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I miss my dog so much it hurts.... I have been trying not to think about it, to pretend it is not real, but then it will just hit me like a brick and I have to fight back tears.....

I took my other dog with me into town today to pick up some bread and cider.... that was something I did with Roc.... and Rain is a good girl, but she is just not him, so when I left her outside one store she barked where he would have just sat there and waited, and I took her in the off-license with me and she sat well for most of it, but she jumped at the sound the door made and she just is over excited a bit... she has always been a puppy at heart. Roc was bomb proof... you could take him anywhere... he would just chill out and nothing fazed him. It is not fair to compare them, they are different dogs, but he was my soul dog.

I picked up his ashes earlier this week and it was beyond hard walking back into the hospital... also realizing he is not coming back. :cry:
 
cloverbug said:
... He calls us 20 minutes after his appointment was supposed to start to tell us he was almost there. I tell him that we can't see the dog because we have a 15 minute late policy so we'd have to reschedule or (the more recommended choice) go to the emergency 5 minutes down the street. He refuses and asks if there's anything we can do. ...
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That's an odd situation. Why would he not just go to the emergency clinic? If he were having an emergency would he wait to see his general practitioner or would he go to the local ER?

Humans. 🙄

Good for your clinic for not giving in to him. I always cringe when I hear stories of vets giving free, extremely reduced, or special services to demanding, perhaps manipulative, clients.
 
Jess Monster said:
That's an odd situation. Why would he not just go to the emergency clinic? If he were having an emergency would he wait to see his general practitioner or would he go to the local ER?

Humans. 🙄

Good for your clinic for not giving in to him. I always cringe when I hear stories of vets giving free, extremely reduced, or special services to demanding, perhaps manipulative, clients.
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Yea, I don't understand either. Sometimes we push it for very loyal and generally good clients, but that's only because we know it's not the norm. We hadn't seen this guy for 4 months and that was just for anal gland expression. He's a prime example of why people confuse me lol
 
devyn said:
I miss my dog so much it hurts.... I have been trying not to think about it, to pretend it is not real, but then it will just hit me like a brick and I have to fight back tears.....

I took my other dog with me into town today to pick up some bread and cider.... that was something I did with Roc.... and Rain is a good girl, but she is just not him, so when I left her outside one store she barked where he would have just sat there and waited, and I took her in the off-license with me and she sat well for most of it, but she jumped at the sound the door made and she just is over excited a bit... she has always been a puppy at heart. Roc was bomb proof... you could take him anywhere... he would just chill out and nothing fazed him. It is not fair to compare them, they are different dogs, but he was my soul dog.

I picked up his ashes earlier this week and it was beyond hard walking back into the hospital... also realizing he is not coming back. :cry:
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I'm so sorry 🙁 I went through this with my horses, I lost my soul horse and although my other guy is wonderful and I love him, it wasn't the same. The whole story is long and emotionally draining... But my general sentiment was hang in there.
 
Oh devyn, I feel so similarly right now and I'm so sorry. "Soul dog" is the perfect way to describe it - people have asked if I will get another dog but I just can't imagine any other dog measuring up to Ella. I hope it gets easier with time for you.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, ladies--I'll check those videos out 😀
 
So. I don't normally let stupid girls get to me. But don't screw with my boyfriend's integrity.


There is a girl that my friends and I are forced to deal with because one of my guy friends is dating her. She is immature, insecure and terrible to be around. I'm not one to judge other peoples relationships but she dictates him and gives him crap every time he wants to come hang out with us. We had to drive 45 minutes out of the way to drop her off at home because she didn't want to do what we were going to do, then gave him crap for not staying home with her. I have accommodated her in my house overnight and even offered her alot of advice and help for her dog. Last 4th of July she brough chips to a party thrown at a friend's house and sat and pouted for the rest of the night because everyone ate them and they were supposed to be only for her and her bf. 😡 really? Then she started complaining about how broke she is and she only has a certain food budget per week and she can't supply food for the whole party. Uhm, okay. Mom and dad pay for her schooling and dorm and she doesn't have to work. I don't feel bad for her.

