I recently started my first job as a new LVT last week at the same job I’ve been an assistant at and this week has been god awful. We had two call outs on Monday and there was so much pressure on me to have everything run smoothly, and I was training a brand new tech as well. On Tuesday, we had another call out but even with more people available for help, I never got a lunch break and I still had to stay an hour behind to catch up. Then yesterday, I was so rushed to finish treatments that I gave a patient expired propofol (there was no system in place to separate expired from non-expired), I broke a piece of equipment (granted, it was a probably 20 year old piece of wood), and my coworker had raised her voice at me. I had a mental breakdown in the restroom, and had to act like everything was fine. I was even crying while doing treatments. I have never felt like this in my life and I’m considering looking for other job options. How do I get over this feeling?

I am getting close to graduating and taking my VTNE! I've been an OTJ assistant for 6 years. I am currently also in leadership at my clinic, have a Bachelor's in business, and will hopefully become an LVT soon. I am currently salary at $52k per year, which comes out to about $25 an hour. I work for a small animal, privately owned practice that owns three clinics in the area. There are currently zero licensed techs in the entire company. I believe I bring a lot of value to this company, and I will be able to bring even more as an LVT. By the time I graduate, I will have been at my company for 2 years.

So, how much of a raise should I ask for? I already know my Bachelor's degree gives me an advantage, and now as the only LVT, I want to ensure I am properly compensated for my education, licenses, experience, and hard work. I would love to stay and continue growing with my current company, but I am also prepared to look elsewhere if they are not willing to provide the compensation I'm looking for. Is $60-65k a lot to ask for? I live in the suburbs of a large city in the south. I'm also single and live alone and struggling with rent. I've also considered exploring alternative areas of vet med such as teaching, pharmaceutical companies, pet insurance, etc. I would appreciate any guidance you all may have!

I'm honestly shocked! I'm still waiting to hear what my actual mark is, but I got the green pass text after I submitted:)

Oh my God I was so nervous throughout the whole thing. I definitely should've studied more, and I got a LOT of large animal questions. BUT... I'm actually really glad I waited to take it until I was in the field for a year (I've been in ER). My worst subject in school - pharmacology - got WAY easier after I worked with the drugs for a while.

I used VetTechPrep and thought it was pretty good. I'd definitely say the mock exams had very similar questions to what the actual test had. I also bought the two hardest real 'mock exams' from the AAVSB, which I swear actually had a couple of the same questions that I saw on my test.

If I could go back though and study again, I would...

- Focus on the broader knowledge of each subject and then narrow in only on the parts that techs specifically need to know the most (rather than try to learn literally everything and overwhelming myself)

- Study generic names of meds, even if we don't use them at my practice (in Ontario)

- Focus mainly on horses and cows for large animal instead of also pigs, sheep/goats, llamas... Not that those animals aren't important, but again I found the nicher an animal species got (like alpacas), the less likely it was I would get a question on it. Especially a hard one.

- Less general anatomy studying of all animals, more "what does this thing/drug/tool do and why" - with the exception of the unique physical aspects of different species

- Less panicking over every single parasite that farm animals can get, lol

- Study the legal/management side of veterinary practices more (how long are different records kept for, who's legally responsible...)

Honestly in general I think I focused my studying too much on tiny details. The actual exam didn't go THAT in depth into anything, and if it did it was only for a couple questions. I believe if I just chilled while studying and only focused on what a tech in each field SHOULD know, then I would've done a bit better. And for some reason I thought there would be trick questions, but all of them were really simple/straightforwards.

Like, if I didn't panic over trying to learn everything about all farm animals in one month, I would've actually done better for the farm animal stuff. I ended up forgetting a lot of the basic stuff while remembering only hyper-niche things that the test never even asked about. Which obviously is still good to know, but I think I could've used that time a lot better.

That being said, maybe my test was just more generalized. I know it's random for everyone. Perhaps someone out there got a test with a ton of really, really oddly specific pig questions lol.

I also didn't get many exotics questions which was kind of sad, since I like those. I also wished I had more lab/cytology questions.

The math was the best part since it was stuff I do daily at work and it'll always have a straightforwards answer that you can't overthink.

Speaking of, don't overthink questions and change your answers right at the very end. I regret most of those.

I don't think I did the BEST ultimately but I passed, which was an insane relief. I literally left the testing center and then had to sit down because I suddenly felt immensely lightheaded, lol. ...I also crammed studied for like 5 days before the test, and probably didn't sleep enough. Don't be like me.

