question about yor vet volunteer experience

[cvt]

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For those of you that have volunteered with a vet (unpaid/not an employee), were you allowed to touch any animals? The clinic I work for has a volunteer, and she is not allowed to touch any animals since if something were to happen to her, she would not be covered under the insurance. I completely understand that, but she wants to learn some restraint procedures and do simple tasks, like clean a wound or ears. If you did volunteer and were able to do things like that, did you have to sign some sort of waiver? I'm curious mostly because I really like our volunteer and she has been getting frustrated with just stocking rooms for the past year, and I'm not really understanding why she and her parents cant sign some sort of liability waiver.

 

[cattycat]

thats strange...i used to volunteer and was able to restrain animals and do most stuff. The only thing I wasn't allowed to do was x-rays because of liability issues but everything else was free game. I am not sure if I signed some sort of waiver or not...

 

[georgie339]

...

 

[VeganSoprano]

Actually, I think it's a bigger deal if a "volunteer" is just stocking, cleaning, etc because it amounts to a for-profit business using volunteers for tasks that paid staff should be doing. There are waivers that can and should be signed to enable a volunteer (what we'd probably call a "patient care intern" or something like that) to learn basic animal handling and technical skills.

 

[ORvetgirl]

Most of my volunteer experience was in equine and zoo medicine, but I did tons of hands on stuff from day one, and only had to sign a waiver at the zoo. At the equine practice, I observed surgeries, handled horses for lameness exams, assisted with radiographs, held horses for various procedures...I even drove the practice's trucks.

 

[variegata]

When I volunteered at a private clinic, I wasn't allowed to touch animals, either. I understood why, but it definitely did limit the things I could help out with. After 9 months of shadowing/volunteering, they offered me a job for the summer (and I plan on staying for awhile) because they knew me, knew I was a hard worker, and even though I had little experience, they offered me the job before posting an ad or anything. Persistence pays off!

 

[CatVet2Be]

I'm not really understanding why she and her parents cant sign some sort of liability waiver.

Is she under 18? If so I can completely understand why they don't want her touching animals in a medical setting, it's enough of a liability to have anyone get injured but to have a minor injured is even worse. Also even if you sign a waiver it still doesn't completely exempt a clinic from liability if there's a significant injury. At my old clinic we had enough incidents with staff getting injured that there was no way they would ok a volunteer touching animals, the insurance premiums were already way too elevated to risk it. Maybe they can compromise and show her things on anesthetized animals first that way the risk is minimized and she can get some hands on experience.

 

[aspiringDVM]

I am among those who did ALOT of technical stuff as a volunteer. The only place that ever had issues was a large equine clinic I volunteered at, and alot of "rules" that were in place when they were fully staffed by experienced technicians flew out the window when the techs left for the evening and they desperately needed a pair of hands .

 

[GellaBella]

It depends on your state and the laws regarding these sorts of things.

Here in NJ I can volunteer but I cannot legally have any hands on experience with the animals. The Dr still does occasionally have me hold but I don't clean ears, clip nails, anything like that, just watch.

I was even told by a manager not to even pick something up if it fell on the ground, they really want me having like ZERO chance of anything happening to me at their clinic.

It is kind of a pain cause I know people are going to have so much more experience doing simple things that I haven't had a chance to do yet, but thats just the way it is.

 

[ckgilabert]

that really sucks.

but i volunteered through an internship at my school (cal poly pomona). They let me do A LOT of tech stuff. but then after 6 months or so they restructured their office and didn't want the volunteers doing certain things.

i think they should at least help prep a dog/cat for surgery...they're asleep...and she can learn how to shave them.

maybe she should go to the hospital manager and just talk to them about maybe becoming a PART PART-TIME employee. getting paid for like 1-3 hrs a week. and then she'll be allowed to do a lot more.

 

[david594]

I'm not really understanding why she and her parents cant sign some sort of liability waiver.

This was the shocking comment for me also.

Most places volunteers cant do anything because their workmans comp insurance does will not cover volunteers and the owners don't want the liability.

Some shelters will have insurance that will cover volunteers and why they in many cases are more accepting of volunteers handling animals. (A little more necessary in this case as volunteers can be a significant part of the "work force" at a shelter)

If you under 18 and a clinic is willing to allow you to stand around you are probably doing pretty good. If you ever read over the OSHA laws I find it hard to believe that veterinary clinics will even employee people under 18. Between the radiation, chemotherapy, sharps, and biohazardeous waste its a very minor unfriendly place. The liability is crazy.

