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While shining a light on the many different areas of the field of veterinary technology, we aim to have thought provoking discussions about the issues facing veterinary technicians and nurses with the leaders in our field.
Episodes
Sunday Feb 07, 2021
Sunday Feb 07, 2021
Hello Caffeinators!! One of our goals for 2021 was to start having discussions about the veterinary technician profession on a more global scale. We aim to see what similarities or differences exist between those of us in the US and our colleagues in other countries, and to see how we can exchange ideas and work together to keep moving forward. So for the cup of coffee for this episode, we're headed north of the border of the US to Canada and pouring up some Tim Horton's! Andrea Steele, MSc, RVT, VTS(ECC) joined us recently to talk about RVT life in Canada. We explored how licensure across the provinces compares to that across states in the US, public perception, and something many of us are very jealous of here in the US-RVT MONTH!! This is the first of these conversations for us and we hope you find it as fascinating and beneficial as we do. In which country would you like us to bring the Vet Tech Cafe to next?
Links:
https://andreasteelervt.ca/
http://oavt.org/CMFiles/News/2016PosterLowResPDF.pdf
http://oavt.org/membership/what-is-an-rvt-
Sunday Jan 24, 2021
Sunday Jan 24, 2021
When you think back to your time as a veterinary technician student, how much career guidance or career counseling did you get? If you're like us, it was very little to none. That's a huge part of our mission here at the Vet Tech Cafe-shining light on every aspect of the profession so you can see what all is out there. Somehow, it's taken us a year to come up with the idea to actually interview somebody who does exactly this-but we were finally hit over the head with the idea and we're so happy to bring you our first (hopefully more!) episode with Rebecca Rose, CVT. Rebecca is a Certified Career Coach and has published a book called Career Choices for Veterinary Technicians, and is currently working on a second edition (we wonder if veterinary podcast host will be in there?)! She is also the founder of CATALYST Veterinary Professional Coaches-check them out on social media for some great content and inspiration! We hope you enjoy this one!
Links:
https://catalystvetpc.com/veterinary-teams-living-well-symposium/
https://www.amazon.com/Career-Choices-Veterinary-Technicians-Opportunities/dp/1583261966
Sunday Jan 10, 2021
Sunday Jan 10, 2021
Welcome to 2021, Caffeinators! We've got some big ideas for this year, but we plan to keep our format the same and keep having important, thought-provoking discussions. As such, we're starting off strong with Deborah Calantropio-Covington, BA, RVT, LAT, LATG, VTS-LAM. Lab animal medicine is often a difficult or sensitive topic to many in our field. We often learn in school that lab animal medicine exists, but it's often glossed over and not given its fair due. What we hope to bring to light is that not only is this a viable career path, but that we're all veterinary technicians with a common goal-to give the best care possible to the patients under our care. The patients might look a little different, but the people are very similar. We invite you to come inside the Vet Tech Cafe, order a gingerbread spiced tea, and join us for this conversation and learn about the field of laboratory animal medicine with an open mind. We think you'll enjoy it!
Links:
Sunday Dec 27, 2020
Sunday Dec 27, 2020
If you're like many of your colleagues, 2020 has been a rough year for all levels of veterinary medicine. Changes abound and adaptation was the name of the game. This field is challenging to begin with and 2020 compounded the problems like a differential equation. So how do we face that? How do we continue? Where do we turn for help? In this episode, we talked to Eric Richman, MSW, LICSW, veterinary social worker at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. Prior to this position, he worked as a social worker in human medicine for 25 years. We talked specifically about challenges that human nurses and veterinary technicians face, and the similarities and differences in the mental health aspects of the two professions. We talked about how to utilize a veterinary social worker in practice and how veterinary technicians can utilize that resource. Our challenge to you for 2021 is to examine what resources are available to you and utilize them. If you're looking for help, there are some resources below. Happy New Year-we hope 2021 is a step in the right direction for you.
http://mentalhealthfirstaid.org/
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15524256.2018.1437588
Sunday Dec 20, 2020
Sunday Dec 20, 2020
Happy Holidays Caffeinators!!!
Welcome to our final Vet Tech Taproom episode of 2020. We reflect on the year that was, talk about a few of our favorite episodes, lay out what we want to bring to you in 2021, and of course, enjoy a delicious beer. We're so grateful for all of your support in 2020, and we are working to improve our content and outreach in 2021!! So grab that cold beer or warming glass of bourbon or scotch and joining us in a worldwide "Cheers" to all of you. While the Taproom never closes, we'll see you back here in 2021.
