Sunday, December 9, 2012

How much do you rely on a veterinary technician at the vets office?

Q. You may not realize how much they can help you and your pet. Many veterinary technicians have specialized education,experience and some have obtained certification or licensing.
Veterinary technicians are required to maintain hours of continuing education to maintain their certification/licensing.
So they are current on the latest trends in medicine just as your vet is.
Did you know that it is the veterinary technician preforming the dentistries and anesthesia on surgeries?

A. Yes... and the head tech at my vet's office is awesome! I've consulted her when the vet was unavailable on many occasions. She's full of excellent advice, is very knowledgeable and is able to answer pretty much anything I ask. If she doesn't know something, she'll find out and call me back within an hour or less. Yeah vet techs!!!


How long will it take for me to purchase a home after graduating from school need advice?
Q. I am soon graduating from veterinary school (in May) and I am hoping to purchase a home within the next three years so I won't be throwing my money away with rent.The only problem is that I will have a school loan debt of about 100,000$. I have the potential to earn anywhere from 50K to 90K a year once I start working. Is it possible to own a home within three years? What are the major obstacles do you think I will face? Any input would be greatly appreciated thank you?

A. If you are going for a large home in a high priced market, you will probably have to wait longer than three years unless you are extremely aggressive to get your loan paid off first.

You might be able to improve the wait by looking to buy a small home in a moderate market. You can build up equity and turn around and sell it later for a bigger and better home that is more in line with your long term goals. Most real estate advisors suggest planning on a minumum two year stay in a home before equity begins to pull ahead of the costs you cannot recover (closing costs, inspection fees for insurance, etc).

Do be wise in the selection of the home though. It is really easy to make a poor choice and end up with a home with a significant hidden structure issue or in a neighborhood that turns the corner and house values plumet. The costs of repair can actually set you so far back that it would have cost you less to have rented. If you decide to go for an older home (50 or more years), do have an electrician inspect the wiring before you buy. We asked all the right questions of the previous owner and he outright lied - We asked if the wiring was three wire and grounded. He told us yes. Once we moved in, though the outlets were three prong, only two kitchen outlets had a ground wire even present. This is a critical safty issue and many appliances will not function without it such as a surge suppression battery back up for a computer. My husband ended up rewiring the entire house. Once he got into the wiring, it was so poorly done he just scrapped everything. We were fortunate enough that he had the skills. We didn't have to pay anyone's time. But just the copper wire itself was over $600.

One good area to look to invest is on the outskirts of a rapidly growing city. Often what is a countryside purchase where it costs less to buy will soon be engulfed by a city's expansion and have an enormous increase in property value.

One last parting note, do check into government programs to assist first time home owners. You will never again be a first timer. Though your future potential income will be well above the typical candidate, these programs look at where you are now. Just starting out like you are, you will probably quilify for grants. The main disadvantage to trying to go through these programs, beside the paperwork and wait, is that your selection of homes will be smaller due to the many restrictions. Look into Fanny Mae (not sure if this is the spelling), HUD (risky neighborhoods to invest in. Be careful), ... There is another one but I can't remember the name of it. It is the best one too. Do a bit of internet research. I bet you will come across it.


what is the difference between a Veterinary Technician and a Veterinary Assistant?
Q. I was looking into becoming a Equine Vet tech but alot of schools say they offer Veterinary Assistant programs. Is there a differenvce between the two? and is a bachelors higher or lower than certification? and do i need to get an undergraduate in Pre-vet first?
Thanks!

A. The difference is in the level of required education.

A veterinary assistant is an entry-level position with no state in the US requiring any special education or training. There are many veterinary assisting programs out there, but they are generally not well-respected because there is no oversight to ensure that the programs supply current, valid information for working as a veterinary assistant. There are a handful of programs that are approved by a veterinary professional associations or veterinary technical associations and these are the best choice for anyone who is looking for certification as a veterinary assistant, but even these won't change what you are legally allowed to to in a veterinary facility. No state legally recognizes veterinary assistants.

Veterinary technicians in most states are required to be credentialed/licensed and have a 2-3 degree (Associates degree) in veterinary technology from an AVMA accredited veterinary technology degree program. They are typically allowed to perform more tasks with less supervision than a veterinary assistant and are typically legally recognized and the title "veterinary technician" is typically protected from use by anyone not meeting the requirements for credentialing in that state. You can earn a bachelors degree in veterinary technology, but this is not required for credentialing in any state in the US and only 1 state currently legally recognizes those with a bachelors degree as "veterinary technologists". You can find a list of AVMA accredited programs through their website: http://www.avma.org/education/cvea/vette�

Pre-vet degrees are not the equivalent of a veterinary technology degree and are not acceptable in most states as meeting the requirements for sitting for the credentialing exams to become a veterinary technician.

You should contact your state veterinary technician association to find out the details of becoming credentialed as a veterinary technician where you live and also to get advice on choosing the best veterinary technology degree program in your state.


How can I start a referral program to get more clients at my veterinary practice?
Q. I've been asked by my practice owner to implement a referral program for our practice. Can anyone give any tips or advice on things I need to know or concentrate on? Thanks for any help.

A. I'm just thinking off the top of my head here. It sounds like your employer is looking to avoid advertising charges, or perhaps thinks it is unethical for a professional to advertise.
The first thing is, your employer has to provide excellent service and follow-up with his existing customers. The best advertisement is word of mouth.
You could also come up with a little survey which the customers fill out while they are there in the office. Include questions like how satisfied were you with the service you were provided today? Or ask how they found out about the services your employer provides. How did you find out about us? Always include the questions, how can we improve our services? and Would you recommend us to a friend? May we contact you for further information?
Might then have to start making phone calls to the people who say yes.
Its a multi-staged effort and may require some time and expense. I would start with the time, since you're already on staff and already receiving a wage, I hope.
It may sound stupid, but finding a place on the internet where you can have fridge magnets made up and hand those out to your customers. Others in their home will see it and maybe ask when the time comes that they need your services.
If your employer specializes in something, like farm animals or exotic pets or whatever, make sure that news gets out.
Most doctors of anything, be it a physician or dentist usually don't advertise, but depend on completely satisfied patients/customers to spread the word.





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