THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9409220643
SECTION: HAMPTON ROADS WOMAN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
ON A typical day, Lisa Hickman might draw blood from a snarling dog, assist the repair of a cat's broken hip and console a tearful pet owner.
But people who come to Pembroke Veterinary Clinic often don't know what, exactly, Hickman is. She's not the veterinarian, not the receptionist, not the secretary.
She's a veterinary technician. ``I'm the doctor's right-hand person,'' she said. She is to a veterinarian what a nurse is to a doctor.
It's easier to define vet techs by what they don't do. They don't perform surgery, diagnose illnesses or prescribe medicine or treatment. Those are veterinarian duties.
But beyond those tasks is a wide spectrum of work in the treatment of animals. Vet techs can monitor anesthesia when an animal undergoes surgery. They can take X-rays, monitor an animal's treatment and draw blood for tests. They also talk with clients about the health of their pet and explain what kind of treatment the veterinarian is prescribing. ``I do a lot of client education,'' said Hickman, who's been a vet tech for 10 years.
Besides working in clinics, vet techs can work in animal hospitals, animal research, education-related fields and government. They also can pursue certain interests such as clinics that specialize in small animals, horses or exotic animals. Museums, zoos and animal humane societies also employ vet techs.
As the number of veterinarians has grown, so too has the need for vet techs. A veterinarian clinic that's accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association is required to have licensed vet techs. That means the tech needs to have completed an accredited veterinarian technology course, which usually takes two years, and pass state and national board exams.
Two Virginia colleges - one in Weyers Cave, the other in Sterling - offer accredited veterinarian technology degrees.
Although the demand for techs is high - check the classifieds - the pay tends to be low among allied-health fields. In a 1991 survey by the American Veterinary Medical Association, 74 percent of the respondents said salary was the No. 1 problem. The average salary of techs who participated in the survey was $18,400. Vet techs who worked for the government or in research tended to make more - about $26,000 - than techs who work in private clinics.
Hickman is like many people in the field: She wanted to work with animals but couldn't afford the money and time to become a veterinarian. Becoming a vet tech was affordable and brought her into a field she wanted to work in.
``I love the responsibility,'' she said. ``I love it when a dog pulls through. I've worked with a couple where it's come right down to the wire.''
One of the veterinarians she works with specializes in animal orthopedics, so she's helped get animals hit by cars back on their paws again. She also enjoys working with pet lovers because she's one herself, with four dogs, two cats, one horse and three birds to her name - at last count.
Although she loves the excitement of emergency hospital work, which she's done in the past, the more regular hours of clinic work are easier on her family life. ``I still work long hours, but that's my choice,'' she said.
But the job has its down side too. Euthanizing animals is one of the toughest tasks, particularly when it involves an animal that the tech has helped treat for years. Hickman remembers a client who brought in two dogs who were so old and decrepit that to keep them alive would have prolonged their pain.
The owner wanted them euthanized together.
``She was crying, the doctor was crying, I was bawling,'' Hickman said. ``I get tears in my eyes just talking about it.''
But for the most part, Hickman deals with animals on the mend. ``Vet techs fill an important role,'' she said. ``They keep the place going.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/Staff
Lisa Hickman is a veterinary technician at Pembroke Veterinary
Clinic in Virginia Beach. ``I love the responsibility,'' she says.
Graphic
JUST THE FACTS
Schools
Veterinary technology programs in Virginia:
Blue Ridge Community College, two-year associate's degree in
science
Weyers Cave, Va.
(703) 234-9261
Northern Virginia Community College Loudoun Campus, two-year
associate in applied science
Sterling, Va.
(703) 450-2561
Average salaries
Small animal practice: $16,600
Average for all survey respondents: $18,400
Specialty practice: $19,100
University or college: $22,800
Research: $26,200
Government: $26,300
Source: 1991 survey by the North American Veterinary Technician
Association
by CNB