009: What To Expect When Specializing As A Vet Tech w/ Lindsay Carroll
If you’ve ever looked into specialization as a certified vet tech, you’re probably aware that it’s no easy feat, and that you’ll have to make some sacrifices along the way. The resulting opportunities, however, can be incredibly rewarding and lead you to places you might not have previously imagined. Today’s guest walks us through the process of specializing as a vet tech and what you can expect if you choose to go down this road.
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Show Notes:
Lindsay Carroll got her bachelor's degree and took the CVT test within 24 hours of each other and worked both in general and specialized practice. It wasn’t until she applied to the oncology department at the CSU vet school that the specialization bug really bit, however. She spoke with us about the intensely stressful process of gaining her specialization and how she had to practically give up her life for an entire year to pursue it.
We also got into the process of applying for the position of vet nurse at the University, what the daily life of a veterinary nurse looks like, and what is the secret to having a great dynamic with your co-workers and upper management. This episode is a must listen to anyone who ever thought about specialization but was unsure of what was expected.
Have you ever considered a specialization? What held you back or pushed you forward?
Bonus question: What do you do to help your team feel appreciated?
In this episode:
- Tips on what can be done to help teams to feel appreciated
- The process of application for employment within a University
- Secret to having a great dynamic with your coworkers and management
- Daily task of a veterinary nurse
- Steps to becoming specialized in a field
Quotes:
“I think it’s just, obviously, the ‘Hey you’re doing a great job’ and ‘Thanks for doing that’ but even the little things. We even had a board that’s called a kudos board where if someone was doing something great or someone stayed late to help you with something; you would say ‘Hey, thank you so much for that.’ That helped a lot, but it was hard because I still felt that even if they said it, I didn’t feel like they meant it.” (18:48)
“It’s hard to go home and talk about it because people over there are so rural that people are like ‘Why would you treat cancer?’, ‘Why would you give chemotherapy to a dog?’ and it’s like we are not doing it for the money, I guarantee you that. We don’t worry about profit at CSU, it’s more, what we can do to make sure that these people can have their dog a little longer or their cat a little longer and what that means to somebody. Nowadays, our cats and dogs are family and knowing that we can give them more time with their pets is irreplaceable in my opinion.” (54:32)
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