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Welcome to the Veterinary Breakroom! In the breakroom, Beth Molleson, DVM, and Katie Berlin, DVM, discuss the important, relevant topics affecting veterinarians today. In this episode, Dr. Beth and Dr. Katie sit down to discuss the role of veterinary assistants amid veterinary staffing shortages. Tune in as they share their thoughts on whether veterinary assistants are being underutilized in the workplace and how their role may affect credentialed veterinary technicians.
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Episode Transcript
This podcast recording represents the opinions of Dr. Beth and Dr. Katie. Content, including the transcript, is presented for discussion purposes and should not be taken as medical advice. No guarantee is given regarding the accuracy of any statements or opinions made on the podcast. The transcript—which was prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence—is provided as a service to our audience.
Dr. Beth [00:00:10] Hi, I'm Dr. Beth Molleson.
Dr. Katie [00:00:12] And I'm Dr. Katie Berlin.
Dr. Beth [00:00:14] Thank you all for joining us in the Veterinary Breakroom. These are short conversations where we chat informally about relevant topics in vet med, and I'm very excited about today's topic because I don't think I realized that I felt passionately about it. But after stumbling on an article on VIN, it was a commentary article by Dr. Kate Lindley, and it was discussing how she utilizes veterinary assistants in her practice. And I know it seems like an ever increasing topic of conversation is the importance and the role of credentialed veterinary technicians and how critical they are in our profession and how they are a key component of addressing veterinary shortages right now. I feel like we talk a lot about that. And so I was really drawn to this conversation because I don't feel like we talk as commonly about veterinary assistants and what they mean in our practices and even more so what they can mean for the current climate of maybe not having enough help or not having enough vets, or just a surplus of patients and not enough time, which a lot of people are currently facing. And so her discussion was basically about how veterinary technicians absolutely are critical. But in her practice, she has utilized veterinary assistants. She's almost made like a structured program for them to try to delineate and define what role they can have in the hospital. So it's not an abstract role, but they're actually working within the parameters of what they're legally allowed to do to be trained and be up to snuff on everything that can be delegated to them does get delegated to them. And I will admit that while I was looking into this, I learned I feel like I should've known this, but I learned that there are actually programs, is it certificates, Katie, for veterinary assistants that you can have a certification as a veterinary assistant. So am I alone? Were you familiar with this, Katie?
Dr. Katie [00:02:22] You know, I was, but mainly because of my work at AAHA because we had a veterinary assistant program that was run co-run with AAHA, so I was familiar with it, but when I was in practice, I don't think I really knew about them or thought about them much because, you know, I feel like one of the big things about vet assistants is it's definitely not it's even less of a uniform population than than vet techs, you know. Veterinary so veterinary assistant can also encompass on the job trained veterinary technicians because in some states it's actually there's actually title protection for technicians where they need to be credentialed in order to be called veterinary technicians. And so technically in those states, anybody who is performing vet tech duties but isn't credentialed is a veterinary assistant. And so you can have on the job trained veterinary technicians by title in their practice. But technically, you know, depending on where they live, they are actually veterinary assistants. And then you can have veterinary assistants who are brand new, you know, high school kids who are getting their first job and, you know, cleaning kennels and sterilizing surgical packs and barely involved in patient care at all, who have had very little experience with animals in general and a lot of gray area in between. So veterinary assistant is a term that can encompass individuals with an extremely wide difference in background and education and, you know, motivation for taking that job. So that's one thing that makes it hard to talk about veterinary assistants as a population is because they they are also different. But that shouldn't stop us from having the conversation, in my opinion.
Dr. Beth [00:04:17] That's yes, that's a very, very good points, Katie, because it does certainly take us straight into that territory of how are we defining these populations? Are we representing the diversity, especially in the veterinary assistance that we find? And going back to the the assistant program, is it, is my understanding correct in that that kind of adds value to the candidate and that making them more hirable potentially maybe a higher starting salary, but beyond that, there's no added... What's the right word? No added roles are responsibilities that they're qualified for, different than somebody that maybe just walks into a vet clinic without prior experience. Is that your understanding?
Dr. Katie [00:05:08] Yeah, I mean, it is. I'm just thinking about the vast differences of duties that I've had even as a veterinary assistant. Like when we're talking about vet assistants in this conversation, I think we are talking about people who, you know, are not necessarily treating this as a stepping stone on the way to another career, which I think a lot of people who just sort of get a job as a vet assistant and don't look at it as something that's going to be long term. That's not really necessarily what this conversation is about.
