Animal Jobs: Vet Tech

This week, Petside is celebrating National Veterinary Technician week, a period of time dedicated to the appreciation of vet techs. Yet, more often than not, we seem not to know what a vet tech actually does, and what their role in the scheme of vet care (and animal jobs) professionals is. We trust them with the care of our beloved animals, but who exactly are these people that assist our vets?

According to the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA), a leading national professional society of the field, vet techs are credentialed vet care specialists who are akin to nurses in the human hospital. They handle all different aspects of animal care, and more often than not have a specialization in some specific area. They are responsible for directly assisting veterinarians.

NAVTA states that "veterinary technicians are educated to be the veterinarian's nurse, laboratory technician, radiography technician, anesthetist, surgical nurse and client educator."

In short, while they seem to perform easily and greet us with a smile, they are always incredibly hard at work at this animal job, recalling amassed knowledge from a rigorous education to ensure our animals are taken care of to the best of their ability.

While the credentials differ from state to state, almost every state has some sort of testing requirement in order for a veterinary technician to become licensed.

Due to their education, vet techs can find jobs in a wide variety of areas, including working with zoo/wildlife medicine to even working in the military.

Truly, vets could not do their jobs without the assistance of veterinary technicians.