Veterinary Nurses or Veterinary Technicians?

Should veterinary technicians be called veterinary nurses? Stephen Cital, board member of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America on Steve Dale’s Pet World, says he votes for veterinary nurses.

Listen HERE as Cital describes the history of what vet techs do. I don’t believe most people know the extent.

Veterinary technicians assist in dentals like human hygienists; they’re the radiologists handling X-Rays; techs offer nutrition and behavior advice; they describe how to give medication to a pet who might not want it, and explain how to use products and when to use products such as heartworm preventives; conduct dog training classes; run lab tests; assist the veterinarian in handling animals; assisting in surgery including the administration and monitoring of anesthesia. And when hospitalized dogs need to go potty – guess who brings the plastic bag along for the walk? At end of life, technicians are there too.

You might think the average technician requires cloning to get it all done. Personally, call them nurses or call them technicians – doesn’t matter….what they do is incredible.

We also talk about changing roles of veterinary technicians or nurses in the future.