Perspective

Vet Tech Feature: Natalia Salgado Montoya, CVT

October 21, 2021 by Kelsey Carpenter

This year, for Vet Tech Week, we wanted to try something a little different: We held a sticker design contest! There were SO MANY incredible submissions (Vet Techs are a creative bunch!), so we put it to a public vote and finally managed to narrow it down to three winners. Those winners had their designs printed into limited edition stickers that are now being used to help celebrate Vet Tech Week all over the continent!

These designs were true works of art, and we wanted to know a little more about the artists behind them. Today, we’re meeting Natalia Salgado Montoya, who designed what we called the “Pawprint Full of Passion” sticker. Read on to get to know Natalia, who created the sticker many of you own today!

Q: Tell us a little about yourself!

A: I’m currently taking a break from clinical practice to focus on CVT Creations, my veterinary art business. It merges my artistic talent with my passion for education. My background in veterinary dentistry, anesthesia, general practice, and shelter medicine fuels me to create fun art that is also educational.

I was raised in Northern California. I realized I wanted to become a veterinary technician while working for an animal shelter, and after learning about the amazing program at Portland Community College, I moved to Oregon. I’ve been in veterinary medicine for 6 years, and certified for 3 years.

Q: What is your favorite thing to do as a Vet Tech?

A: My favorite role as a vet tech is helping an anxious or fearful animal feel safe. I have a soft spot for “difficult” animals due to my experience working in shelter medicine and a fear-free practice. A vet clinic can be a stressful environment, so I take the time to help them feel comfortable. I love watching an animal become comfortable as they build a more positive association with visiting the vet.

My favorite procedure to do is a dental cleaning. I find it so satisfying to clean dirty teeth and make them sparkle. Oral health is as important for animals as it is for humans, and I’d like to obtain my VTS in dentistry one day. I’m a dog lover, so I honestly love all the dogs I meet. My favorite breeds to have as patients are pit bulls, Dobermans, and the giant breeds (especially St. Bernards).

Q: What inspired you to create your sticker design?

A: I wanted to bring recognition to the many important roles that vet techs fulfill. Some clients think veterinary technicians only give vaccines and trim nails, and are shocked to learn how essential we are in the veterinary hospital. This sticker helps techs show off all the amazing things we do. I intentionally incorporated a variety of species into the design because vet techs work with all kinds of animals.

Q: Why do you think Vet Tech Week is so important for everyone to celebrate?

A: Vet Tech Week spotlights and celebrates the role of veterinary technicians and the essential contributions we make to the field. Our work is often undervalued, but we do a lot for our patients. Vet techs play a critical role in the clinic, but also in other settings like diagnostic laboratories, research facilities, educational settings, and pharmaceutical companies. Our work deserves to be seen and celebrated.

Q: What’s one thing every person (vet med or non-vet med) could do right now to make a Veterinary Technician’s day?

A: The pandemic has been difficult for the veterinary field. One thing that could entirely make a vet tech’s day is simply showing us patience and kindness. We need to be kinder to each other and ourselves while at work so that together, we can handle whatever comes through the door. Clients need to be reminded that we’re here to care for their animals, and we’re doing our best.

Thank you to Natalia for sharing her creativity with all of us and giving us a new, fun way to celebrate Vet Tech Week in 2021!

Vet Tech Feature: Jill Lasher, LVT

October 20, 2021 by Kelsey Carpenter

These designs were true works of art, and we wanted to know a little more about the artists behind them. Today, we’re meeting Jill Lasher, who designed what we called the “Vet Tech Versatility” sticker. Read on to get to know Jill, who created the sticker many of you own today!

vet tech versatility sticker design — *Jill’s “Vet Tech Versatility” sticker design*

Q: Tell us a little about yourself!