And then I get a text from a friend saying that her boyfriend told him that she doesn't like hanging out with my SO because he creeps her out. Why? Because he looks at her. And "checks her out"

Uhm, yes. My boyfriend is a creep for looking at your boobs in a low cut shirt and your butt in short shorts. I would notice if he does it excessively, he doesn't. He doesn't even remember what she looks like. Lol. She takes it as a personal offense to her relationship when other guys look at her because apparently no one should be looking except her bf.

Get ahold of yourself, little girl.
 
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I have to go to the laundromat after class tomorrow because the basement tenants here have kept the back door to the house - which also leads to the laundry room - locked all weekend. I love how I'm paying extra to live in a place with free wifi, free laundry, etc and getting none of it. 😡

My move-out date cannot come fast enough.
 
BlackDog17 said:
I have to go to the laundromat after class tomorrow because the basement tenants here have kept the back door to the house - which also leads to the laundry room - locked all weekend. I love how I'm paying extra to live in a place with free wifi, free laundry, etc and getting none of it. 😡

My move-out date cannot come fast enough.
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Not cool!!! Say something! 😡
 
Some idiot driving ahead of me today opened his driver's door while stopped at a light and placed a beer can down on the road. Then proceeded to swerve all over the place and drive incredibly recklessly.

I'm glad I got the cops on his butt before anything horrible happened. 😡

I can't even describe how angry drunk driving makes me feel. :boom:
 
BlackDog17 said:
I'm going to ask her for a key next time I see her. I can understand why they prefer to keep it locked, but it screws the rest of us over. 🙄
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I take it you're renting out a guest house/apartment thing- not a real house.
 
I don't know why I bother searching websites like Monster.com for vet assistant jobs, but this one annoyed the hell out of me.

Experienced Veterinary Assistant position available. Must be well versed in surgery, radiographs, phlebotomy, iv catheter placement, patient treatments, and general veterinary assisting duties. Previous clinic experience is a must. Position is full time with benefits after 90 days. Wages are dependent upon experience level.
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Well-versed? Are you letting the vet assistant perform the surgery?:scared:

Why not just get a vet tech? At least you'd be getting someone (in Ohio anyway) with a license and a specific education and training.

When clinics expect that much knowledge for a position that traditionally is held by a high schooler, I get a little baffled. Is it really that awful training someone?
 
Jess Monster said:
I don't know why I bother searching websites like Monster.com for vet assistant jobs, but this one annoyed the hell out of me.



Well-versed? Are you letting the vet assistant perform the surgery?:scared:

Why not just get a vet tech? At least you'd be getting someone (in Ohio anyway) with a license and a specific education and training.

When clinics expect that much knowledge for a position that traditionally is held by a high schooler, I get a little baffled. Is it really that awful training someone?
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No, but an experienced assistant can be extremely useful in surgery if they know what they're doing. I've assisted and scrubbed in on quite a few. I've worked with assistants right out of high school and not that they're useless, but they're pretty much only good for cleaning, stocking, etc. An experienced assistant that can triage/take history, foresee treatments and prepare for them and handle animals properly is invaluable. That's what they're probably looking for there, especially with the full time stipulation.
 
TooLove said:
No, but an experienced assistant can be extremely useful in surgery if they know what they're doing. I've assisted and scrubbed in on quite a few. I've worked with assistants right out of high school and not that they're useless, but they're pretty much only good for cleaning, stocking, etc. An experienced assistant that can triage/take history, foresee treatments and prepare for them and handle animals properly is invaluable. That's what they're probably looking for there, especially with the full time stipulation.
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This. I was a vet assistant for many years... I was the person in charge of inventory, client education, handling emergency pages, surgery assistance, anesthesia, radiographs, blood draws and placing IV catheters, etc.

Some practices get experienced vet assistants versus licensed technicians because of cost. Techs need higher pay, money for CE, and they have professional fees. It costs more to have a tech than an assistant.
 
Jess Monster said:
I don't know why I bother searching websites like Monster.com for vet assistant jobs, but this one annoyed the hell out of me.



Well-versed? Are you letting the vet assistant perform the surgery?:scared:

Why not just get a vet tech? At least you'd be getting someone (in Ohio anyway) with a license and a specific education and training.

