Smart Flow Blog

If you follow this blog, you know that I was a general practice technician for 9 years before joining Smart Flow.  While I love my new work outside of the clinic, I must admit it was a bit of a struggle at first.  I moved to a new city after I transitioned from clinic work, and as I stood at the reception desk of the local vet clinic waiting to pay for my cat food and it hit me: I was officially a client.  And let me tell you, life seemed a whole lot different from the other side of the counter.

In veterinary medicine, patient restraint can be one of the more challenging areas to master. Here are some tips to make your life easier and the patient's visit less stressful!

It's a little ironic that I chose this topic to share with you all, because as anyone who knows me would tell you, I've always been planted firmly on the academic side of the science vs sports scale.

That being said, I do think there are some good lessons to be learned from sports when it comes to vet med, and pointing them out is my main goal (okay, go ahead and groan). Here are 7 things sports can teach us about veterinary medicine.

“Everybody starts somewhere.”  We’ve all heard it, but how often does it actually sink in?  It seems the longer you’re in a career, the the easier it is to forget how it is to be a newbie.  Many people view it as a negative to have a new grad in their practice.  Personally, I think new grads are grossly underrated.

Getting into the veterinary field as a technician isn't an easy feat. Between the competitive entry into the program, challenging courses, and practical exams, the schooling alone is demanding. Despite this fact, thousands of brave souls enter into this career because of one thing: a genuine passion for animals.

The sad part about this? The majority of these people do not stay in the field past the seven-year mark. In the end, that passion for animals and time, money, and effort spent on earning the diploma are not enough. Here are some reasons we believe contribute to technicians leaving the veterinary world behind.

When people picture life in a vet clinic, we all know what comes to mind.  Happy puppies bouncing around in one pristine exam room while playful kittens chase a toy on a string in another. And some (very rare, very precious) days, this is true. But guys, the truth is, veterinary medicine is HARD. 

Question for you: do you get a regular lunch break every day?  Did you just actually LOL?  It’s more common than not to hear our veterinary colleagues say they do not get a chance to take a break for lunch (or even to use the bathroom) on a daily basis. 

The reactions I commonly experienced when I told someone that I worked veterinary overnight shifts ranged from horror to pity.  Most people can't fathom sleeping during the day, and being awake at night. The thing is, the saying that you really don't know what it's like until you experience it, rings very true in this case.

Here are some of the top ways that I was able to stay sane, focused, and make it to sunrise! 

A high school student recently told me that she was thinking about becoming a vet tech and she asked me what I thought of the choice. I found myself surprisingly tongue tied and I didn't know why. Part of me wanted to say "That's fantastic, welcome to the club!". The other part of me wanted to talk her out of it.

Don't get me wrong, I love my job. I love it for so many reasons, most of which are intangible. After almost a decade in vet med, I often look back wistfully at my early days in this career and think about what I would tell that new tech fresh out of school. It hasn't been an easy road. We all know the path this career takes is an emotional, under-paid, and often challenging one. Knowing what I know about the industry now, what would I say to someone wanting to be a vet tech?