Veterinary Surgical Technician

Veterinary Surgical TechnicianVeterinary Surgical TechnicianPets are becoming an increasingly bigger part of the American family. Roughly 68% of households in the U.S. reported owning a pet, according to the 2017-2018 study conducted by the National Pet Owners Survey. Thats about 85 million families who own a dog, cat, fish or small animal. And its expected that number will continue to increase. That means people who work in animal care are going to be in high demand - from groomers and trainers to veterinarians and veterinary surgical technicians. Veterinary surgical technicians are specially trained and certified to assist vets with surgical procedures. Heres a look at some of the most important facets of this career. Duties Veterinary surgical technicians are qualified to assist veterinarians with a variety of surgical procedures. Daily duties may include tasks like performing pre-surgical diagnostic lab tests, preparing and scrubbing surgical sites for sterile procedures, as sisting the veterinarian during surgeries, handing out necessary surgical tools during procedures, bandaging wounds, changing wound dressings as needed, placing catheters, and taking radiographs or x-rays. Other duties may include operating and maintaining surgical equipment, administering fluids, giving intravenous or intramuscular injections, drawing blood, updating patient charts, filling prescriptions, assisting with regular exams when no surgeries are scheduled, and advising pet owners on post-operative care and medication dosages. Vet techs - including surgical vet techs - may be required to work nights and/or weekends depending on the schedules of the clinic. They must also be aware of the risks inherent in working with animals and take proper safety precautions to minimize the potential for injury from bites, scratches or kicks. Career Options Veterinary surgical technicians may find employment with large animal vets, small animal vets, equine vets or exotic vets. They may work in a variety of locations such as animal hospitals, veterinary clinics, zoos, aquariums, and research facilities. Veterinary surgical techs may also work primarily for a surgeon who is a specialist in a particular surgical field such as neurology, ophthalmology or orthopedics. Some veterinary technicians transition to other careers in the animal health industry. Veterinary pharmaceutical sales is a popular choice for those with experience in the field. Surgical veterinary techs may also find employment with companies that manufacture and sell veterinary surgical equipment, tools or other medical devices. Education and Licensing There are more than 220 veterinary technician programs as of 2016 in the United States that grant two-year associates degrees in the field. After completing an accredited training program, vet techs must also be licensed to practice in their specific state. In most cases, achieving state certification involves successfully completing the Veterin ary Technician National Exam (VTNE), though specific requirements may vary from state to state. The National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) recognizes 14 specialties for veterinary technician specialist (VTS) certification. The recognized specialties for veterinary technicians are anesthesia/analgesia, surgery, internal medicine, dental, emergency and critical care, behavior, zoo, equine, clinical practice, clinical pathology, nutrition, clinical pathology, dermatology, ophthalmology and the Academy of Laboratory Animal Veterinary Technicians and Nurses, which was officially recognized in 2016. The Academy of Veterinary Surgical Technicians (AVST) offers VTS certification to vet techs who have at least 10,000 hours (5 years) of documented vet tech work experience - with at least 6,000 of those hours consisting of surgical work. Certification in this specialty area was first announced in 2010. Veterinary technicians meeting the significant prerequisite hour s of experience may take the specialty exam offered every year at the American College of Veterinary Surgeons Symposium (ACVS). Vet clinics may distribution policy particular value on job candidates who hold surgical or anesthesia specialty certification, as these individuals will have significant experience with surgical procedures required to achieve VTS certified status. The new VTS surgical certification should become increasingly important for job seekers in the veterinary surgical technician field. Qualities Being a vet tech isnt for everyone. Because they work with animals, they need to possess certain qualities and characteristics in their job. Communication skills Techs spend a lot of time communicating with others including surgeons, staff members, and pet owners, so they need to have great communication skills. This also factors into some of their other duties, including counseling and advising on animal behavior, dosing, and nutrition.Compassion This is something all members of the medical field must have, whether they work with humans or animals. Because they are dealing with sick pets, they should be sensitive and treat patients and their owners with compassion. Attention to detail Due to the nature of the job, techs must be able to pay attention to detail, especially while taking precise and accurate notes, dosing medication and running certain diagnostic tests.Physical strength and manual dexterity Vet techs must be physically fit and able because of the heavy lifting or and precise tasks like x-rays or dental work that come with doing the job. Salary According to SimplyHired.com, veterinary surgical technicians earned an average salary of $32,203. This is just below the $33,400 ($16.06 per hour) median annual wage for all veterinary technicians reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For the job category of veterinary technicians and technologists, the BLS also reported the lowest 10 percent earned less than $22,880, while the highest 10 percent earned more than $49,350. Benefits for veterinary technicians may include a variety of perks such as health and dental insurance, paid vacation days, a uniform allowance for scrubs, and discounts on veterinary care for their pets. Career Outlook According to the BLS, there were 102,000 vet techs employed in 2016, with roughly 2,040 new vet techs expected to enter the profession each year between 2016 and 2026. The BLS predicts the profession will expand at a rate of 20% between 2016 and 2026 - much more rapid growth than the average for other professions. The BLS projects the overall job prospects for future vet techs will be good because of the potential for growth in the number of jobs. Furthermore, a supply of new vet techs will not be able to meet the demand for their services by veterinary employers. Due to the relatively few vet tech graduates entering the field each year, and the even smaller number of vet techs that will achieve surgical specialty ce rtification, job prospects should be very strong for veterinary surgical technicians over the next decade.