When clinics expect that much knowledge for a position that traditionally is held by a high schooler, I get a little baffled. Is it really that awful training someone?
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In my experience, these ads are invariably looking for a licensed tech who is desperate enough to work for assistant's pay. Any time I've tried to apply for something with this much responsibility in the job description, I've been rejected because I wasn't licensed. 🙄
 
I don't know how it works in Ohio, but in AZ a "vet assistant" is a veterinary technician just without the license. I worked as a "vet assistant" for 7 years, every single thing in that list above is something that I did and feel comfortable with doing. By "surgery" they probably mean anaesthesia and getting the pet ready for surgery.. i.e setting catheters, pre-op BW, putting monitoring equipment on the pet and scrubbing up the surgical area. They are probably looking for someone who was trained on the job as a "vet assistant" but never got their tech license, which is what I did. A "kennel technician" is what is considered the cleaning, restocking, mopping person, the "vet assistant" is essentially a vet tech without a license. Although, I am sure this varies depending on where you live.
 
Finally got the histopathology report from Libby's mass removal. Definitely sarcoma with neoplastic cells found in the lymph node 🙁 The margins were clean but it was very close. The vet is now fairly certain that the tiny spot on her right lung found on CT is a metastasis 🙁 :cry: I'm so heartbroken right now. She isn't even 8 years old yet 🙁. She is my best friend and my soul cat.
 
Jamr0ckin said:
This. I was a vet assistant for many years... I was the person in charge of inventory, client education, handling emergency pages, surgery assistance, anesthesia, radiographs, blood draws and placing IV catheters, etc.

Some practices get experienced vet assistants versus licensed technicians because of cost. Techs need higher pay, money for CE, and they have professional fees. It costs more to have a tech than an assistant.
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At one point you, and many others, were probably the un-trained vet assistant or held a similar position. The clinics you worked for had to train you and teach you those duties. It probably took time and patience, but the staff was willing to do it. "Veterinary Assistant" is an entry level position that has no formal education associated with it. Asking for applicants to have advanced knowledge and skills in order to apply is ridiculous. If a clinic hasn't been training people all along to take on those expanded duties, why should they get the benefit of hiring new high skilled, low wage employees? It's having your cake and eating it too.

BlackDog17 said:
In my experience, these ads are invariably looking for a licensed tech who is desperate enough to work for assistant's pay. Any time I've tried to apply for something with this much responsibility in the job description, I've been rejected because I wasn't licensed.
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That's been very similar to my experiences as well. It's sad how few jobs are willing to train.
 
Jess Monster said:
At one point you, and many others, were probably the un-trained vet assistant or held a similar position. The clinics you worked for had to train you and teach you those duties. It probably took time and patience, but the staff was willing to do it. "Veterinary Assistant" is an entry level position that has no formal education associated with it. Asking for applicants to have advanced knowledge and skills in order to apply is ridiculous. If a clinic hasn't been training people all along to take on those expanded duties, why should they get the benefit of hiring new high skilled, low wage employees? It's having your cake and eating it too.
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Unfortunately getting your foot in the door is usually the hardest part. It's not like I just waltzed into a clinic and they gladly trained me. I had to volunteer for 2 years at one clinic before I became a paid employee. I picked up skills and the foresight to prepare for certain procedures on my own before anyone trained me. My second assistant job fell into my lap because I had already had some experience from volunteering and working. It is completely within a clinic's rights to advertise for someone with experience. High school/college students, people with no experience, or even people who just think it would be great to "pet puppies and kittens all day" are a dime a dozen. Most clinics don't even bother spending money on an ad if that's what they're looking for. Those positions are out there, but they're snatched up quickly and many places have a stack of resumes ready to go to before they even need to look elsewhere. Also, the terminology may vary between hospitals. In some, a kennel assistant is the entry level position. Regardless, its possible to get there but you'll likely have to do some shadowing or volunteer work to accomplish that. If you're attentive, ask questions, and try to be helpful, most places will keep you in mind next time they need a part-time assistant, and from there you can work on gaining more experience. This is something that definitely comes with baby steps and working your way up the totem pole.
 
