Download September 2016 – What is a Vet Tech

Otonabee Animal Hospital
“Going the distance for you and your pet!”
(705) 743-4936
www.otonabah.com
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September 2016 Newsletter
What is a Vet Tech?
A Veterinary Technician’s role is often so much more than meets the eye. This month we have decided to describe the behind the
scenes role of our techs.
Our techs are required to complete 10 hours/year of continuing education in order to remain on the list of registered veterinary
technicians held by the Ontario Association of Veterinary Technicians.
We have decided to present a typical “day in the life of” the technicians here at Otonabee for you. No day here is ever predictable
& no two days are ever the same, so this day has been planned in a way that allows us to include all the technical, physical &
skilled aspects of their jobs, while remaining realistic – we hope you enjoy it

7:50am: Krista arrives ready to begin to prepare the surgical & pre-surgical areas of the clinic and also begins to check in
surgery patients as they arrive for the day.
8:50am: Lori arrives and joins Krista in the preparations; calculating each individualized sedative & anesthetic dose for the
day’s surgical/dental patients (including nerve blocks where appropriate) as well as turning on the inhalation anesthetic
machines, checking levels & selecting the appropriate circuit & re-breathing bag for the first surgery of the day. All the
endo-tracheal tubes (breathing tubes) for the day are selected for each patient & their cuffs inflated to check for leaks
before use. Intra-venous fluids and catheters are prepared and laid out, ready for each patient in turn.
In addition to this, any pre-surgical blood-work is collected and run, (see our January newsletter for more detail) and
sedatives/anesthetics adjusted when necessary, based on results.
10:10am: Dr. Rorke is finished her morning appointments, has completed pre-surgical exams on
each patient & surgeries can begin. Today we have Marcia, a 100lb (45Kg) Lab mix to spay, so she
will need at least two people to lift her onto the table in the treatment room (pre-surgical) where
she is given her intravenous sedation by one of the techs. Once she is nice & relaxed, Krista (or Lori
– they take turns
) will place her intravenous catheter into her front leg, while Lori (or Krista)
holds off the vein. The fluids are then attached to the catheter & the injectable anesthetic given
through the fluid line. Once Marcia is asleep Lori will hold our patient’s head in the correct position for Krista to introduce
her breathing tube & get her on inhalation anesthesia for maintenance throughout her surgery.
Now Lori will shave & prep the surgical site while Krista puts eye lubricant in Marcia’s eyes & trims her nails, all the while
monitoring her respiration, heart rate & depth of anesthesia.
10:20am: Marcia is ready to move through to surgery. She is disconnected from the anesthetic machine in the preparation
area & she & her bag of intravenous fluids are carried through to the surgery where she is immediately connected to the
anesthetic machine & positioned for surgery. Krista attaches her to the blood pressure monitor, the pulse oximeter,
temperature monitor, and respiration rate monitor & continues to monitor her depth of anesthesia as well as her wellbeing throughout surgery. Meanwhile Dr. RorKe has scrubbed up & comes in to gown up. Lori prepares the sterile gown,
hand towel & gloves for her by opening the sterile packs without allowing them to become contaminated by anything nonsterile, and then moves on to do the same with the instrument tray.
(On occasion - during non-routine exploratory surgeries, for example - one of the technicians may be asked to scrub in to
assist the doctor as well.)
10:30am: Marcia’s surgery is underway and Lori leaves the surgery to clean the pre-surgical area &
prepare it for Solomon; a black & white 10 year old cat in today to have dental x-rays & have his teeth
cleaned & polished. His procedure will also include any extractions revealed to be necessary once the tartar
has been removed, or if shown on x-ray to have diseased roots.
Lori & Krista took Solomon’s blood (for the routine pre-surgical assessment chosen by his owner) when he
was checked in and had his pre-surgical examination earlier, so Lori goes to get his bloodwork started
now.
Once it’s running she comes back out to the treatment room to change the circuit & bag on the anesthetic
machine to the correct size for him. His ET tube, I/V catheter etc. are already prepared, so she sets up the dental unit and
all additional dental equipment that will be needed as well as the dental x-ray unit, personal safety equipment etc.
11:00am: Marcia’s surgery is finished and she is carried back through for her recovery with nice thick blankets and some
wheat bags for extra warmth. One of the techs stays right with her to recover her while continuing to monitor her.
11:10am: Marcia is ready to be extubated. She is very calm & shows no signs of wanting to move, so she is allowed to rest
where she is while Solomon’s dentistry takes place, or until she feels ready to move.
11:20am: Solomon’s blood work was normal & will provide a good baseline for future reference as he gets older. No changes
were necessary for his sedation or anesthesia, which he receives intravenously now, and then via an endotracheal tube in the
same way as Marcia. He also receives routine fluid therapy. Once he is at the correct depth of anesthesia, he is moved
through to x-ray, where he remains hooked up to the anesthetic machine, while Lori & Krista take full mouth x-rays.
Once back in the treatment/pre-surgical area, Lori begins the full mouth assessment and ultra-sonic cleaning of his teeth.
Happily he only requires one extraction based on his x-rays & examination. Lori, having already calculated his dose,
administers the dental nerve block before Dr. Rorke performs the extraction – although he is soundly asleep this means he
will not need to be anesthetised any deeper & he will also benefit from it for several hours after he wakes. Following the
sub-gingival cleaning & rinsing, Solomon’s teeth are polished (all exactly the same as the periodontal cleaning we have at the
dentist’s) and at......
12:30pm: ......he too is woken & recovered in the same way as Marcia, though in his kennel. While Solomon was having his
procedure, Krista has looked at an ear swab she took while he was asleep. With the prepared slide under the microscope she
was able to see that he has ear mites & has noted this on his file as he will need treatment, along with his antibiotics &
anti-inflammatories.
She has also entered the details of Marcia’s surgery on her file, sent her post-op drugs request to the (in-house) pharmacy
and prepared her post-op sheet & buster collar to take home.
She now starts entering Solomon’s information for today into his medical records while Lori recovers & extubates him.
1:00pm: Marcia has had her I/V out and returned to her kennel, Lori & Krista have begun the cleaning up process & now
Solomon is awake enough to have his I/V removed too. He, like Marcia, gets a little pressure bandage on his leg to keep it
from bleeding, and after making sure everyone is comfortable and at the expected level of recovery, Lori & Krista go for
lunch. (Lunch is usually staggered, but for the purposes of our imaginary day we will let them have lunch together ;)
TO BE CONTINUED........