The Data Behind Vet Tech Burnout | Episode 103 | Reviving Vet Med
Send us Fan Mail Sixty-four percent of veterinary assistants, technicians, and technician specialists say their interest in staying in the field long term has declined — and the research says it isn't really about the work itself. It's about respect, trust, and whether teams feel like their skills are actually being used. Today, in honor of RVT Appreciation Month in Canada and National Veterinary Technician Week in the US, I'm joined by Kelly Foltz, a credentialed Veterinary Technician Specialist in Emergency and Critical Care and Divisional Nursing Partner at BluePearl, where she supports the technician experience across 41 emergency and specialty hospitals. Kelly is also co-author, alongside Lori Kogan and Leslie Carter, of two studies published last year in the Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care: one examining the perceptions and experiences of veterinary assistants, technicians/nurses, and technician specialists, and a second focused specifically on VTS credentialing and skill utilization. In this episode, we dig into what the data actually shows about burnout, skill utilization, and "title creep," what changes (and doesn't) after a technician earns their VTS credential, and what Kelly's seen work — and not work — when it comes to closing the trust gap between DVMs and their technical staff across dozens of hospitals. We also talk about where the conversation around an Advanced-Level Veterinary Practitioner role might be headed next. Watch the Video Version of this Episode https://youtu.be/-smE5PEyKOM Resources Perceptions and Experiences of Veterinary Assistants, Veterinary Technicians/Nurses, and Veterinary Technician Specialists (article): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12614410/ Veterinary Technician Specialists: Perceptions and Experiences Related to VTS Credentials and Skill Utilization (article): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12614403/ For any questions, please reach out to Kelly Foltz at K.FoltzVTS@gmail.com. Thank you to our sponsor Hill’s Pet Nutrition For more information about Hill's products and nutritional philosophy, please visit HillsPet.com or HillsPet.ca. Newsletter For more practical pointers and tangible tips related to veterinary mental health and wellbeing, subscribe to our e-newsletter: https://revivingvetmed.kartra.com/page/newsletter Online Resources To access Reviving Veterinary Medicine’s free resources including handouts, posters, meditations, and quizzes, please visit: https://revivingvetmed.com/resources Questions, Suggestions, or Sponsorship Opportunities Email: podcast@revivingvetmed.com Thank you to Hill’s Pet Nutrition For more information about Hill's products and nutritional philosophy, please visit HillsPet.ca. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show
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