Jess Monster said:
At one point you, and many others, were probably the un-trained vet assistant or held a similar position. The clinics you worked for had to train you and teach you those duties. It probably took time and patience, but the staff was willing to do it. "Veterinary Assistant" is an entry level position that has no formal education associated with it. Asking for applicants to have advanced knowledge and skills in order to apply is ridiculous. If a clinic hasn't been training people all along to take on those expanded duties, why should they get the benefit of hiring new high skilled, low wage employees? It's having your cake and eating it too.



That's been very similar to my experiences as well. It's sad how few jobs are willing to train.
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I think the problem lies in terminology. The term "vet assistant" varies from clinic to clinic and state to state. A "vet assistant" is NOT an entry level position where I am from (and that appears to be the case with the example you gave above). If you are looking for entry level, that is called a "kennel assistant" (which is what I started as). Also, just because a place is asking for any already trained vet assistant does not mean they are unwilling to train or that they have not trained previous techs/assistants that just happens to be what the clinic needs at that particular point in time. Any time a place hires a new employee (even an experienced tech/assistant/receptionist/etc) there will be training involved. Every clinic runs and operates differently and having worked in various clinics, I can tell you that while the basics are still the same (setting a catheter is setting a catheter) the operations and how each clinic runs can be greatly different and it takes time to train people just on the ins and outs of that specific clinic.

The hardest part is, as was stated above, getting your foot in the door. Often times a clinic is more willing to train their dedicated kennel assistant that has shown interest in being a vet assistant, has proven their dedication and has shown they work hard vs. training the "john/jane doe" that just applied/dropped off their resume because they do not know "john/jane doe" like they know the kennel assistant that has been working for them for x number of months or years. Sometimes you really do have to start off at the true bottom of the ladder and then work your way up. Occasionally, finding a good place to shadow/volunteer at will be the way in. Some places are even more willing to train a new receptionist and you can get in that way, but just applying to a vet assistant job with no prior experience is probably going to be a crap shoot, just to be honest. I do not personally see a vet assistant as an entry level job, but that is just my opinion... it took quite some time for the clinic I was at to transition me over from kennel assistant to vet assistant and I was cross-trained in reception as well. So, perhaps look at kennel assistant position as well or look into shadowing/volunteering (shadowing is a better term, usually) and see if you can get in that way.
 
ky261682 said:
Finally got the histopathology report from Libby's mass removal. Definitely sarcoma with neoplastic cells found in the lymph node 🙁 The margins were clean but it was very close. The vet is now fairly certain that the tiny spot on her right lung found on CT is a metastasis 🙁 :cry: I'm so heartbroken right now. She isn't even 8 years old yet 🙁. She is my best friend and my soul cat.
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I'm so sorry ky... 🙁
 
DVMDream said:
I think the problem lies in terminology. The term "vet assistant" varies from clinic to clinic and state to state. A "vet assistant" is NOT an entry level position where I am from (and that appears to be the case with the example you gave above). If you are looking for entry level, that is called a "kennel assistant" (which is what I started as). ...

The hardest part is, as was stated above, getting your foot in the door. Often times a clinic is more willing to train their dedicated kennel assistant that has shown interest in being a vet assistant, has proven their dedication and has shown they work hard vs. training the "john/jane doe" that just applied/dropped off their resume because they do not know "john/jane doe" like they know the kennel assistant that has been working for them for x number of months or years. ....
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This link describes what vet techs and vet assistants can legally do/not do in different states:
https://www.avma.org/Advocacy/StateAndLocal/Documents/scope_vet_assistant_duties.pdf

Having navigated the central Ohio market for the last decade, I can say that I've noticed that the opportunities for students have been decreasing. In Ohio, a veterinary assistant is entry level. I've rarely seen kennel assistant positions advertised in the area as part of a clinic (there are many non-vet run kennels). The one instance that comes to mind was a "vet/kennel assistant" that was offering slightly above minimum wage. Most vet assistant jobs in the area max out at around $13/hr and that's only after a few years of work.

