Thought the vetmed community would appreciate my new ink!! Along with tech-ing I also collect specimen oddities, it’s just perfect 🥰

He’s just a little guy!

Hi! Small animal VA here at an ER. I’m wondering what the Segway is to potentially moving to exotics, and moving to zoo med or aquarium med! Any insight or personal experiences I’d love to hear about.

I have tried to take the VTNE 3 times and i have failed every time. I have tried vettechprep multiple time. The vet tech review books. And multiple websites. The last time i went to sit for the VTNE in September, i had never been more confident. I failed, i think the way they word questions and how my brain works just dont mix. Im not very good with nuance. Or questions that could have multiple right answers, including questions like "most effective" and a list of the same meds. Questions that feel aubjective throw me for a loop. So i decided to not take it again. My question, do i still have value to a clinic if i have my degree but not passed the VTNE?

New to emergency…

I’m still not completely comfortable doing things on my own after a few shifts. I swear learning the software is half the battle :/…

Anyways, I’ll triage but even that can be scary to me sometimes. Did I get the right heart rate? Was I accurately counting respirations? Are you breathing weird? Are you gonna rip my face off if I stick a thermometer in your bum? 😅 l’m completely fine with the actual categorizing of the presenting complaint because my book knowledge is far better than my hands on skills.

I’m certainly not comfortable taking on cases on my own yet because my skills aren’t there. Is it better to advocate that I’m not comfortable doing things on my own if they ask me to or should I step out of my comfort zone and do it, but ask for help a lot from others on the things I’m unsure of? I don’t want to hinder staff and I can’t figure out what’s more frustrating for them. Not taking cases or taking them but asking for help a lot.I obviously want to keep learning( I love shadowing on cases and helping the person I’m with while sharpening my skills)…but shadowing means one less person to take on cases.

Just wondering from a seasoned ER techs perspective…what do you expect of a baby tech in the ER? What’s helpful to you?

Hi, I just graduated in June and just passed the VTNE and became registered last week. I've been having alot of anxiety around working in a clinic. I had my externship from April to June and I had the option to stay and work there after graduation, but while it mostly went well i was feeling absolutely exhausted by the end of the 6 weeks so I chose to take a break and study for the VTNE in the summer (also had a commute of 1 hour 45 minutes each way by bus which was painful). I felt like working full time while working and learning in a past paced environment while dealing alot with the public and having a long commute was draining me. When I finished I felt like I could try again part time in a closer clinic, in the local shelter, or in a lab. I applied to the shelter during the summer but didnt hear back. During the summer and especially the last month, I've been feeling like I can't go back to a clinic environment since I felt like alot of the time during my externship I was powered by anxiety and adrenaline. I feel like I can't handle such an important and serious job with lots of responsibilities like a vet tech (even tho all the techs at my externship were surprised at my confidence level and skill in many things but i feel like this is due to adrenaline pushing me and not overthinking actions). I feel like I've been spiraling and feeling like I don't want to be a vet tech anymore and that I shouldnt have gone to school. I've even applied to a few pet store jobs (havent heard back). But in the last few days I started wondering if what I'm feeling imposter syndrome and im being avoidant and sheltering myself too much. I've started emailing some clinics in the last couple days asking if they're hiring for part time and if they would have a more surgery focused role (so that im not in appointments as much, and im remembering now that i actually enjoyed doing all the surgery prep and cool tech skills at my externship).

Im wondering what a new clinic might expect of me? im hoping that they wont suddenly dump alot of tasks on to me, but they might since theyre paying me and want me to work. I liked how at my externship there was always someone watching me do stuff but Im not sure if thats how it would go for an actual new tech job.

i feel like this is common for many new techs but i would appreciate hearing other peoples experience and maybe words of encouragement 😭 thank you