 

[cvt]

I think she is 17, started when she was 16. I'm sure that has a lot to do with it. However, the hospital manager made it very clear that no one, no matter what age, if not employed by the hospital, is allowed to touch an animal. Even if the girl was 30, as a volunteer, she wouldnt be allowed to touch. Our receptionists arent allowed to touch animals either, which kind of sucks on the nights we get backed up and could really use an extra pair of hands.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Some shelters will have insurance that will cover volunteers and why they in many cases are more accepting of volunteers handling animals. (A little more necessary in this case as volunteers can be a significant part of the "work force" at a shelter)

If you under 18 and a clinic is willing to allow you to stand around you are probably doing pretty good. If you ever read over the OSHA laws I find it hard to believe that veterinary clinics will even employee people under 18. Between the radiation, chemotherapy, sharps, and biohazardeous waste its a very minor unfriendly place. The liability is crazy.

Yep. the shelter I volunteered at stopped allowing minors to volunteer in the vet dept, but they grandfathered me in since I had already been through the training/orientation. They let me do quite a bit except for the X-ray for liability reasons (they took me in for a nice x-ray the day I turned 18!) They even let me do blood draws as a minor. I can't remember if I intubated my first cat before I turned 18.

Now that I'm a bit more of an old lady and coordinating my own volunteers for an org, the thought of having a minor do ANYTHING with pointy objects scares the crap out of me. Even having them pill cats or trim nails would get cold sweats running down my back. Either I'm a worry wart or vet services at the shelter was desperate back in the day. I think it's probably a combination of both.

come to think of it, we're not even allowed to have a minor step foot in my research lab at a human teaching hospital. I know there are major liability issues, but come on! I think a teenager is more than capable of standing like a tree to observe without causing trouble.

 

[ccrose3]

I was allowed to do quite a lot as a volunteer at a non-profit spay/neuter clinic and at the shelter. However, after I was hired at the clinic I didn't have to be directly supervised when performing certain tasks. Now that I work at a full service vet, the volunteers we have aren't allowed to handle animals regardless of their age unless the animal is anesthetized, and that is at the discretion of the vet (some allow it, some don't.)

In TX, as I'm sure in most states, minors aren't allowed to perform any task that is deemed dangerous, so all techs are at least 18. I know that doesn't matter in her case, but just FYI. I would say from my experience and what knowledge I do have about liability insurance, the reason she isn't allowed to touch animals is due to insurance purposes. She may get more responsibility at a non-profit, but even that may not be the case until she's an adult.

 

[CatVet2Be]

Our receptionists arent allowed to touch animals either, which kind of sucks on the nights we get backed up and could really use an extra pair of hands.

But would you really want to take a person who isn't trained to restrain animals and put them in a position where they can get injured? I love the receptionists I used to work with and one in particular is good with animals but I could never ask her to help me with an unanesthetized animal because if she were to get injured it would be my fault for putting her in that position.
Maybe we just had more "caution" animals than other places due to the volume but I've seen some nasty injuries from bad bites and scratches to a broken thumb, broken ear cartilage, an almost broken nose, even nerve damage from falling on a needle. I think people don't realize the hazards that can happen, everyone thinks teeth and claws are the worst thing to watch for but often the majority of injuries are from being kicked or head butted.

 

[cvt]

But would you really want to take a person who isn't trained to restrain animals and put them in a position where they can get injured? I love the receptionists I used to work with and one in particular is good with animals but I could never ask her to help me with an unanesthetized animal because if she were to get injured it would be my fault for putting her in that position.
Maybe we just had more "caution" animals than other places due to the volume but I've seen some nasty injuries from bad bites and scratches to a broken thumb, broken ear cartilage, an almost broken nose, even nerve damage from falling on a needle. I think people don't realize the hazards that can happen, everyone thinks teeth and claws are the worst thing to watch for but often the majority of injuries are from being kicked or head butted.

There's no reason why everyone employed with the hospital couldnt be trained to at the very least restrain an animal though. Some of our receptionists are trained in some tech work, but they simply arent covered under the insurance, and because of that reason I do completely understand why they arent allowed to be near the animals.
I guess I should have said "I wish the receptionists were covered under the insurance and could be trained to restrain for those nights we get backed up and could use the extra pair of hands" haha