Op-Ed "Issues with LVT Recognition in the Veterinary Field"

Issues with LVT Recognition in the Veterinary Field

Submitted by Sarah Henderson, LVT, Cornell University

As someone who works on the frontlines of veterinary care as an emergency and critical care veterinary technologist, I have felt the impacts myself on what the perspective of human medical professionals has on our field of work. As human medicine refers to their support staff as nurses, they have earned a higher degree of respect in the eyes of the national community, whereas veterinary technicians are seen and respected at a lower degree. Not only is the opinion of vet techs compared to registered nurses lower, but there is also a significant difference in wages between these two professions. The hourly wage of a registered nurse is almost double to that of a licensed vet tech, even though the same amount of training and time is taken between both professional schools. Given this fact, it is no wonder that there are more vet techs every day leaving the field to pursue other career options as they are not receiving the recognition that they deserve for their training and education received. With the cost of living increasing at an alarming rate, vet techs who love their job and the patients they care for are still struggling to maintain a good quality of life with the salary they make today.

In addition to different wages, we vet techs undergo a multitude of training to be anesthetists, nurses, pharmacists, clinical technicians, neonatal care, and more, while nurses are solely trained for one specific department. Despite vet techs being trained to cover a larger scope of patient care and nursing as opposed to their human equivalents, human medical professionals are normally treated with a higher degree of respect. Vet techs work tirelessly to provide exceptional medical care, and yet we are subjected to the brunt of anger expressed by clients. While people normally expect higher medical bills for their own medical care, being expected to pay the same amount for an animal is seen as atrocious to them. But something people need to understand is almost everyone has health insurance, while not many pet owners are educated on the importance of pet insurance too. This also explains the gap in expenses that clients are paying, as they are uninsured and not educated on how to help pay for their pet’s expenses. As pets are coming into emergency and specialty hospitals without insurance, they do face a decline in their quality medical care as owners often decline diagnostics and treatments in order to best afford their animal’s care. This adds to the strain vet techs face when working in animal hospitals worldwide, as we pets leave the hospitals without the gold standard of care having been provided.

If a change is not made soon to recognize veterinary nurses with their training and education to match those of their human medical professional equivalents, there could be a devastating loss of those who continue to hold a passion for veterinary healthcare. As someone who has firsthand experience with the impacts of such disregard, and as someone who has had to take the brunt of someone's anger when working a stressful shift, I know that change is needed to improve the titles of recognition for the work we vet techs so tirelessly and compassionately provide. In addition to this national title protection, client education also needs to be extended so that the level of care we vet techs can provide to people’s furry loved ones can continue, rather than be turned down simply due to the fact of human ignorance and lack of education. I hope that in the next ten years there will be better recognition and pay for the work we veterinary professionals do, as well as a better respect for those in the animal healthcare field globally.