What are pre-vet volunteers allowed to do? (i.e. injections?)

[Thought Hammer]

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Do you have to be certified to give injections/administer drugs?


In regards to legality, what can a normal person do if they were to volunteer at a vet clinic that deals with medicine? (I have administered drugs at times, mostly oral medication though.)

 

[twelvetigers]

It really depends on what state you're in because each has different laws.

 

[Hopefully2013]

I was kind of wondering this too, mostly out of curiosity... I haven't gotten any experience hours yet (yeah, this is really really bad considering I'm now going to be applying for the first time next fall, I need to get on this... gonna have to work my butt off this summer).

 

[cowgirla]

It really depends on what state you're in because each has different laws.

And not only that it depends on the vet, the clinic, the insurance they have, your coworkers and any number of other variables! Be prepared to do nothing, and you may wind up being pleasantly surprised.

 

[hunterjumper12]

Whenever I shadowed in the small animal clinic, the only shots I was allowed to give were penicillin shots and even then it was only on animals which the vet knew that the owner wouldn't care. I agree with cowgirla's advice.

 

[Minnerbelle]

It does vary quite a bit by state, but I think a lot of what causes the hinderance has to do with insurance/liability for the vet clinic. As I understand it, generally, volunteers are not covered under the clinic insurance.

Also, labor laws technically dictate that it's illegal for for-profit businesses to have "volunteers" do work that otherwise paid employees would do. This one isn't taken as seriously by most people, but it's out there.

non-profits is a completely different story though. so, spay/neuter clinics and shelters with a good vet services dept would be your best bet if you want to get hands on experience with technical skills as a volunteer. for example, as a volunteer at a shelter with a spay/neuter clinic, I was allowed to medicate, assist in emergencies, perform health checks/intake, draw blood, microchip, assist with xrays, intubate, prep for surgery, induce anesthesia, etc... otherwise, the best thing to do would be to get hired as a vet tech/assistant at a private clinic.

but honestly though, technical skills aren't required for vet school. what's most important is that you get quality time with practicing veterinarians, so don't despair if you can only find shadowing experience!

 

[laitmanvet]

In all of my veterinary clinical experiences I've gotten to do basically nothing. However, restraining animals and keeping an eye on the anesthetized ones can be way cooler than it sounds, esp to see surgeries. The place I volunteered this summer was really cool and the vets were really nice. One showed me how to take a dog's pulse I also learned a lot about the pharmaceuticals (also might sound lame, but I don't have a traditional clinical vet background so I'll take anything.)
The only real hands-on experience I feel I've ever had is with research animals. I work with mice and I do a lot of injections, surgeries, etc.

 

[scb44f]

I agree that it varies a lot from clinic to clinic.

Everywhere you go is going to be different, which is why I go shadow 3 different vets a week. Two of them let me get really hands-on, which is awesome for me, but I enjoy seeing how each of them runs things. I think being able to note these differences is more valuable than having technical skills like giving injections (though it's totally awesome).

 

[168135]

In all of my veterinary clinical experiences I've gotten to do basically nothing. However, restraining animals and keeping an eye on the anesthetized ones can be way cooler than it sounds, esp to see surgeries... The only real hands-on experience I feel I've ever had is with research animals. I work with mice and I do a lot of injections, surgeries, etc.

Ditto. I wasn't allowed to do the same duties as techs did but what I did get to do was still kind of cool (monitor animals during surgery, prepare slides, take pulse, trim nails, assist in euthanasias, read x-rays, run the bloodwork machine, etc.)

I didn't get to do the hands on stuff until I went away on a volunteer trip. I went from having next to zero hands-on experience the first day to muzzling aggressive dogs, performing exams, giving injections, prepping for surgery, perfoming surgery, cleaning ears, treating for parasites, and stabbing cattle. I had never owned a dog before so even deworming, ear cleaning and flea treatment/preventative were new to me.

 

[twelvetigers]

I didn't notice the volunteer part. Sorry, off my game lately. 🙁

 

[SocialStigma]

Only RVTs are allowed to inject here.

I prep for surgery (draw out all the meds, get the catheter, ET tube, lube, turn on the O2 tank, etc), trim nails, monitor during surgery, run x-rays, run bloodwork, perform urinalyses, restrain, force feed, give meds (oral).