For the record, I'm not looking for a vet assistant job. I already have a position in the public health field. I just like checking out the "classifieds" in my area to see how the local veterinary jobs are going and to occasionally share those jobs with some of my younger peers who are looking for more clinical experience. Unfortunately, if you come to college with only animal experience or very minimal vet shadowing, you are unlikely to find a paid position in a veterinary clinic in my area. You may also be hard pressed to find a clinic that lets you volunteer long-term due to liability issues... or federal labor issues...
 
We had someone bring in a 2 year old cat for a cremation because they had passed away at home. He had blood coming out of his nose and mouth, and even though they said we've never seen him I swear we've had. I just hope that whatever caused his death was looked at and attempted to be fixed. 🙁
 
It's going to be a long three weeks.

Not thrilled with my current rotation. And it's only day 1. Day 1 was 14 hours with no break. Was able to grab a quick lunch (aka, three mouthfuls of my sandwich while walking across the hospital) at 11am. didn't get home to get dinner until after 10 pm. Still have paperwork to do. Have not prepared for rounds tomorrow. Have not done any reading about the surgery my patient is getting tomorrow morning. And I'm on call until 8 am.

And this 14 hour day was when I only have ONE patient. Not a super critical patient, just an admit for surgery tomorrow. How am I supposed to do this with multiple patients???

Can I go back to the large animal side of the hospital???
 
It would have been hard today (hence why I didn't volunteer to let your dogs out) but generally, if you find yourself starving, you are welcome to text and see if I can bring you something. If I'm not super studying or in surgery or whatever, I will. Ditto for Liss. 🙂
 
twelvetigers said:
It would have been hard today (hence why I didn't volunteer to let your dogs out) but generally, if you find yourself starving, you are welcome to text and see if I can bring you something. If I'm not super studying or in surgery or whatever, I will. Ditto for Liss. 🙂
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oh I had plenty of food. but literally did not have a free two minutes to run to the rounds room and get it :-(
 
Jess Monster said:
This link describes what vet techs and vet assistants can legally do/not do in different states:
https://www.avma.org/Advocacy/StateAndLocal/Documents/scope_vet_assistant_duties.pdf

Having navigated the central Ohio market for the last decade, I can say that I've noticed that the opportunities for students have been decreasing. In Ohio, a veterinary assistant is entry level. I've rarely seen kennel assistant positions advertised in the area as part of a clinic (there are many non-vet run kennels). The one instance that comes to mind was a "vet/kennel assistant" that was offering slightly above minimum wage. Most vet assistant jobs in the area max out at around $13/hr and that's only after a few years of work.

For the record, I'm not looking for a vet assistant job. I already have a position in the public health field. I just like checking out the "classifieds" in my area to see how the local veterinary jobs are going and to occasionally share those jobs with some of my younger peers who are looking for more clinical experience. Unfortunately, if you come to college with only animal experience or very minimal vet shadowing, you are unlikely to find a paid position in a veterinary clinic in my area. You may also be hard pressed to find a clinic that lets you volunteer long-term due to liability issues... or federal labor issues...
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Yes, I am well aware that vet techs/vet assistants can legally do different things depending on states. That is why both of my posts said it will vary depending upon state and clinic. I also said that I do not know how it is in Ohio, but complaining that a clinic is just looking for an experienced assistant so they can "have their cake and eat it too" is just a bit overboard. You have no idea if that clinic has or has not trained techs/assistants before and if a clinic is in need of an experienced tech/assistant then they have the right to post that ad. Personally, I was considered an assistant and there wasn't a thing on that list of duties that I would not feel comfortable doing, however in AZ, the only difference between a tech and an assistant is about $1/hour in pay... otherwise they do exactly the same job. (I was even being paid slightly more than the one certified tech we had at one of the clinics). And I already mentioned that it will be very difficult to walk into a vet clinic anywhere without some prior experience and get a vet assistant job. In my mind, I don't see a vet assistant as the entry level position because the vet assistant duties, IN AZ, mirror those of a vet tech. A kennel assistant is the entry level position and kennel assistant is probably misleading because there was no boarding or "kenneling" in the vet clinics. The kennel assistant was just a high school student who cleaned/stocked the clinic/ and very occasionally helped the vet techs/vet assistants. Again, as I said this will vary greatly depending upon state and clinic. I don't know if in Ohio the vet assistant is the same as the kennel assistant here, but that would just seem odd to me to have your vet assistant scrubbing floors (yes, I still mopped and cleaned as a vet "tech/assistant" when the kennel assistants were off). Like I said the problem lies with terminology and this terminology varying state to state and even clinic to clinic. What one clinic sees as ok for a vet assistant another clinic may not. I was just mentioning ways I have seen people be able to get into the vet assistant position and that is usually starting off as being the person that just cleans the clinic then moving on up and I have seen new receptionists come in and then get trained into assistants. We do not allow for volunteering/shadowing in the vet clinics here (the ones I worked at) due to liability issues, as you said, but I have heard of people on here getting into vet assistant positions via a shadow/volunteer position. Yes, it is kind of a crapshoot to get a vet assistant job without prior experience and it sucks that most places are looking for that, but vet clinics do have the right to staff themselves with experienced people if they need to.
 
