Vet Techs Face Burnout and Ethical Concerns
11 posts across 4 communities in the last 90 days; 36% from r/Veterinary.
“Yeah I think a big problem with the concept is “vet tech” can refer to someone who has education and licensure in their field or someone who has no education or licensure and was trained on the job to essentially take animal vitals. If they go through years of degree bearing…”
“I came across this post on Facebook from someone I am assuming is one of those vet tech influencers. In the video she is playing with a kid in an exam room...im just hoping it's a skit. This is just bizarre to me? Edit** I don't care if it's her kid, a client's kid, or anyone…”
“Frankly the clients don’t even bother me it’s just kinda a toxic field. I get that I work with a bunch of women and that’s kinda par for the course but I’m just burnt and bored.”
Multiple posts express concerns about the demanding nature of veterinary technician work, including dealing with difficult clients, ethical dilemmas (like advertising practices), and personal well-being. This highlights systemic issues within the profession.
SOURCES (14)
“Frankly the clients don’t even bother me it’s just kinda a toxic field. I get that I work with a bunch of women and that’s kinda par for the course but I’m just burnt and bored. submitted by /u/rockinrio17 [link] [comments]”
“I would like to get an idea of what the tech week gift, activities, etc that you have enjoyed the most and have made you feel most appreciated. We are a rural mostly small animal vet with 3 DVMs and 16 support staff (techs, assistants, kennel, CSR). Our practice manager usually handles tech week but I am taking over this year to take some pressure off and allow her to enjoy the week as well. It’s been a rough year and my staff has maintained the best attitude and I’m so grateful. So far my plans”
“Hello! Im a 18yo F Vet Tech/Assistant and I've been at a small animal private practice clinic for a year and a month now. This was my first veterinary experience, and I've learned a lot. So much so, that I even landed myself a vet tech job at another clinic on the days I don't work at this one. My main clinic is a very close knit one, we will go to the bosses house for pool parties and do semi frequent employee outings/gatherings. I have a great relationship with almost all the peopl”
“Hello! Im a 18yo F Vet Tech/Assistant and I've been at a small animal private practice clinic for a year and a month now. This was my first veterinary experience, and I've learned a lot. So much so, that I even landed myself a vet tech job at another clinic on the days I don't work at this one. My main clinic is a very close knit one, we will go to the bosses house for pool parties and do semi frequent employee outings/gatherings. I have a great relationship with almost all the peopl”
“Yeah I think a big problem with the concept is “vet tech” can refer to someone who has education and licensure in their field or someone who has no education or licensure and was trained on the job to essentially take animal vitals. If they go through years of degree bearing education and take board exams and do continuing education etc. then sure I don’t care if you want to be called a “veterinary nurse”, but the ones without training or licensure should be called vet techs the same way patient”
“Ive been a licensed vet tech for a few years now and have become completely burnt out. Ive realized the clinic im at provides VERY LITTLE benefits and the physical, mental, emotional demand of the job is not worth it. Looking for suggestions on alternate jobs, maybe working for idexx/antech, remotely or maybe a pharmaceutical company like zoetis/elanco/etc…. just seeing if anyone had insight on how to get my foot in the door with these and what job positions to look out for. TIA ❤️ submitt”
“I’m currently a vet tech, but it doesn’t pay very well unfortunately. I’m the oldest in my family and realizing that I’ll be responsible for taking care of my mom and family once she ages. I could never do that on the money I make and there’s not a ton of upwards mobility in vet med. I’m nearly 30, I’ve always been in vet med. what other career path could I switch to? Thank you submitted by /u/Screamingdeadphoenix [link] [comments]”
“Hello everyone. My wife owns a single doctor practice and has never had a real technician full time. She has to draw her own blood on every animal and many other things that her employees should be able to do. On top of that she can't get reliable help, even unskilled. She is at the end of her rope. I am reaching out to see if there are any websites that Vets can use to search Techs that are looking for relief work? Thank you! submitted by /u/ExtraLargeToeSox [link] [commen”
“sure this isn’t surprising to hear anymore, but i’m struggling to figure out what to do. i’ve been a vet tech for almost 9.5 years, at the same GP the entire time. to add, i live in new jersey, and i am not certified but i do have my degree. we went corporate around 4 years ago and it’s slowly gotten worse and worse. our corporation has a lot of unrealistic expectations since these are people with business degrees with zero knowledge on veterinary medicine, trying to run an animal hospital, part”
“25F, quit my vetmed job of 6 years 2 months ago. i simply couldn’t handle being overworked, underpaid, and under appreciated. i’ve decided that i do not want to stay in vetmed at all. trust, i’ve applied to other places but they all have the same issues. this was a life long dream of mine, well to be a veterinarian but my experience in the field has been a huge disappointment. i really have no idea what to do with myself. i’m considering a number of things but i over analyze and turn myself away”
“I came across this post on Facebook from someone I am assuming is one of those vet tech influencers. In the video she is playing with a kid in an exam room...im just hoping it's a skit. This is just bizarre to me? Edit** I don't care if it's her kid, a client's kid, or anyone else's. If you're making money on social media and using children in your content, I think it's weird and honestly pretty gross. There are plenty of ways to create engaging and relatable content”
“25F, tech of 2 years coming up next month. Just interested to know what others’ opinions are on this, because it’s commonly asked to me and is a complex question. So for me, I would say in some ways yes, in others, no. I do think that there can be a lot of joy and fun found in this job, but I do think it’s a special type of person who is able to make this a long term career no matter how much they love animals. Because even for me, I know in my heart that vet med is not a forever career or field”