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Last edited:
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- Thread starter bbozo
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My shadowing a vet turned into a job, I became an assistant and office manager. It was great because the Vet I worked for knew my ethic and work values. This is a small but busy clinic, she understood that I didn't know everything and was very willing to answer my questions despite having shadowed. I liked that I had a working relationship with the vet I worked for before directly working for her. It gave me a feel of the job before it was actually a job and it was nice to know all of my coworkers as well. I think if you like the clinic it would be worth pursuing. It is great experience and helps with your application at the same time.
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I definitely agree don't be afraid to ask questions, or ask for help if you need it! Especially if you're doing anything involving giving or drawing up medications, double check with somebody if you're at ALL unsure about what you're doing. If you make a mistake (which I guarantee you will, more than once), don't beat yourself up about it or get defensive, but take that as a learning opportunity and try not to make the same mistake twice.
If it's not busy, take the time to ask questions about why things are done a certain way, why a patient is on X drug, how you can improve your restraint techniques, etc. If you're struggling with a certain task, ask somebody to help you practice if there's some downtime. Definitely ask them to let you try rather than just showing you how something's done.
Bringing a small notebook to take notes is a good idea, there's a lot to keep track of when you first start! The sooner you can get to the point of knowing what needs to be done next rather than constantly having to ask someone "what can I do now?", the better. Prioritizing is definitely an important skill to have, cleaning/organizing things is better than standing around chatting, but it can wait if there are patients that need taken care of.
Good luck, everybody has to start somewhere, and that's awesome that you've already got good relationships with the staff at this clinic!
If it's not busy, take the time to ask questions about why things are done a certain way, why a patient is on X drug, how you can improve your restraint techniques, etc. If you're struggling with a certain task, ask somebody to help you practice if there's some downtime. Definitely ask them to let you try rather than just showing you how something's done.
Bringing a small notebook to take notes is a good idea, there's a lot to keep track of when you first start! The sooner you can get to the point of knowing what needs to be done next rather than constantly having to ask someone "what can I do now?", the better. Prioritizing is definitely an important skill to have, cleaning/organizing things is better than standing around chatting, but it can wait if there are patients that need taken care of.
Good luck, everybody has to start somewhere, and that's awesome that you've already got good relationships with the staff at this clinic!
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I second the notebook idea! It can be really helpful for things that take more memorization (like vaccine schedules or door codes). Even just writing down things in your own words can help you remember it better later.
Don't be afraid to ask questions when you are unsure; no one will think less of you, especially when you're first starting. Even though you've been shadowing your coworkers will understand that it's different from being a tech/assistant.
Also, if you do make a mistake, don't sweat it too much! Mistakes happen, just do your best to fix it and not repeat it. Don't be afraid to own up to your mistakes either to get help fixing them- it looks way better than trying to push it under the rug.
My experience with mistakes as an assistant: After I had finished training at my current clinic I was doing treatments by myself and accidentally gave the wrong pain medication dose to a patient (I gave a full tablet instead of half). As soon as I realized I grabbed a vet (who also happened to be the owner, so that was scary for me) and told her what happened. She was very glad that I told her right away, and we decided what to do from there. She of course told me to always triple check meds before giving them, but she wasn't disappointed in me since I owned up to it, grabbed help, and worked to help fix it. As long as you show that you're doing your best to improve and that you care, you should be fine!
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I got a lot of appreciation from the vet and staff at the hospital that I worked for because I went home one day (when I got the hang of everything) and made a “(In) Complete Guide to Being a Kennel Tech at X Clinic”. My goal was to make the transition from nothing to kennel tech really easy because there’s frequent turnover in that position. So I listed of a day, what needed to happen at what times. Ex: boarding stuff at 8 and 3 (walking, feeding, medications), big cleaning at 12 and 4:30 as well as what all exactly you need to make sure you do. And then I had a page of what you can/ should do when there’s free time. And then I made a weekly check list for me of everything that needs to get done, separated into AM and PM. And I’d sticker chart that when I got things done. It kept me productive and still let me do a lot of really cool things.
They liked it so much they laminated it and have the charts hanging up in the clinic and they give the guide to all new kennel techs! 😍
TL;DR
Take initiative. Be respectful and willing to listen, but strong. Strive to be better every day.
I thoroughly believe my super strong LOR from that vet pushed me over the line and it’s why I got vet school acceptance when I did.