Three female CEOs on what makes them tick

Three female CEOs on what makes them tickThree female CEOs on what makes them tickThis week, fashion labelTheory hosted a womens leadership event in New York City for Womens History Month as part of its Be Heard series. Droves of attendees flooded the Fast Retailing Innovation Center in Manhattans Meatpacking District.The panel featuredShan-Lyn Ma, CEO and Founder of wedding company Zola, and Susan Lyne, President and Founding freund of early stage fund BBG Ventures.The founder of Premiere Magazine, Lyne has also served as the President of Entertainment at ABC, the head of AOLs Brand Group, CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and CEO and Chair of Gilt.com.Amanda Hesser, CEO andco-founder of cooking and kitchen goods company Food52welches also one of the three panelists present.Moderated byDee Poku, CEO and Founder of the Women Inspiration Enterprise Network, the discussion was a lively mix of the womens career jurneys and their views on entrepreneurship, leadership and being a w oman in business today.Hesser on how she keeps coming up with new ideasAnswering Pokus question on this topic, Hesser talked generally about she and Food52 Co-Founder and President Merrill Stubbs do this, saying in part, were always in touch with our community. But later in her response, she touched on what works for her.Personally, I find New York an inspiring place to live. Walking is one of the things that I do, Hesser said.For so many years we were like, tied to the office, we sort of forced ourselves to travel more, Hesser added. For us, when we travel, you know, eating in different places - and not necessarily fancy places - gives us a lot of ideas for content, and you know, seeing what other stores are selling is a great inspiration for what you know, well do next.Lyne on what to do when you are still hitting a wallIn answering Pokus question, Lyne said, I think you have to be really honest with yourself. If youve gotten you know, 30 nos, to really look at what it is youre out there pitching, and I see a lot of companies and a lot of pitches that are great small businesses, that are going to make this woman, and maybe her family and 20 employees, very successful. You know, personally wealthy.But theyre not venture-backable companies because they dont have those elements that would allow this to grow into something really giant. And its a hard thing to say to someone, that you dont think they should be out there raising venture capital, but I do say that, she added.Lyne continued And I urge them to think about getting a different kind of investment, because its also no fun to have gotten venture capital and have your investors behind you saying, andrang this bigger, run this bigger, run this bigger, when that might not be the right thing for the business.You know, there are lots of different kinds of successful companies - not all of them have to be Facebook. Particularly in the brand area, you can build a fantastic brand and have a phenomenal life, a creative life building a great product. It doesnt need to have venture capital, and that allows you to be a whole lot more authentic about what it is youre building.Ma on how she got over imposter syndromeWhile answering an attendees question about mentors, Ma spoke about how when she wasworking at Gilt.com (where Lyne was CEO and Chair before starting BBG Ventures), she was was getting promoted to a big new role where she was by far the youngest person on the executive team.Ma said that at the time, I was feeling very intense impostor syndrome. While she said that she wasnt verbalizing her thoughts about it, she said, I think, Susan was giving me advice on how to think about the new role, and essentially, her message was, You just need to get over it, suck it up.Basically, I think, she put it in a much nicer way. She was like, Figure out what they all know that you dont know, and then just go and learn it, and then youll be like them.