Anyways I'm just sharing because I feel only other techs get how big of a deal this is! I'm so glad to be in this field even when it's really hard. I'm hyped to soon be able to proudly call myself an RVT!

I am currently working full time while doing my vet tech program online, just starting my last year of schooling. I have worked at my clinic for 3 years now. I started out as a vet assistant, but got moved to reception full time when we hired an adequate number of RVTs. In April, during vet receptionists week, I was told that I was classified as a tech and so I didn’t get an appreciation gift. That’s totally fine with me! I was excited that I was “climbing the ladder”, so to speak. Today, the RVTs got their appreciation gifts. I did not get one. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really hoping for a gift, but I was looking for some recognition. Should I bring this up to the manager? Or just suck it up and wait until I’m credentialed? Do other clinics include RVT students in their celebrations?

Guys I’m so depressed about this. I have 5 years of experience, graduated in 2024, certified in April of this year. Yes I have some weak points but I think I’m good at my job.

Yet I have been ghosted by the first clinic I applied to, turned down by the second, third closed its hiring process because not enough appointments, and even Banfield turned me down. BANFIELD WTF? I just want to get paid $20 an hour goddamnit, currently making barely over min wage ($17/hr) at my current clinic. WTH is going on?

I just graduated tech school in February and passed my VTNE in April. I work for a corporate company that owns a lot of clinics.this summer I worked full time at my two main clinics. I was covering vacations so when summer came to an end , there wasn’t as many shifts for me. So now I have been working at other clinics the company owns when they’re short a tech.

I feel like the most stupid useless employee ever. Every time I go to a new clinic to work I can feel the disappointment from the other workers. (My manager always tells the other clinic managers of how new I am but a lot of the times it’s not communicated to the clinic staff). I just feel like a burden and more of hinderance than help. When I admit or discharge I talk like I’ve never met another human in my life. It takes me forever to prep for surgery. I can’t do dental x rays as I have never done them before and was never taught how. It takes me usually multiple times to get a blood sample or place catheters. I make such stupid mistakes like turning off the iso but not the oxygen and leave the oxygen running for hours before realizing. I try to make up by cleaning a ton and doing jobs no one else wants to do but it doesn’t feel like enough. I just feel so incompetent and like I can’t do anything right.

I’m a student and have been pretty successful in hitting back legs on both dogs and cats. However, I can only seem to hit jugs when it’s a big dog. If it’s a smaller dog or a cat I can never get it, even if I can visualize/palpate the vein pretty well.

Does anyone have any tips or methods that helped them get better?

I'm itching to take it as a fresh grad but I don't think I'm fully confident in passing my first time- I know a lot of people don't pass on their first I just get in my head about the cost of the test. 💥

How the heck do you remember all of the drugs names, generic names, what they do, side effects, all that?! They all sound the same to my ADD brain, and to boot, the class is 5 weeks twice a week. It’s not feasible to learn all those drugs in that short of time. I do all the flash cards, group them by heart, gut, etc, but please, any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Who here is joining Purdue distance learning Vet tech program in spring 2027? Where are you from?

I’m still waiting on my acceptance, but I should get accepted and will be starting spring 2027! I wonder if anyone would be interested in starting a study group online? 🥹

Despite my manager telling a rep that we have a gluten sensitive tech (me) and a vegan tech. They still bought full gluten sandwiches, but did pick a vegan based sandwich. Like not even a salad 😭

And today we just got an array of full gluten donuts.

SIGH

How's all the other dietary sensitive/restricted techs doin out there 🥲

If a patient has a peripheral IV catheter, do you:

• draw a blood sample from the IVC after drawing a sufficient waste sample?

• do a new, direct stick using a different vessel?

I encountered a vet implying that a PCV is inaccurate if drawn from the IVC (no hemolysis), yet other vets preferred drawing from the IVC if possible. Personally I prefer to poke less if possible both for patient comfort and to save the other veins for future catheterization if needed. But if it truly affects lab results, when the sample is easily collected with no hemolysis, then I'd like to know.

Any supporting studies are very appreciated!

Edit: I realize I should've specified that I'm asking only about the effect on lab results, not about patency of the catheter. I wouldn't be pulling from a peripheral IVC if it didn't aspirate easily as I'm well aware of the potential to compromise the IVC.

Also edit for spelling. This is what I get for posting right before going to sleep.