Dr. Beth [00:05:44] And I would I would say too that, to me, that raises another question of the way Dr. Lindley approaches it in her clinic almost makes me think that part of the beauty in what she has done is make it so that people don't feel like it has to be a stepping stone. You know, I think I've been in many a clinic like like you, I started off in that there was that situation myself where you kind of start with whatever duties were left over, whether that's cleaning or caring for pets in a variety of ways. But I think sometimes because it's not a structured role in a clinic, that maybe it does feel more like a stepping stone, like, if I like this, than I do need to take a step up to a veterinary technician or I do need to go to vet school or I do need to move on to find a different career. Whereas I think maybe giving it some structure could benefit the clinics that go that route because I think anytime we're talking about people taking pride in their work or having a certain list of roles and responsibilities and not just getting those leftover responsibilities and really being valued in the clinic. You know, I think that's a good thing. And I could see where it would maybe lead to higher satisfaction in this population of people. But certainly, you're right in the sense that you do when we talk about these assistants that are credentialed veterinary technicians or our client service representatives, that it is such a diverse population of people that maybe that can also be difficult for clinics to formulate a plan because they do get people from so many different backgrounds.
Dr. Katie [00:07:26] Yeah. And and you may have vet assistants who have never touched a pet before, and then you have vet assistants who have been in this field for 30 years. And it is very difficult to create a program that encompasses both. But in your average vet clinic, I feel like from personal experience you're going to have a variety of experience levels and that can actually be an advantage. But one of the big concerns that I know I've had about, you know, the I just sort of putting out the idea that, well, we you know, we have everything we need, we just need to be more efficient at using it. Is that a lot of the responsibility of being more efficient falls to the people who are already working really hard, often short staffed, often not getting paid that well, which is the veterinary technicians and your vet techs, whether by title in their practice, whether that's a credentialed veterinary technician or somebody who's been on the job trained, I'm using veterinary technician to encompass that whole population of people who are performing what are seen as tech duties in their clinic, are often, I think I've seen tasked with sort of giving instruction to the veterinary assistants, to training them, to making sure that they're learning and growing and performing their duties well. And that's a lot to ask of a role that is historically underpaid and underappreciated to start with. And so by saying like, yes, we need to elevate the role of the veterinary assistant and make sure that they're maximizing what they can do and that they're given opportunities to grow and flourish and be sustained as a career. I think that's wonderful. But we can't just leave that all to the vet techs to do it because it just isn't fair.
Dr. Beth [00:09:29] Absolutely. And I think particularly when it gets into a gray zone of that sort of I don't know if hierarchy is the right word, but that sort of discussion of, well, if we're maybe elevating our veterinary assistants, what does that mean for me as, let's say a credential technician? Is that devaluing everything that I've done? And I think, so, I think it can be a really difficult dynamic to balance with all of this. And like you said, I think putting anything else on the plate of any of our staff members that are overworked and underpaid is a recipe for disaster. So thinking about the best way to maybe implement something like this in your clinic, I think that's a very important thing to keep in mind, is how can we do this thoughtfully? How can we do this with open lines of communication? How can we do it so that more work isn't falling on the plate of anybody? But I do, and one thing I didn't realize until I was reading this discussion was that I think in a lot of states, they're well, of course, in a lot of states, every state there are different tasks that can be done by veterinary technicians and they are listed out by like direct oversight or indirect oversight by veterinarians. Some states go as far as to then list a vet assistant and what they can do as well. So I think for anybody listening, that's like a great starting point because I'm the first to admit that I don't always know what people that I'm working with are allowed to do. And I hate saying that out loud because I do think that's like step one of being in the most efficient clinic possible and again, bringing that value to everybody's role, making sure everybody's functioning at full capacity. And again, all those points of like trying to help people find value in their jobs. But I think for a lot of us, like, that's the place we're at where we don't even know what we can delegate, what we can't, what we're legally delegating, what we're illegally delegating because we don't know any better. So even just I think bringing that up is a place for a lot of people to start.