A: I am originally from Michigan. I obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Science and then went back to school and obtained an Associate’s Degree in Veterinary Science in 2000. So, between being licensed since then and working in the profession for about 6 years prior to that, I have 27 years in the veterinary profession! I am a unicorn! In 2003 I moved to the state of Washington. I currently work at Chambers Prairie Animal Hospital in Olympia, Washington. I mostly do dental cleanings, radiographs and, yes, extractions (since Washington still allows us to do this). I also help with surgeries and C-sections.

jill lasher, lvt — *“A few years ago when I worked at another clinic.”*

Q: What is your favorite thing to do as a Vet Tech?

A: My favorite thing to do in the clinic is dentals. I have worked hard and take pride in getting technically excellent dental radiographs quickly as well as cleaning and evaluating all the teeth in a thorough and efficient manner. So, I guess I’d say that’s my special skill! I don’t know that there is anything in particular that I look forward to doing except helping where I can and restoring order to chaos (cleaning, organizing, etc.) I love Boxers! So, they are my favorite to work with.

Q: What inspired you to create your sticker design?

A: I have always dabbled in art (and music). A few years ago I obtained a certificate in Illustration from an online school. Since then I have been honing skills and trying to find my style. So, when I saw the sticker competition I figured “why not!” Since I currently work at a clinic that sees large and small animals, I wanted to create a sticker that paid homage to that (thus the various animal tracks), I wanted to signify our love for animals (the heart shape), and I wanted to represent medicine and the versatility that vet techs exhibit in this profession (the cross and icons).

Q: Why do you think Vet Tech Week is so important for everyone to celebrate?

A: I think Vet Tech Week is important because other than the veterinarians, we are the only support staff that is required to (in most states) go to school, obtain a degree, and sit for the VTNE as well as state exams. This exhibits a special dedication to this profession that we should be recognized for. We also are the only staff members that can “do it all” other than prescribe, diagnose and perform surgery. This means we can step into any other support staff position and perform that job competently.

Q: What’s one thing every person (vet med or non-vet med) could do right now to make a Veterinary Technician’s day?

A: The one thing that I think could make every Veterinary Technician’s day is simply to help them. Lend them a hand. So often we (techs) help everyone else – we answer phones, we run a bag of dog food out to a client, we run to help with a pet that is giving the doctor and assistant a hard time. So, it makes my day when I’m struggling with something and someone walks up and says “do you need a hand?”

Q: Is there anything I didn’t ask you about that you’d like the readers to know?

A: Over the years, I have heard lots of push back from other staff members about Vet Tech week. They feel a left out. I want to say that Vet Tech Week isn’t about leaving them out. They are all very important members of the veterinary team and their jobs are just as challenging and difficult as ours. To me, Vet Tech Week is more about recognizing the added dedication that we (primarily licensed vet techs) have given to this profession. Financially, mentally and physically we have completely given ourselves.

Thank you to Jill for sharing her creativity with all of us and giving us a new, fun way to celebrate Vet Tech Week in 2021!

Some Things Cannot Be Fixed…

July 26, 2021 by Andy Roark DVM MS

“Some things cannot be fixed, they can only be carried.”

I’ve been thinking a lot about this quote recently. There are so many challenges beyond our control. I think it’s good to remember we shouldn’t expect to conquer all our burdens. Some of our struggles can only be addressed by breathing, accepting, being kind to ourselves, and putting one foot in front of the other.

If you are struggling right now, please take heart that you are not alone. I hear stress from across the industry as our workforce is spread thin and demand for our services just seems to keep going up. You aren’t doing anything wrong. You’re just in a hard position (and you are not alone).

Remember you can’t please everyone, and you can do more harm than good if you try too hard. You need to take care of yourself first, because no one is more responsible for you than you. Put your own oxygen mask on before assisting others. After that, take care of your team. After that, take care of your clients.

Know that this too shall pass. You will not be emerging from a pandemic forever. The summer rush will end as it always does. You will sort out the headaches you are facing, and then you’ll get a new set of headaches. The frenzy of corporate consolidation will come to an end, and most groups buying up practices will be gone. Prices and wages will sort themselves out and our businesses will persist. The only thing that won’t change is that people will love their pets and want to take care of them.

