It's Okay, I'm A Vet Tech

I remember throughout my entire experience I lost count of how many times I said, "I'm a vet tech." Looking back I see myself as a dork, but at the time all I wanted to do was let the nurses/doctors know that I knew exactly what they were talking about and they could speak their regular jargon and stop asking, "Do you understand?" Of course they had no idea of what I do on a daily basis...so anytime I said, "I'm a vet tech." I also had to explain what I do. Actually, I don’t think most people know what I do or what my profession entails. I don’t just put a client in an exam room and get a history. True, I do that, but not just that. I’m not just a nurse to animals, but a radiology technician, dental hygienist, phlebotomist, lab technician, anesthesiologist, surgical nurse, and then some, all in one person. I remember seeing the looks on their faces after I said that. I'm still not sure if they were surprised or they just thought I was making it up.

On a side note, this was my first major medical experience while being a tech. It definitely changed my perspective on the whole experience. I am also surprised to say that although I respect all individuals in the health care field for what they do, I found that they are so limited in their knowledge outside of their specific field. I'm not saying they're stupid by any means...that's far from the truth. They know what they're doing. But, for instance, the nurse didn't know what tubes were used for what lab test until the phlebotomist came in and collected more blood and explained. Not to toot my own horn but I do all of those things, know how to do them, why I do them, all on multiple species while getting bit, scratched, and kicked…..and at a fraction of the income of just one of those professions. Ha! Sad, but I remind myself that I don't do it for the money.