5 Things Successful People Do After Being Rejected (Instead of Moping Around)

5 Things Successful People Do After Being Rejected (Instead of Moping Around)5 Things Successful People Do After Being Rejected (Instead of Moping Around)Your hopes were high- and now theyve been dashed. You received a curt, Thanks, but no thanks for anopportunity you were really excited about.Theres no way around it- rejection is tough for all of us. And, while theres nobody out there who will claim toenjoyit, there are some people who seem tocope with it better than others.Take some of the worlds most successful people, for example. They not only deal with rejection with poise and professionalism, but they also use it to their advantage. They extract lessons from the experience that they can use to better themselves moving forward.Want to know how you can do that same thing? Begin doing these five things that all successful people do after facing rejection.1. They Recognize Their RoleRejection can be brutal, and its often enough to inspire us to begin playing the blame game. Its th eir fault that they didnt see the value we were offering or that they decided to go another direction.When were hurt, its pretty much human nature to make ourselves the victims of the situation. However, successful people understand the importance of recognizing the role they played in their own rejection.Were they as prepared as they should have been? Did they settle for mediocre when they should have put their all in? You need to accept responsibility for anything you did that might have contributed to you being passed over, or you simply wont learn as much from the situation.2. They ReflectSimilarly to the point above, successful people dont immediately jump into action after being rejected. Instead, they press pause and take a little bit of time to look back on the experience.Are they blindsided by this rejection, or did they not feel great about their chances to begin with? If they could rewind time, what key things would they do differently?Before you can use rejection to help you improve, you first need to pinpoint exactly where you could make some changes.3. They Ask QuestionsWhen youre turned down for something, your first inclination might be to bury your head in the sand and get as far away from that humiliating situation as possible.However, successful people resist the temptation to run and hide. They know that its better to use this as an opportunity to gather more information that will help them to become better in the future.Swallow your pride and directly ask what you did well and what you could do better next time. Thats all valuable information- directly from a reputable source- that you can use to improve moving forward.4. They ImproveFar too many of us punkt into the trap of collecting feedback, but then never actually doing anything with it. But, not successful people. They go the extra mile to actually implement the suggestions they receive.You know you cant continue to do the same things and make the same mistakes while expecting differ ent results. So, remember to detail an action plan you can use to put those tips for improvement to use. Youll be better off for it.5. They Move OnRejection can bruise even the healthiest of egos. But, it wont do you any good to obsess over it- which is why successful people know its better to take a deep breath, let it go, and move on.Yes, youll need to take a little bit of time to reflect on the experience and pull out the necessary lessons and value. However, once youve done that, dont continue to dwell or hold a grudge. Ultimately, that will only hold you back.Theres no denying that rejection can be a painful experience, but it can also be extremely educational- as long as youre willing to make the most of it. Take these five strategies, and youre sure to use rejection to your advantage.More From Inc.One Behavior Separates the Successful From the Average18 Effective Habits of Highly Successful PeopleWhy You Should Love Rejection