I don’t say these things to encourage anyone to “suck it up.” I say them because I don’t think, for most of us, there’s an immediate answer to our struggles. Some problems won’t be solved; they’ll just be endured. All we can do is take care of ourselves and discipline our minds for the required endurance. We can rest, hold on to the good parts of our job, and be proud of all that we accomplish. We can see our jobs as worthy challenges instead of unfair burdens. We can find meaning in laying our hands on patients, supporting our community, learning and growing daily, giving people a healthy workplace, serving those we lead, and setting an example for what it means to be a kind and loving person. We can encourage each other and celebrate our victories. We can try to make the world better than it would be without us.

How Do I Want to Show Up for My Team?

July 7, 2021 by Julie Cappel, DVM

If the past year has taught us anything, it is how quickly life can change. The veterinary industry is working through many challenges, including increased demand and a decreased workforce. My hospital is no exception. Since the end of last summer, we have been working with a skeleton crew when several of our team members left to either stay home with their children or take other positions. Those of us still working have been growing weary under the weight of our increased workload.

When work increases and team capacity decreases, we may begin thinking of ourselves as victims. I experienced an episode of this on Thursday. I was the only scheduled doctor with surgeries and also a spattering of client appointments. As I slogged through the pile of records that I had leftover from earlier in the week, attended to my surgeries, and answered the myriad of questions that my team brought to me, I started to feel overwhelmed. I am usually excited by a good challenge, but my brain goes into victim mode when I start to feel overwhelmed with stress. As I begin to feel like a victim, I become short with my team and reclusive. I want to crawl into a hole to protect myself from one more question. I get snappy and impatient. Finally, my brain tells me that it is all too much, and I start to indulge in my victim story. I begin to think, “Why do I have to do everything? Maybe I should just quit. Why won’t they leave me alone?”

I have coached others and had coaching on this exact subject, but my brain still gets away from me sometimes. So, when I find myself thinking that I am a victim of my circumstances, I have to ask myself one key question to help bring me out of my victim thinking. How do you want to show up today?

My attitude is my responsibility and requires constant work on self-improvement. I have the power to change the way that I choose to think about everything. Self-development is the key to controlling ourselves when we start to feel overwhelmed and victimized. Your subconscious mind will direct you if you ignore training it to behave. I mean that if we don’t practice positive thinking, our brains will not learn to change from negativity to positivity.

Decide who you want to be, and practice being that person each day — keeping in mind that we all need to experience failure to learn lessons. If you strive to take one small step towards your ideal self daily and visualize the person you want to be, you can snap out of your thinking as soon as you realize that you are in victim mode.

Have some “power thoughts” at your disposal to use in times of extreme stress. For example, thinking things like, “You got this,” “All things will pass,” “You are a rock star,” or anything that helps you to drop the victim statements. Taking control of your brain requires you to teach it new and powerful thoughts. It may feel strange when you start to use these thoughts — they will feel inauthentic and cliche, but once your brain starts to believe them, it will be easier to get out of “poor me” and into solution mode.

When you feel like a victim, remember to work to change your thinking and be the person you want to be.

– Dr. Julie Cappel

“There’s nothing more daring than showing up, putting ourselves out there, and letting ourselves be seen.” – Brené Brown

Top 5 Things I Want Veterinary Medicine to Keep

June 14, 2021 by Andy Roark DVM MS

As we tentatively re-open our doors to clients, sweep the dust from our exam tables, and consider showing close friends our unmasked faces again, normalcy seems to be creeping back into our lives. Time only flows one direction, however, and we will never go back to working exactly as we did before the pandemic. I think that’s a good thing.

