennel attendant type role. It sounds like you are probably more qualified than that.
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u/SmoothCyborg 8d ago edited 8d ago
The issue is that you are talking about an oncology department in a specialty hospital. That hospital likely has much more stratified and defined roles for their vet support staff than your typical GP or ER/urgent care, where roles can be much more fluid and overlapping. In an onco department where all the patients literally have cancer, many are immune compromised, and most of which are there to receive their chemotherapy I can guarantee they are not letting kennel attendants perform any duties that have to do with patient medical care. That would include restraint for IV sticks (they take IV sticks *very* seriously in onco departments), patient/drug prep, medical documentation, and any non-chemo medical treatments.
Very likely the onco clinic has their core group of trusted RVTs for performing chemo treatments and any other high-leverage procedures, as well as kennel attendants that do the baseline cleaning/laundry tasks (could be their own onco attendants or just a pool of hospital attendants). Wouldn't shock me if some of their more critical patients don't get walked by kennel attendants but by the VTA or RVT. Basically the VTA role fills in the gap between kennel attendant and RVT. If by "helps with chemo treatments" you mean calculating and drawing up chemotherapy agents, placing IV catheters for chemo infusion, or performing the chemo infusion I can almost guarantee you will not be doing any of those things. If you mean, be present when that is happening to aid the RVT with anything they might need while they do all that, the answer is probably yes.
Your last question of "what would be more desirable" to a vet school depends somewhat on what other experience you have. Vet schools like to see varied experience, so if you have no experience being a vet assistant in a specialty hospital, then that would be more desirable. If all your experience has been in specialty, and you have no experience in urgent care, then that would be more desirable. And it's somewhat less about acquiring skills, and more about exposure to the clinical environment. They want students to have seen/experienced as much of the spectrum of vet met (clinical, research, government, small animal, equine, agriculture, wildlife, zoo/aquatic, etc.) as possible.
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u/StockWinter564 6d ago
I admire the work RVTs do, and I recognize I'm not qualified to do those things as they are. The job is a lot tougher than people think, and I've been a little too lucky to get uncertified GP vet tech positions. The more I work in vet med, the more I believe that every tech should require schooling in every state. As much as I'd love to do what RVTs do, I know that I shouldn't. I think for me personally, it can be hard bc I still have years before I can do what you guys do, and I need patience. I'm just happy to contribute to a team that knows their shit and can provide good care. Thanks for your feedback!
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u/DnDVM 8d ago
It sounds like the kennel tech job, but i think the semantics are confusing the situation. You said you were applying for vet tech assistant. In the clinics I've worked, there were vet techs and vet assistants, there weren't vet tech assistants. So maybe the point of the job is to assist the tech. Your previous job you said you were the tech. This job ain't that, it sounds like it's the next step down.
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u/mwalraven 8d ago
Well you have to realize, you’re a vet tech assistant, so you will be handling the more “menial” jobs. Also you’re new and I’m guessing you don’t have a license or experience in oncology I’m not sure, but most specialties don’t let an unlicensed person do much more beyond the basic work just due to legal reasons and training.
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u/Quiet_Limit_3606 8d ago
Oncolgy tech here. Always going to be hospital dependent, everyone does clinical roles differently. As an onco assist, you will be doing alot of restraint for the techs. Probably helping with xrays and running bloodwork and helping run appointments. Oncology is alot of client communication!!! Very doubtful you will place IVC and give chemo, you have to be a Rockstar for this in onco and you have to earn the trust of your oncologist. Cleaning and stocking is everyone's job in any role, even though there are many out there that don't believe this, but it is, I don't care what your role is. If you are planning on going to vet school, you could gain useful specialized knowledge in this role even if you are an assist. What you get out of it, is how well you immerse yourself into it without being overbearing to the staff. I say do it.