OCTOBER 15, 2017
It's National Veterinary Technician Week!
In the spirit of National Veterinary Technician week (Oct 15-Oct 21) it’s the perfect time to kick off our new Veterinarians Blog by celebrating our Veterinary Technicians. We want to help you to understand what it means to have a Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) taking care of your pet while visiting us here at Pikesville Animal Hospital.
Our veterinary nurses are very skilled, experienced members of the clinic and some of them have either gone the extra mile to achieve their RVT and/or are in the process of pursuing their certification while working with us every day.
What does it mean to be a registered veterinary technician? It means A LOT! Nurses that have achieved their RVT certification have gone through a 2 year degree program that is approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association – the same group that governs licensing of practicing veterinarians.
RVT’s have advanced training in several aspects of patient care. Below is a list of just some of the things that RVT’s are licensed and trained to do in our animal hospital.
· Observe and record an animal’s behavior and condition
· Provide superior nursing care to ill and/or surgery recovering patients
· Administer emergency first aid as needed to critically ill or injured animals
· Placing intravenous catheters, both peripheral and central lines.
· Assist in surgery, administer anesthesia, monitor vital signs including blood pressure, pulse oximetry, capnography, electrocardiography and patients anesthetic plane.
· Collect lab samples, including blood, urine, stool and cytology samples.
· Perform lab tests such as ear cytologies, urinalyses and blood counts
· Take diagnostic images with xray and aid in ultrasound procedures.
· Perform dental cleanings, polishing of teeth and assisting doctor in completing dental procedures.
· Administer medications, vaccines, and treatments prescribed by a veterinarian
· Communicate with animals’ owners in an informed and courteous manner.
If you will be by the clinic this week – please take a moment to thank a technician/nurse! They are a very special group of people that take your animals health very seriously because they have an appreciation for the relationships you share with your pets and are very skilled in helping us veterinarians to take care of them. We definitely couldn’t do our jobs without them!
Until next time!
Dr Covert
