The role of the Veterinary Technician in End-Of-Life Care
Alexandra Yaksich, BSc, AHT
It’s Vet Tech week!
That means it’s our time to shine! As a veterinary technician writing this, I echo the voices of so many when I say that veterinary support staff are often forgotten during the discussion about euthanasia best practices and end-of-life care. Yet, we are the first line in the hospital! It’s the staff who often discuss end-of-life care and pre-planning with pet parents! That being said, there is often little training available to staff with regard to euthanasia. Furthermore, veterinary technicians have such vast technical abilities that are highly utilized in shelter medicine but much less so in clinical practice.
It's high time we include veterinary technicians in the conversation about end-of-life.
Why is it that we don’t utilize our highly skilled veterinary technicians more often in companion animal euthanasia (let alone other types and scope of practice)?
Could it be better for us all if we didn’t rely on veterinarians alone? They need our help! About 20% of US states permit veterinary technicians to euthanize a companion animal with direct veterinary supervision. This means the veterinarian is on-site. This is a little different than shelter medicine, where technician-run euthanasia is quite common.
For the instances where there is not a veterinarian on-site, or unable to assist in a home euthanasia for a companion animal, but there is a technician available… does this mean the pet will have to suffer until the veterinarian can arrive? Perhaps this can be examined on a case-by-case basis?
More veterinary technicians may soon be qualified to deliver a gentle death when needed.
CAETA (Companion Animal Euthanasia Training Academy) encourages the training of veterinary technicians to be able to and be permitted to give a gentle death whenever it’s needed.
There are highly skilled veterinary technicians in shelter settings who have studied and trained in euthanasia best practices to be able to perform well in this type of setting. What if we utilized the same skills for companion animal technicians in the cases where veterinarians prescribe euthanasia to patients, but who may not be able to be present?
As time moves forward, we are seeing major changes take place in the vet tech space and we will continue to support, encourage, and improve upon recognition and utilization of veterinary technicians within the profession.
We see that glass ceiling, and we’re taking aim.
Euthabag has Free RACE-approved CE courses designed to help with euthanasia best practices and we encourage all clinics and hospitals to take advantage of this! Most especially, during Veterinary Technician Month, we encourage everyone to support a technician next to you or one that you work with to advance their training and encourage their knowledge and participation in Euthanasia.
You can also find an entire section on EUTHABAG website devoted to veterinary technicians to encourage others to see the value and skill in this profession. It’s companies like this that are helping to pave the way for a better future for veterinary technicians and all support staff.
Euthabag also has an affiliate program that offers a very easy way to make some extra cash! View it here.
Keep updated on Euthabag’s social media for more goodies for the techs!
Don’t forget to check out their Euthanasia Support Group on Facebook!
Happy Veterinary Technician Month!
We can be proud. We can make a world of difference.
