They clean teeth, monitor anesthesia, give vaccines, take X-rays, draw blood, perform lab tests, apply bandages and provide plenty of TLC—they’re veterinary technicians!

Veterinary technicians are those people who assist veterinarians in the performance of their duties. Some technicians are trained on the job, while others attend schools that offer two-year degrees in the science of veterinary or animal health technology. Both are equally recognized in the world of veterinary care.

At The Drake Center, our family includes five Registered Veterinary Technicians (RVTs) and five Veterinary Care Providers. Together, their combined years of experience in our practice numbers over 100!

So, what exactly does a vet tech do? Simply put, technicians do for veterinarians what nurses do for doctors in human medicine. In fact, there are only three things that a veterinary technician can’t do—diagnose illness, prescribe medication and perform surgery.

At The Drake Center, our technicians can usually be found doing the following:

  • Recording patients’ case histories, including vitals such as temperature, pulse and respiration (TPR)
  • Assisting the veterinarian with various tasks during the physical exam, such as restraining or walking the pet when needed
  • Assisting the veterinarian with emergencies, like hit-by-cars, seizuring animals and poison ingestion
  • Providing nursing care for recovering, injured or hospitalized animals
  • Collecting laboratory samples like blood, feces and urine for testing
  • Performing laboratory tests, such as urinalyses, blood counts and various cell studies, like those of the skin and ears
  • Taking X-rays ordered by the veterinarian
  • Preparing and administering medications, vaccines and treatments prescribed by the veterinarian
  • Trimming nails, expressing anal glands and other grooming tasks
  • Preparing prescription drugs ordered by the veterinarian
  • Reviewing the health and comfort of boarding pets daily and communicating with owners
  • Performing technician-only visits, such as vaccines, suture and bandage removals and heartworm testing
  • Educating clients on proper pet care
  • Attending continuing education seminars on a range of topics, such as animal diseases and parasites, diagnostics, anesthesia monitoring and patient safety, critical care and emergency, advanced dental techniques, integrative medicine and communication and leadership

Our Registered Veterinary Technicians can also perform surgical tasks. A day in the life of an RVT at The Drake Center includes:

  • Giving pre-operative medication, shaving the animal and placing an IV catheter, administering IV anesthetic induction drugs and placing an endotracheal tube
  • Ensuring sterilization of the surgery suite and all instruments prior to each procedure
  • Monitoring anesthesia through the use of electrocardiogram (EKG), pulse oximetry, capnography, blood pressure and body temperature, as well as visual observation
  • Maintaining records for each surgical patient
  • Performing all basic dental cleaning and taking digital dental X-rays
  • Nursing sick patients, including constant monitoring and assessment of comfort

As you can see, technicians are quite a busy bunch. Thank one this October for all they do!

(Doggie and kitty kisses are also accepted.)