At the April Uncharted Conference we had some wonderful discussions about what we are planning to “hold on to” as the pandemic winds down. I’ve been thinking about that conversation, and today I wanted to share the Top 5 Things I want Veterinary Medicine to keep. Here goes:

Better Delegation – Many of us have struggled our entire lives to let other people “take work off of our plates.” The pandemic pushed us until we had no other choice. Let’s keep this skill and grow it! Delegation is key to happier, healthier doctors, leaders, managers and practices.
Knowledge that we can’t see all the pets – The flood of pandemic puppies and kittens may have finally hammered home the truth that people can only work beyond their capacity for so many days before the wheels fall off. Many of us were finally forced to set actual personal boundaries for ourselves and our staff. We took lunch breaks, insisted on going home, and protected our family time. This is a good thing for everyone (including the patients and clients).
Remote Work – I know it wasn’t a majority of clinics, but many took the leap and figured out how to work with employees outside the building. Whether this was a “home day” for practice owners or managers, or a virtual CSR who helped handle the phones from 100 miles away, our profession moved into a new era of getting things done.
Exams Beyond the Exam Room – Veterinary clinics that have long been held back by building size and a lack of examination rooms saw there may be solutions that don’t require a construction crew. It’s hard to explain how big this discovery is, and how shackled some practices have been by the belief that an empty exam room was required to serve clients.
Curbside has upsides – Some clients really like being curbside, and some practices really like doing it. Now is the time to survey clients to determine how to make this service part of our long term strategy. Just think of how curbside can increase our practice flexibility and efficiency when we refine it to become part of our normal workflow! Everything is more attractive when it’s not required.

What do you think? Are there things you will be keeping after the pandemic has faded into memory?

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the DrAndyRoark.com editorial team.

“Choose Your Own Story”

June 7, 2021 by Jade Velasquez, LVT

Maybe this will age me. That’s OK. As an aging Gen X’er, I am reminded often of the “Choose Your Own Story” books. For those who don’t remember, with these stories, every choice the reader made, they were instructed to skip to a section in the book that either gave you another choice or you had to read what fate your choices had sealed.

I remember often being unhappy with my end result and flipping the pages back to try and find the ending that was least traumatic. Often it was the ending I felt my character deserved. Although these books may bring nostalgia to some, my thoughts often go back to them whenever I am faced with a difficult choice. I can definitely say that I’ve made several wrong choices in life and in my career. Those choices often felt so permanent. But ultimately I always had the power to reflect and decide if this was the story I felt that I deserved.

As I began my journey as a kennel assistant, more moons ago then I would like to admit, I realized all my choices pushed me closer to the chapter I felt was next. As an assistant, I remember stumbling when I had to decide if I wanted to be a licensed veterinary technician. It meant making choices to work hard, study my butt off and put substantial effort into doing what I felt made the most impact when working with my patients. What made the most impact towards having a career that I wanted. No one else got to choose my journey. It was mine. There were times I failed and times I struggled. But every thought, every small expenditure of energy brought me closer to what I believed was MY story.

As an LVT, I realized those choices didn’t stop. Every action I took either brought me to a place where I could give up and accept this as my story. Or I could keep flipping back the pages to see if there was another choice. When I was toxic, I could read back to see what I could do differently. When I found myself in clinics that didn’t appreciate me, I chose to focus my energy on changing my path. Sometimes it meant making tough decisions and stepping away from comfort to take a plunge into the unknown.

As a practice manager, my job is to encourage others to choose their story. To give them the options to decide what this path of veterinary medicine means to them. I cannot write their story. Perhaps their time at my clinic is just the beginning. Maybe it’s not where they see their vet med story ending. My goal is to give my team the tools, resources and freedom to make their way through the pages. My story hasn’t ended, but it’s shown me that the greatest thing someone can do is encourage others to find their best ending.

So often we are caught up in our bubble of our current clinic, our coworkers, our friends and family that we forget we have those choices and can make choices for our happiness at any time. We choose what we love about this profession. We choose where we work. We choose who surrounds us and what we give energy. Now is the time to remember that we can always choose our happiness. Remember vet med is your story. You create your journey. Not your coworkers. Not your manager. But you.

If you find yourself questioning your happiness, flip back through the chapters. Yell “Plot twist” when things go wrong. Don’t allow villains to shape your future. Above all, never give up and never stop looking for the ending you deserve.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the DrAndyRoark.com editorial team.

Perspective

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