Dr. Katie [00:11:42] Yeah, definitely. And and, you know, if you have a real go getter on your team who is in a veterinary assistant role and wants to keep learning and growing and leveling up like they don't necessarily you know, part of this is this idea is they don't necessarily need to go to tech school to do that. And I think that's something that vet techs, a lot of vet techs really hate, right. Is people are always like, well, you know, when are you going to go to vet school? And the implication is that what they do now is not a career. And many I've been fortunate to know and work with some really amazing vet techs who chose to be a tech over going to vet school, they might have had the option to do both and decided to pick being a tech and a lot of technicians are there because they didn't want to be vets. They wanted that hands on animal care like patient care role. And that allows them to do it so much more than the average veterinarian does. And and they're amazing at it and so bright and motivated and encouraging everybody on their team to grow. And there's no reason to think that a vet assistant will not have the same ability to flourish in that role if we give it to them, if we make sure that they they have those opportunities available because in many clinics they just can't you can't just create those out of nowhere. So having a program that says, okay, on the vet assistant pathway in our clinic, here's what that could look like. Here's you know, maybe tiers of training and pay and leadership opportunities that will allow this person, if they want to, to continue progressing and not get bored or stagnant, but not feel like they have to just get a different job in order to keep growing. That's something we a lot of people just really need to stay happy. And if in this environment where we are having trouble attracting and retaining great team members and offering that growth opportunity to somebody who may have been told that a vet assistant is a dead end job could be a real game changer. But then there's that issue of pay, like I talked about, a tiered pay system. You know, if you're expecting somebody to learn and grow and flourish and take on more responsibility and learn new skills, that needs to come with pay increases. And I you're just not going to retain top people if you're not offering a competitive wage. And a lot of people, I think, still feel like that's not possible given the the market right now, what they can charge for services, what veterinarians need to get paid now in order to stay. So it does introduce a whole new dynamic of if you're encouraging this position to be elevated, which I fully believe is is the right thing to do, how are we going to pay for it?
Dr. Beth [00:14:39] Right. I think that's exactly where this conversation leads us, is the challenge that has faced us so dramatically when it comes to support staff is the pay. You know, I think a lot of times that is the biggest hurdle that we face when we talk about all of these issues. So it's like a lot of this stuff is good in theory, but when it comes down to people needing to make a living wage, you know, it becomes the retention just becomes challenging no matter what you're doing to help them grow and develop. So exactly like you said, I think that's for a lot of clinics, the current hurdle and I wish we had answers and solutions for that topic, but.
Dr. Katie [00:15:23] Yeah, I wish somebody did anyway.
Dr. Beth [00:15:25] Yeah, I wish anybody did. Not just us.
Dr. Katie [00:15:31] But, you know, empowering vet assistants to work to the top of what they're legally allowed to do and what they want to do and empowering veterinary technicians, credentialed technicians to work to the top of their license makes life so much better for us as veterinarians like to view our team members not as support staff but as co-professionals, I think, is is a path to better job satisfaction for everyone. And that's one of the reasons I, I don't love the words paraprofessionals or support staff because I feel like without good vet assistants, I am useless.
Dr. Beth [00:16:13] Right. Right.
Dr. Katie [00:16:14] And it's not that my brain is useless, it's just that I can't do it all. And and, you know, they need us and we need them. And we're all in this together and adopting that attitude in any vet clinic, whether or not there's a structured program to do so, is is a good stepping stone, I think, towards better job satisfaction for everybody is just making sure that everyone is saying this is my job and I own it and I'm proud of it and it's not inferior to anybody else's job. Client care teams too, you know, God love you.
Dr. Beth [00:16:50] Right. Right. Absolutely. Yeah. And I think so much of this gets into the the idea of practice culture and how, you know, a good team can almost be like a cycle where we are empowering our staff to feel fulfilled and take on as much as possible. That can drive a more efficient clinic, that can drive better workplace, environment and happiness. And in turn we can retain staff that have these skills. So it is it's a complex issue when we talk about these things, but I think these discussions are worth having because like you said, Katie, we are nothing without our staff. It is so important to have staff around us that we trust and that adds to that positive workplace culture that we also desperately want. So thanks for having this conversation with me, Katie. I do think that brings us to our win of the week, if you have one.
