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Career Profile: Veterinary Technician
Kayla Ehling, RVT, 25, Gardner Animal Hospital, Gardner, Kansas, Veterinary Technician
Dept. of Labor, Career Voyages, In Demand: Careers in Health Care
What’s the most interesting thing you do?
Educating clients about how to care for their pets. A lot of people think being a vet tech means working with animals only, but I actually work with people more.
What do you do on a typical day?
We see appointments in the morning, which range from routine vaccinations to yearly exams to sick patients. I take the animal’s health history and temperature if needed. I also pull up any meds that are necessary and help restrain the animal during treatment. And I pull blood for lab work and heartworm tests. Of course, I also do a lot of nail trims, ear cleanings, x-rays, and lab tests. After morning appointments, I assist the vet with surgery. I prep the surgical site, hook the patient up to an EKG machine and monitor the animal. After surgery, we see more appointments.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
I really like the orthopedic surgery. When an animal comes in with a badly broken leg, I love to help repair it and then over time watch the patient recover and walk again. It’s really exciting to see them turn out so well and know that we played a part.
