Sponsored by Banfield Pet Hospital
Behind every Batman is a Robin. Behind Clark Kent is Lois Lane. The same goes for veterinary medicine.
Behind every great veterinarian is a certified veterinary technician (CVT) and veterinary assistant. Additionally, although CVTs and veterinary assistants have different responsibilities, it is important to collaborate with veterinarians to provide quality and compassionate patient care. Most importantly, you’ll be able to work on a variety of over 200 clinical and non-clinical tasks, allowing you to share the workload and reduce burnout for your team.
It is no secret that there is a chronic shortage of CVT and veterinary assistants, and that many are leaving the profession due to concerns about lack of career development, empowerment, and compensation. 1,2 According to a study commissioned by Mars Veterinary Health, it will take more than 30 years of graduates to meet the industry’s 10-year need for CrVT. 3
This grim outlook fueled my desire to become part of the VCA Veterinary Hospital team and design programs that support these unsung heroes. Through this provocation, we fulfilled the purpose of the program, namely to create a clear career path for sustainable professional development at VCA, and to support CVT and other professionals who felt underrepresented within the veterinary profession. We were able to align this with the objective of retaining veterinary assistants.
cultural change
My role is not very common in the veterinary world, so I often have to explain to others what exactly a Regional Chief Engineer does. My standard response is that I am responsible for improving the teaching, leadership, and medical skills of CVTs and veterinary assistants. My unique career journey was made possible by VCA. VCA’s commitment to investing in its people is evidenced by the creation of roles like mine and supported by others who recognize the importance of a patient care perspective in leadership roles. As a result, I developed a passion for CVT and veterinary assistant career development.
As a former veterinary assistant and CVT, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to grow professionally and have mentors who guided and encouraged me in my first supervisory job. However, my professional path has not been without its challenges.
It wasn’t easy, but I loved and respected the path it took to get to where I am today. If you wanted a CVT to advance, that was the way to do it. The veterinarians I worked with did not have a CVT perspective, so professional development required a lot of self-directed learning. When upward mobility is limited, knowledge becomes power and competition can inhibit learning opportunities and collaboration. Not everyone can endure my career path.
Thankfully, that culture has changed significantly in recent years. It’s an exciting time to work in the field of patient care, as veterinary technicians are increasingly allowed and empowered to practice at the highest level of licensure and advance within the profession. The situation will get even better.
As part of VCA’s interdisciplinary team, I helped develop a career advancement program. 4 At its core, the program formally assesses the skills of approximately 14,000 CVTs and veterinary assistants while advancing their knowledge and skills through career development. The program helps employees shape transparent career trajectories by assigning career levels based on key responsibilities, knowledge, and tactile and critical thinking skills. This is huge for our profession.
Although many factors come into play, advancement opportunities and better pay have been found to be the main reasons why CVTs and veterinary assistants leave the profession. Our Career Advancement Program creates a supportive and collaborative environment where CVTs and Veterinary Assistants can grow and flourish beyond their clinical roles. This program is not a cookie-cutter approach with narrowly defined roles at each level. Career paths are different for everyone based on their interests and goals. The program is also already opening the door to new ways to support veterinary medicine.
It is extremely valuable for patient care professionals to share their perspectives and expertise as part of the leadership team, and these roles are becoming increasingly common. For example, within VCA’s North Atlantic Group, a senior vice president of hospital operations and three regional operations directors began their careers as CVTs or veterinary assistants.
teach professional skills
Patient care is more than just a job. It’s a career. CVTs and veterinary assistants work with veterinarians as part of a team, and each has unique responsibilities when it comes to providing care. The only way we can meet the growing demand for care is to ensure that CVTs work at the highest level of license and veterinary assistants at the highest level of skill. This also includes professional skills in teaching.
Through my involvement with the Association of Veterinary Technician Educators, I have had the pleasure of speaking with and presenting to many program directors at universities with veterinary technician programs. One thing I always stress is the importance of making interpersonal skills part of the curriculum.
Developing and growing these skills, including leadership skills, clinical communication, and emotional intelligence, will benefit anyone in a patient care position, regardless of their desire to grow into a leadership role. For example, all CVTs and veterinary assistants are required to have good communication within their team and with clients, but few technician programs offer this training. The good news is that these skills can be taught and developed in the field through mentorship programs, in-house training, and classes and seminars offered within and outside the veterinary industry.
We are excited to provide a much-needed solution for CVTs and veterinary assistants. We look forward to seeing how this profession evolves as we create sustainable career paths for these important roles. Our patient care teams are the largest subset of our veterinary workforce and critical partners in patient care, so investing in them will improve patient care in our hospitals now and in the future. .
References
Please stop. A challenge to veterinarians to improve employee retention rates. American Animal Hospital Association. 2024. Accessed September 11, 2024. https://24051120.fs1. Hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/24051120/Stay_Please_ AAHA_Retention_Study_2024_02182024.pdfLederhouse C. Research: Fair pay, job appreciation are the biggest drivers of employee retention. American Veterinary Medical Association. March 4, 2024. Updated May 2, 2024. Accessed September 11, 2024. https://www.avma.org/news/study-fair-pay-appreciation-work-top-factors-employee-retention#:~: text=The%20 Average%20annual%20turnover%20rate,AAHA)%2C %20 thought%20AVMA%20News.Tackling the shortage of veterinarian specialists. MARS Veterinary Health. August 2023. Accessed September 11, 2024. https://marsveterinary.com/ negotiation-the-veterinary-professional-shortage/VCA Animal Hospitals’ career advancement program empowers more than 14,000 qualified veterinary technicians and veterinary assistants. News release. VCA Animal Hospital. October 20, 2023. Accessed September 11, 2024. https://vcahospitals.com/press-center/vca-news/career-progression-program