Stupid neighbor acting like a porn star at 1am. Why the horror flick screams? Give me a break. I'm barely sleeping as it is with my current health issues and I have to listen to your fake ass screaming for 30 minutes? Ugh.
I don't want to be the ass that makes a noise complaint, but if this keeps happening that's exactly what I'm doing.
 
DVMDream said:
Yes, it is kind of a crapshoot to get a vet assistant job without prior experience and it sucks that most places are looking for that, but vet clinics do have the right to staff themselves with experienced people if they need to.
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Lol. Not even the right. They have the need to!
 
twelvetigers said:
Ahhhh I see. Well, I can't help you there. Maybe stuff your pockets with trail mix and nom on the run when no one is looking? Haha.
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This is what saved me in clinics. Have a few good granola bars in your lab coat. You can often slip of to the bathroom or out of the way hallway and eat one but not have time to go to where ever you stashed your lunch
 
I am so angry with this guy who's lectured to us twice now. In addition to not understanding our love for animals, he said some really sexist/politically incorrect things today. I also feel like he might be over-optimistic about lab animal med. Sure, it's great for him that he can get his perfect job when he has two degrees in addition to his DVM...I'm not sure that's a typical case.
 
One of my sister's friends at college died last night. Not sure how yet, but I have no idea how I'm going to help her. She's still having a hard time dealing with the death of a friend like 4-5 years ago, who was hit by a truck. We've tried to get her to see a counselor just to talk to someone else about it, and I'm really hoping she'll pursue it this time. She was already having a hard enough time dealing with school work, figuring out housing for next year, etc...I almost wouldn't be surprised if she takes a medical leave.

Apparently her friend went home over Labor Day for her grandfather's funeral too...weird.
 
DVMDream said:
I also said that I do not know how it is in Ohio, but complaining that a clinic is just looking for an experienced assistant so they can "have their cake and eat it too" is just a bit overboard. You have no idea if that clinic has or has not trained techs/assistants before and if a clinic is in need of an experienced tech/assistant then they have the right to post that ad.
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I don't find it to be an "overboard" statement. It's an apt comment about an observable trend among clinics. Getting a job as a vet assistant isn't a crapshoot with these businesses, it's a Catch 22. If this were one isolated clinic, I could care less, but it's not isolated. It's becoming more difficult to get these jobs and the experience qualifications being imposed are so highly specific that they bar many people, who are not without considerable animal and veterinary experiences, from even applying. They want vet tech skills at vet assistant wages (which is saying more in a state like Ohio, I guess).

Sure they can hire who they want. I'm not challenging their right to hire. I'm criticizing their selection criteria for the position.

The bigger implication of these practices is that there will be fewer and shorter paid opportunities for students before vet school. The more time you have to spend gaining unpaid experience to qualify for low paid experience, the more debt you will incur. Boon for businesses, bane for students, I suppose.
 