Sunday Dec 13, 2020
Sunday Dec 13, 2020
Do you wanna talk some rehab, I say yesss, yesss, yesssss. Sorry for the terrible play on the Amy Winehouse song-I promise that's the last time we'll do that. But if you're into Physical Rehabilitation, buckle your bootstraps and put on your headphones because this episode is coming for you. Kristen Hagler, BS, RVT, VTS(PR), CCRP, CBW, OACM, VCC came by the Vet Tech Cafe a couple different times over the last couple weeks to talk about physical rehabilitation in our veterinary patients, and that alphabet behind her name means she's quite an expert in that discipline. We'll talk about all of those certifications and what they are, the discussion of human PT's performing animal rehab, the relationship between Kristen and her patients, and so much more! So get yourself your favorite cup of coffee and join us at the Vet Tech Cafe!
https://todaysveterinarynurse.com/articles/getting-started-in-physical-rehabilitation-2/
https://www.avma.org/javma-news/2017-04-15/veterinary-technicians-add-rehabilitation-specialty
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB3013
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB3013
https://www.utvetce.com/canine-rehab-ccrp/
Sunday Nov 29, 2020
Sunday Nov 29, 2020
Happy Sunday, Caffeinators! Charlotte Waack came by the Vet Tech Cafe this past week to talk about VSPN, the legislative process and why it's important for veterinary technicians to be involved, and the veterinary nurse initiative. There are very few people who have done as much for the veterinary technician profession as Charlotte has. Earlier in 2020, a petition was widely circulated in an effort to try to get NAVTA to enter into more discussion, specifically about the title change because most of the other facets of the initiative are largely supported. Then COVID hit, and more important matters took precedent. We believe with 2021 on the horizon, the VNI will come back to the forefront, and we want the Vet Tech Cafe to be a place where these discussions can be had by all sides to help keep our listeners informed. There will be episodes discussing the VNI sprinkled in, and we thought discussing it with Charlotte would be a great place to re-start the conversation!
Links:
VSPN: https://www.vin.com/VSPN
VIN/VSPN CE: https://www.vin.com/ce/
Jeff's Fluids course info page: https://www.vin.com/ce/TECH328-0121_VSPN.htm
Dave's Transfusions course info page: https://www.vin.com/ce/TECH329-0121_VSPN.htm
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vspn_community/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VSPN.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vspnorg
Sunday Nov 15, 2020
Sunday Nov 15, 2020
Happy Sunday Caffeinators!! We have a bit of a different episode for you this time around! We teamed up with our friends at VetFolio and recorded an episode with Dr. Cassi Fleming, less of an us-interviewing-her style, and more of a roundtable discussion style. She was a veterinary assistant before becoming a veterinarian, so she's pretty in tune to many of the issues that plague our profession, and also has a unique insight as to how those issues affect her career as a veterinarian, and also how some of those issues crossover into her profession as well. So while the format is a bit different, the discussion is not-important ideas being exchanged in an open forum amongst those with a vested interest. We really think you'll enjoy this one.
Make sure to check out our IG page this week for some CE giveaways!
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/vetfolio
https://www.vetfolio.com/pages/certifications
https://www.vetfolio.com/pages/subscribe
Sunday Nov 01, 2020
Sunday Nov 01, 2020
For many veterinary technicians, large animal medicine is something we learn in school, study for the VTNE or other credentialing exam, and then forget about because we practice small animal medicine. But we're all still veterinary technicians who can align to fight our battles on a unified front, as most are similar, though a few are unique. In this episode, we interview Molly Cripe-Birt who is a surgical technologist at the large animal hospital at Purdue University's College of Veterinary Medicine. She's the President of the Academy of Equine Veterinary Nursing, and we talk about many of these challenges and how to bridge the gap between small and large animal technicians in the national conversation. We found this to be very insightful discussion, and we strongly believe our Caffeinators will enjoy it as much as we did! Check out the link below if you're interested in some great equine information and certification info!
https://www.facebook.com/aevnt.vts.evn
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
Welcome to Year 2 of the Vet Tech Cafe! We're starting this year off the same way we started off Year 1-with Liz Hughston! Liz is the President of the NVPU- the National Veterinary Professionals Union, and we're spending the bulk of this episode talking about organization of veterinary professionals. If you've listened to our previous episodes, you know we have a recorded disclaimer that our opinions or those of our guests don't represent any entity other than ourselves, and we felt it important to re-iterate that here for this episode-you'll understand why when you give it a listen. As with all of our episodes, we ask you to open your heart and your mind to new thoughts and ideas, and throw away your pre-conceived notions about our topics of discussions. Unionization can be a bit of a sensitive topic, and it doesn't have to be. We hope you'll come away from this episode with a fresh perspective regarding organization and why it might be important. This one is a bit longer than usual, so after you give it a listen we'd love to hear your thoughts!