TLDR: what do you dislike about being a tech, other than the low pay?

I am seriously considering going to school to become a vet tech. To preface, I am an adult who already went to college and has a degree, but I really am unhappy with what I do. My career is also getting phased out and replaced with generative AI :’(. Ive always loved animals and wanted to work with them, but when I was in high school I had really bad health problems and had to go with a white collar field. Now that it’s been almost a decade, my health isn’t an issue, and I can handle a physically demanding job (yay)!

I am aware that the pay is not a selling point to being a tech, neither is seeing animals in pain or euthanasias. I am not queasy whatsoever and have a really strong stomach. I don’t scare easily and don’t fear any animals. I’d like to know (other than the pay) what you guys dislike about being a tech? Ideally, id love to get into exotic veterinary care. I’m a reptile keeper and I’d love to take care of the “scary” pets!

Also if you have any PROS you’d like to add, please do! I’m trying to gauge if this is something I’d really enjoy doing.

Hello friends! Just wanted to pop in and say Happy Vet Tech Week! You all play a crucial role in providing lifesaving medical care for thousands of animals. Thank you for all that you do ❤️

I've applied to every single clinic within an hour of me and haven't heard from any. It's been months. I have almost ten years of pet sitting experience with my side business and various food service/retail roles on my resume. Most job postings for vet assistants/kennel techs/receptionists require 3+ years of clinical experience and extensive medical knowledge, ability to do conversions, etc...

I am also doing the Penn Foster online vet tech program and have that in education on my resume. I've heard that program isn't taken seriously by clinics. Wondering if I should take it out.

Over the past year (since graduating and becoming an RVT), I've focusing most of my CE on geriatric topics and trying to gain as much experience as I can with 10+ kitties, as this is my area of interest. My clinic is very supportive, send us CE courses, I find a lot of (similar) articles online, and study common diseases occurring in older patients.
Two questions for the hive:
1 - does anyone know of/has attended conferences with a senior feline focus (I live in Canada but can accommodate travel to US/EU)
2 - what avenues in this area of study have others taken to learn or work in? For example, do you focus on chronic disease epidemiology, anesthesia, education, EOL, etc?

I have taken AAHA courses in palliative care and have considered becoming certified in EOL as well but for now, I'm enjoyingt he the epidemiology and client education.

Curious if other RVTs have focused on this and how you're living it.

Had a client today who said that she did not want RV if it was the mRNA vaccine. I had not heard of this before. She looked it up and said it’s Nobivac, which is what we use, but she then specified NXT. So I had to look it up. I was not aware of this vaccine and am not even sure if it’s available yet, but she said “it’s been killing dogs”. I really don’t want to ruin whatever algorithm exists in my Google search, so has anyone heard about this?

We have to turn this in to our boss (correct or incorrect) in order to get lunch tomorrow for VT Week. 🙄 I’m honestly not sure about the toes.

Tell me your favorite, most memorable tech week appreciation you have recieved over the years!

Hey guys,
I’m a vet tech graduated a few years ago
I inspire to take and pass my vtne
Was wondering for those of you who have already passed your vtne
What do you think would be more helpful ?
Studying on vet tech prep app by myself or hiring a tutor ?

You all are the backbone that keeps the place running! Thank you!

How did the vet burn my cat like this!? How is this possible?

About 2 weeks ago my cat, Ollie, had dental surgery at a surgical center to remove two infected teeth. A few days after 1 got him home and took him off his post surgery meds he started acting weird (lethargic and just over unhappy but not mean) I took him to my primary vet to check him out and she found what she thinks are burns all over her abdomen. She thinks they ate thermal burns from a heating device used to keep him warn during surgery and her guess is it malfunctioned.

Looking at his wounds I don't understand how that could have happened. I spoke to the surgical center and they said they use air heating pads to avoid this but if that's the case how did he get so badly burnt? Has anyone seen these types of injuries before? The shape/placement of them are so odd, a simple malfunctioning heating pad makes no sense. What do you think caused these?
Was this neglect or a genuine accident?

I included injury pics and a sketch of the placement of his burns.
They are about a quarter inch thick and wrap around his sides and abdomen in a U shape, they seen to vary between 3rd degree and 2nd degree. The surgical center said that they use air heating pads so no wire is involved.

To be clear I do not need medical advice, he's getting the treatment he needs, just need to know how this could have happened?!?

The pics: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nnj67E5nhy23xcXZSmRLER6BlH6Dq_o6