Jess Monster said:
I don't find it to be an "overboard" statement. It's an apt comment about an observable trend among clinics. Getting a job as a vet assistant isn't a crapshoot with these businesses, it's a Catch 22. If this were one isolated clinic, I could care less, but it's not isolated. It's becoming more difficult to get these jobs and the experience qualifications being imposed are so highly specific that they bar many people, who are not without considerable animal and veterinary experiences, from even applying. They want vet tech skills at vet assistant wages (which is saying more in a state like Ohio, I guess).

Sure they can hire who they want. I'm not challenging their right to hire. I'm criticizing their selection criteria for the position.

The bigger implication of these practices is that there will be fewer and shorter paid opportunities for students before vet school. The more time you have to spend gaining unpaid experience to qualify for low paid experience, the more debt you will incur. Boon for businesses, bane for students, I suppose.
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This is a problem in almost all careers now. The PhD flippin burgers at McDonalds. There is an overabundance of qualified individuals, so companies have the right to screen selectively even more these days. Simple fact of the world we live in.You just have to start lower and volunteer and work your way up or get lucky.
 
Jess Monster said:
I don't find it to be an "overboard" statement. It's an apt comment about an observable trend among clinics. Getting a job as a vet assistant isn't a crapshoot with these businesses, it's a Catch 22. If this were one isolated clinic, I could care less, but it's not isolated. It's becoming more difficult to get these jobs and the experience qualifications being imposed are so highly specific that they bar many people, who are not without considerable animal and veterinary experiences, from even applying. They want vet tech skills at vet assistant wages (which is saying more in a state like Ohio, I guess).

Sure they can hire who they want. I'm not challenging their right to hire. I'm criticizing their selection criteria for the position.

The bigger implication of these practices is that there will be fewer and shorter paid opportunities for students before vet school. The more time you have to spend gaining unpaid experience to qualify for low paid experience, the more debt you will incur. Boon for businesses, bane for students, I suppose.
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You still aren't really understanding the point.... Lupin hit it below.

Lupin21 said:
This is a problem in almost all careers now. The PhD flippin burgers at McDonalds. There is an overabundance of qualified individuals, so companies have the right to screen selectively even more these days. Simple fact of the world we live in.You just have to start lower and volunteer and work your way up or get lucky.
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I bolded it. It has been like this for many years... I have worked in vet clinics for 7 years before going on to vet school. It hasn't changed too much. Not many people came into a vet assistant position without some type of prior vet/animal experience... basically, you should be willing to be at the very bottom of the totem pole: i.e. picking up poop and cleaning floors. Occasionally, I have seen them take in someone to reception, train them there and then transition them to vet assistant. It has always been like this. If I am looking to hire a new vet assistant I am going to take the person with experience over the person without (unless the person with experience doesn't have good recommendations or there is something else significantly wrong). Sorry, it sucks... such is life. You either deal with it and do what others did or you don't. I still don't find what that ad was looking for to be out of the realm of possibility, an experienced vet assistant should be able to do all those things. Looks like we will just have to agree to disagree.
 
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Third horrible migraine in just under 2 weeks...and they are causing me to miss work now, which is not cool.

$75 to see my primary care for a referral to see a neurologist....which is $125 just to walk in the door.

Still cheaper than $150 a month insurance. 'MURICA. 🙄
 
DVMDream said:
Not many people came into a vet assistant position without some type of prior vet/animal experience... basically, you should be willing to be at the very bottom of the totem pole: i.e. picking up poop and cleaning floors. Occasionally, I have seen them take in someone to reception, train them there and then transition them to vet assistant. It has always been like this. If I am looking to hire a new vet assistant I am going to take the person with experience over the person without (unless the person with experience doesn't have good recommendations or there is something else significantly wrong). Sorry, it sucks... such is life. You either deal with it and do what others did or you don't. I still don't find what that ad was looking for to be out of the realm of possibility, an experienced vet assistant should be able to do all those things. Looks like we will just have to agree to disagree.
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👍 Was a receptionist for a year....hated it. Then I was an assistant for a year (as defined by a shelter....started out basically a kennel tech scrubbing cages in 90 degree weather and moved up to the point of doing dentals, surgery monitoring and dosing, and medicating) and am now considered an "assistant" in private practice but I work as an unlicensed technician. I do almost all the things(yet to be totally comfortable in PP surgery, as I am used to shelter) described in the ad, for assistants pay and position. I dont mind, it isnt too bad.

