Who the Heck Are All These People?
Working in a large hospital that boasts emergency, specialty and general practices, it may seem easy to get overwhelmed upon entering for your first visit. Even the most organized large facility is going to be fairly packed with a large number of staff members. These organized hospitals, however, will do there best to try to point out to you who’s who, and I’d like to try and explain the differences in the basic positions so you may know where to go if and when you enter one of these places. I can only speak for the practices I’ve worked in, of course.
For starters, you have your receptionist/ front office staff. They are almost always the first people you see, especially if you have an appointment, or walk in on a not-as-critical emergency. These people do not only schedule your appointments, welcome you,, attend to your bill and pull your chart- they are also a critical player in keeping the flow of the hospital going. They are trained to be able to answer your questions- or at least know who to get so that you can have your answers. They often deal with the most abuse or stress from clients- not necessarily on purpose- but the biggest problems encountered on a daily basis are people upset with their bills, people upset their pet isn’t doing well and unsure why when they walk in, and people who feel they can talk down to the front office staff even when they won’t to the licensed personnel. Contrary to most people’s conceptions, these staff members are one of our most important, deserving the most respect: they give you your first impression of our hospital, and their ‘attitude’ is what can make or break us. A good front office staff member deals with the daily stress and is still able to put a smile on and help you and the next client. There is always a manager or head of the office you can speak to when needed.
The assistants are the ones you may see running by to quickly clean up a puppy pee in the front, or carry up your large bag of food despite weighing only 110 lbs themselves, or putting all they have into calming and holding onto your aggressive 140 lb Dane or aggressive feral cat who needs his head still for an eye pressure check by the doctor. The get the most ‘beat up‘- they often get paid the least- and they are there to set up all our procedures, hold our patients, help you to your car with your supplies, and in the process, still doing their best to learn medicine. A good assistant is irreplaceable- and they do it for their love of animals. Many of ours are in tech or vet school- and deal with daily bruises and minimum recognition because they love what they do- I couldn’t speak enough about how appreciated they truly are to the doctors and techs.
Technicians in the best facilities and in states requiring such are licensed. I myself have my bachelor’s in Veterinary technology and pre-vet medicine with countless continuing education hours. We are not usually trying to be vets- some start this way- but most know they’d rather do the hands-on work than the theory behind it. With the education, we understand disease processes, surgeries and injuries, and utilize that knowledge to be responsible for all diagnostic testing, monitoring of patient care and status, and education to the client. We are the ones who admit your animals and then bring them back to you when picked up, who explain your medications to you, who are put on the phone when you aren’t sure you’re dealing with an emergency, who run out to get your pet when a life threatening problem is occurring, and who do cpr, anesthesia, intubation, medicating, injecting and so forth to save your pet. We go by your permission to save and the doctor’s orders to use certain things, and we go… sometimes it’s like being in a bubble with the amount going on at once- but a large hospital that has techs who work well together and with the doctor is an unbelievable feeling. It’s quite a rush at times. And we still then care for the lesser emergent cases with the same care and love for the patient. A day filled with just about anything: from making sure they live through their anesthesia during their liver shunt surgery, to helping them take their first steps after an amputation, to watching their progress and medicating every hour to give them a chance at life through their heart failure or bleeding disorder, to teaching them its ok for us to touch your paws for your first puppy or kitten nail trim! We go to work never knowing what we’ll see for the day- but its always a wide mixture.
The vets, of course, speak to you in the appointments, physically examine the animal and decide what treatment or diagnostics are needed, utilize their education and expertise to determine what needs to be ruled out and what is most likely going on, and take a chance with each and every patient that they are correct in what they choose. It’s a lot of pressure, but with the support of the entire staff working together, things can be made easier for the doctor to concentrate on their job only so that you get your pet back as healthy and happy as possible.
Christine, LVT