 

[PocoCalypsoQH]

I agree that it varies a lot from clinic to clinic.

Everywhere you go is going to be different, which is why I go shadow 3 different vets a week. Two of them let me get really hands-on, which is awesome for me, but I enjoy seeing how each of them runs things. I think being able to note these differences is more valuable than having technical skills like giving injections (though it's totally awesome).

I agree with what was said here. When I started shadowing, the first vet I was with wouldn't let me do ANYTHING, so it was pretty boring and he wasn't really a nice person either, so I was getting pretty down about the whole shadowing thing. But then I found a different clinic and the vet there let me do tons of stuff. I was giving all kinds of shots, ultrasounding cows, placing IVs, and I even got to try and pull around a couple DAs. I ended up shadowing about 8 different vets, and they were all really different to work with as far as what I got to do.

That being said, I found that shadowing the food animal vets I got to do way more stuff. The small animal clinics I shadowed at didn't let me do anything. I guess farmers don't care as much if some random person comes and practices stabbing their cows in the jugular a few times, as opposed to some pet owner who brought their dog Muffin in to get its shots.

 

[Jamr0ckin]

I am the volunteer coordinator for the clinic I work at, and being pre-vet myself makes it hard for me to implement the rules. We don't allow volunteers to give injections (unless on a rare occasion an employee's animal needs one). We allow them to practice basic restraint with puppies and kittens, but no sick or large breed dogs. We do let them stand in the surgery room and teach them how to auscultate the heart and feel the lingual pulse. Their interaction with clients isn't allowed because they always gets asked questions they don't know the answer to.

Our basic goal for volunteers is to be able to SEE and WATCH procedures, and learn basic concepts about vet med, like vaccine protocol, reasons for spay and neuter, etc. I started as a volunteer and was hired after 1.5 yrs of being there almost daily. So, I understand the frustration of not being able to do much hands-on, but I was rewarded for diligent efforts.

 

[Thought Hammer]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm volunteering in a nonprofit animal shelter in California that does cover volunteers under general "workers' comp" if that could help clarify things.

Does anyone know where I can look for more information on this? I guess looking through the clinic's worker's comp policies is the best thing to do?

Thanks again!

 

[david594]

Workmans comp has nothing to do with what activities you can legally preform. You need to look into your state veterinary practice act and see the limitations placed on lay workers as opposed to registered veterinary technicians.

 

[ImNotThatGirl]

i agree, it depends on the state you're volunteering in and the clinic you're at. i've worked for my vet in michigan for years, and can do a lot of things...but then i did an internship at a clinic in california and i felt like everything i did was scrutinized because they were so worried that people would sue. for example, in michigan, it's no big deal if the owners hold their own pets on the exam table, and most owners/vets don't have a problem with this. but in california, when i asked an owner if they wouldn't mind holding their pet still so i could take its temp, the vet freaked out because if the owner lost control of the dog and it jumped off the table and broke its leg, the owner could potentially sue the clinic.

just little things like that. sometimes you can do more if you go to a more laid back, "country" clinic, because farmers themselves do so much for their pet before bringing it in to the vet, they usually have no prob if you, a non-vet, do something on their pet.

 

[clairbear]

I think it depends on the state as well. At both clinics I've been at they've let me do things like count out the pills and label them (but they get out the pills and make sure they're right of course). I've also given injections to my own animals and to stray cats that were still knocked out from surgery.

 

[MidnightMoon]

When I was volunteering at Banfield they trained and let me do a lot of the lab work (setting up and then later reading) and restrain pets (except the ones labled bites/scratches). I was also able to fill rx and of course the cleaning and walking of pets. Eventually I was allowed to preform the basic stuff for drop off patients like getting temps, collecting fecals, trimming nails, getting tonomotrey, expressing anal glands and stuff like that. After I got hired the door pretty much became wide open for me. They trained me to wake up surgery patients, draw blood, place catheters, moniter for surgeries, perform dentals, do notes, talk to owners-go in rooms, give vaccines (except for rabies). Its been the greatest experiance of my life- I went from knowing absolutely nothing to actually being able to perform things and learn why we do things.


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