Started at the bottom picking up poo, cleaning cages, cleaning everyone else's mess. Doing jobs that no one else wanted to do and working my behind off. I wouldn't have had it any other way though. It has taught me to be a good worker and clean as I go.
 
ky261682 said:
Finally got the histopathology report from Libby's mass removal. Definitely sarcoma with neoplastic cells found in the lymph node 🙁 The margins were clean but it was very close. The vet is now fairly certain that the tiny spot on her right lung found on CT is a metastasis 🙁 :cry: I'm so heartbroken right now. She isn't even 8 years old yet 🙁. She is my best friend and my soul cat.
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Hm. Diagnosing a single tiny met in the lungs is kind of a crapshoot, because it could be anything. Given that she has neoplastic cells in the lymph node, that tumor is definitely trying to get out of there, but a single tiny speck? Then again, I'm the pathologist so I'm always skeptical when I hear clinicians call things tumors that they haven't FNAed or biopsied. I've seen so many false positives. (Note to future clinicians - NEVER ever cut off a dog's leg just because something looks like osteosarc radiographically....I don't care HOW "classic" it looks - always biopsy to be certain!)

Middle aged and older cats commonly get single, incidental bronchioalveolar tumors as they age, as one differential for a lung spot that pops into mind. Don't want to give any false hope, but don't freak out just yet. Sorry to hear it, in any case 🙁

Did they say what type of sarcoma is was? Fibrosarc, anaplastic sarc, leiomyosarc, etc? It was around the submandibular region, right? That's an odd place for a sarcoma.
 
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MommaFox said:
Third horrible migraine in just under 2 weeks...and they are causing me to miss work now, which is not cool.

$75 to see my primary care for a referral to see a neurologist....which is $125 just to walk in the door.

Still cheaper than $150 a month insurance. 'MURICA. 🙄
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You will be charging the same prices for your office visits when you are a DVM..
 
Jess Monster said:
I don't find it to be an "overboard" statement. It's an apt comment about an observable trend among clinics. Getting a job as a vet assistant isn't a crapshoot with these businesses, it's a Catch 22. If this were one isolated clinic, I could care less, but it's not isolated. It's becoming more difficult to get these jobs and the experience qualifications being imposed are so highly specific that they bar many people, who are not without considerable animal and veterinary experiences, from even applying. They want vet tech skills at vet assistant wages (which is saying more in a state like Ohio, I guess).

Sure they can hire who they want. I'm not challenging their right to hire. I'm criticizing their selection criteria for the position.

The bigger implication of these practices is that there will be fewer and shorter paid opportunities for students before vet school. The more time you have to spend gaining unpaid experience to qualify for low paid experience, the more debt you will incur. Boon for businesses, bane for students, I suppose.
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DVMD is right, you're not getting it. You are not going to walk into a clinic with little to no experience and get a paying position as an assistant - and if you do, you should consider yourself extremely lucky. You have to work up to that position, and that means being an unpaid poop-cleaner-upper in most cases. There's nothing wrong with that, we've all had to do it. Like I said before, I was an unpaid cleaner/stocker for 2 years, but that paid off and landed me 5 years of paying experience in two clinics concurrently. You have to be willing to work to get there. Also, even with two assistant jobs over 5 years at times working 60 hours a week there is no way I could have made a dent in the tuition payment - you will not pay your way through vet school on an assistant's wages.
There's plenty of posts on here about how to get your foot in the door so to speak. All you have to do is ask to shadow for one day, make a good impression, and ask to come back.
I assume your ultimate goal is to be a veterinarian? Maybe this will make more sense to you in practice...you do not want to have 2 clients waiting to be put in rooms while your techs are running bloods or preparing for surgery or otherwise running around and have an 18 year old right out of high school who doesn't know how to get a proper history, TPR, etc.
 
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Not going to lie, third year makes me feel panicky. The fact that I have third midterms and a final the 10 days before I'm supposed to spay or neuter a real live creature for the first time ever makes me feel ten times worse. I could use a giant bolus of confidence any time now, universe...
 
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