Dr. Katie [00:17:44] Indeed, I do have a win. And actually it was a amazing veterinary technician that spurred on this win because she was watching my pets while I was on vacation and she is a technician at the practice where I take my cat and dog, which is an amazing fear free practice a couple miles away. And she saved my life because I was in a bind for the first week and I was gone and she took my little man Frank. So Frank is my Chihuahua, who is approximately 115 years old. As chihuahuas get to be thankfully. And she took him to work with her in the vet clinic when she was working over the weekend. And so he got to go on a little field trip and then he had some blood drawn while he was there, which I'm a little bit lazy about getting done because because he's 115 and I sometimes am doing the lessons more with him these days. But I figured since he was going anyway, running some labs would be good. And so he had his full senior panel and it was perfect. And like, this dog is so old, he has no business having blood work this perfect and his kidneys are happy and his liver, little liver, which is almost conked out because of toxic mushrooms one time is happy on his NSAIDs and I was so relieved. I was in Iceland reading his bloodwork and I was so relieved to see that. And so I'm very thankful for this big win, which is that my very geriatric little man, who is my little heart walking around on the floor, is internally looking great.
Dr. Beth [00:19:24] That is a huge win. I hope it gives you some.
Dr. Katie [00:19:27] I know you get it.
Dr. Beth [00:19:28] Absolutely. As a fellow crazy small dog mom, I truly get it because Paul is 11, but he's old enough where like, if he looks at me for me, I'm like (gasp).
Dr. Katie [00:19:38] You're like what's going on?
Dr. Beth [00:19:40] Yeah, like, should we run about work? Should we? You know? Yeah. So I totally get it. That's great. And Frank is absolutely the kind of person that's kind of dog that's going to live till he's 200. So I'm not shocked.
Dr. Katie [00:19:52] I hope so. He is going to be toothless. He's going to have a heart murmur. He's gonna be like hobbling around. He's going to need
Dr. Beth [00:19:57] A diaper for sure.
Dr. Katie [00:19:58] to hold his tush while he pees because he can barely do that now.
Dr. Beth [00:20:02] Good.
Dr. Katie [00:20:03] That's. That's what I'm hoping.
Dr. Beth [00:20:04] Excellent news.
Dr. Katie [00:20:05] What about you?
Dr. Beth [00:20:06] Let's see. I don't have anything to top Frank's blood work, but I am pretty excited that we start school here in Ohio next week. And anyone who has kids and has had a long summer and I shouldn't say that because our summer has been delightful, knows my feeling. But I'm just I'm very excited. I love back to school season. Like I still get really into school supplies. I love when I wake up and there's like a chill in the air for the first time, which of course won't be for a while. But anyway, it's just really exciting. She's going to be in first grade, so we got to get our teachers, see which friends were in her class. I'm more into the whole thing than she is, but regardless, it's kind of an exciting, exciting few weeks.
Dr. Katie [00:20:49] I'm sure your excitement rubs off, though, you know, like she knows you're excited and that that's helpful. Even if she doesn't. Register that that's happening.
Dr. Beth [00:20:57] That's what I like. But we tried to go see. I don't know about you, but the school supply shopping was my favorite day of the year growing up. I mean, what's not to love? Well, yeah, I try to do it with her as a, you know, mother daughter tradition. This will be great. It did not. She couldn't care less. She's like, Where's the toy aisle? We're at Target. Why are we in the folder aisle? So, you know, maybe next year.
Dr. Katie [00:21:19] I still love the folder aisle at Target.
Dr. Beth [00:21:22] I know. I know. Me too. I really wished I had left her own so I could fully enjoy it. So I don't know. She'll get another chance next year or not.
Dr. Katie [00:21:32] Lesson learned. Like the moms going school supply shopping, honey. You stay home. We had a we had this high end stationery store like that my parents would let me go and like, you know, browse the pens and like, you know, the gel pens section, like a full aisle, you know.
Dr. Beth [00:21:50] Where you had the testers? Did you have the tester pens that you could try in the store?
Dr. Katie [00:21:54] Yes. Yeah. It was, it was a gel pen era and I was there for it.
Dr. Beth [00:22:00] Yeah. I totally that's my childhood too. But anyway, we'll see if she converts by second grade. But anyway, well, thank you, everyone, for listening into this conversation and we will catch you up next time.
Dr. Katie [00:22:11] Thank you.
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The Team:
Katie Berlin, DVM - Host
Beth Molleson, DVM - Host
Alexis Ussery - Producer & Multimedia Specialist
Disclaimer: This podcast recording represents the opinions of Dr. Katie Berlin and Dr. Beth Molleson. Content is presented for discussion purposes and should not be taken as medical advice. No guarantee is given regarding the accuracy of any statements or opinions made on the podcast.