Jennifer Lopez, DVM, MBA, describes veterinary technicians as the “glue holding the hospital together,” and she has plenty of firsthand experience to back this belief—not just as a veterinarian, but as a technician, as well. Though she now serves as an Antech Professional Services Veterinarian, Dr. Lopez entered the veterinary field as an animal care technician, and the work she performed during this time remains near, dear, and deeply transformative.
In honor of National Veterinary Technician Week, we spoke with Dr. Lopez and another technician-turned-veterinarian, Cathy Meeks, MS, DVM, DACVIM, Antech’s Vice President of Medical Operations, about how their unique career paths have shaped their endless admiration and appreciation of veterinary technicians and the invaluable role they play in making the world a better place for pets and people.
Different Paths. Same Passion.
Like many veterinarians, Dr. Lopez’s career trajectory was solidified at a young age. “My parents bred Rottweilers, and my mom used to bring home just about every free-roaming dog on the street,” she recalls. “When I helped take the puppies to the veterinarian for shots and deworming, I thought, ‘I want to help all the animals of the world.’ And when I witnessed the death of a family dog, I was determined to make it to veterinary school so I could help relieve animal suffering.”
But here’s where Dr. Lopez’s story differs from the norm. Instead of going directly to veterinary school, she first became an animal care technician at the University of Florida Small Animal Hospital where she cared for blood donor cats and greyhounds and helped with cleaning. “I always wanted to take my job seriously,” she explains, “even if it was just cleaning cages and taking out the garbage.” Dr. Lopez’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed, and she soon moved into the role of overnight animal technician before earning a position as a veterinary technician in the dermatology department.
Unlike Dr. Lopez, Dr. Meeks’ veterinary aspirations developed in college, not childhood, when she started volunteering with a rescue group and fostering several animals. From there, she applied to volunteer at a veterinary clinic and was offered a position as an assistant/receptionist instead. “I saw I had an opportunity to help animals on a larger scale,” Dr. Meeks recounts. “The passion grew from there, and I went on to serve as a veterinary technician for eight years.”
Lessons in How to Treat People and Why Veterinarians Should Get Their Hands Dirty
Drs. Lopez and Meeks offer a uniquely illuminating lens through which to discuss the veterinary field and the people in it. They know what it’s like to spend a day (or years, rather) in technician scrubs, and the triumphs and frustrations they experienced continue to shape how they think about and practice veterinary medicine.
“I’ve held a lot of positions at this point in my career and can say without a doubt that being a veterinary technician was one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever had,” Dr. Meeks explains. “You put in a lot of tough hours and have the most touchpoints with patients and their owners, which can be physically and emotionally taxing.”
Dr. Lopez echoes this hard-earned humility. “Working alongside veterinary students was an eye-opening experience,” Dr. Lopez says. “There were many who were grateful for the help or an extra hand, who were kind about asking for things, who were generous with their time, trying to teach me things or explain why things were happening or why a patient was receiving a certain medication.” Others, however, behaved as though they had a crippling superiority complex. “Some were rude and expected animal technicians to bend over backwards to help them and clean for them,” she recalls. “They seemed to go out of their way to make more of a mess for us to clean.”
Now that she’s a veterinarian, Dr. Lopez makes a point of getting her hands dirty. “Sometimes DVMs can view certain tasks as menial or beneath them” she explains. “But doctors can clean cages and clean up after themselves. They can help clean dog ears and express anal glands. This is important and necessary work.”
Dr. Lopez continues to draw inspiration from her late friend and former colleague, Tanya, who serves as an enduring model of how she wants to treat people. “Tanya was the overnight technician,” she explains. “She was kind and wanted to make a difference with every person she encountered.”
Knowing Dr. Lopez had little experience with drawing blood/venipuncture and that she wanted to become a veterinarian, Tanya went out of her way to pass on new skills. “She taught me how feel for a vein and pull blood from the jugular vein,” Dr. Lopez says. “She taught me about blood tubes and how to hold a syringe—the tricks of the trade. She was patient with me and helped me gain the confidence I needed to move into the overnight animal technician role in the dog and cat wards at the University of Florida.”
Dr. Lopez says that to this day, blood draws remain an area of comfort and strength. “I always get compliments on how I can go by the feel and anatomy and how quickly I’m able to get blood from animals,” she explains. “And it all goes back to Tanya and how she was willing to put in the time to teach me. I hope to follow her example.”
The Workhorses of the Veterinary Clinic
When asked what they want people to know about the job, the former technicians don’t mince their words. “Veterinary technicians don’t get the recognition they deserve,” Dr. Lopez says. “They are the clinic workhorses. DVMs sometimes get all the credit, and they forget that they contributed to a much larger process extending beyond themselves.”
Part of the problem, Dr. Meeks suggests, could be that people have a hard time understanding the veterinary technician’s unique skillset and training requirements. Dr. Lopez concurs. “Veterinary technicians have to become experts in several species, including humans,” she says. “They’re phlebotomists, anesthesiologists, therapists, and teachers, and they are emotionally, physically, and mentally invested at all times. They do the majority of the work, prepping for the day, nursing animals back to health, communicating with pet owners, and maintaining the sanity of the doctors.”
And much like veterinarians, they certainly aren’t in it for the money. “Veterinary medicine isn’t easier than human medicine,” Dr. Lopez notes. “Technicians are nurses, but they don’t get compensated the same.”
“Veterinary technicians are here because they truly love the patients and have a passion for the care they provide,” Dr. Meeks adds.
Improve the lives of Technicians. Improve Veterinary Medicine.
Both veterinarians articulated opportunities for improving the lives and work of veterinary technicians, which of course has the added benefit of improving veterinary medicine, as a whole. Dr. Lopez wants to see more collaboration, and Dr. Meeks advocates for more communication.
“In both my day-to-day work at Antech and in visiting clinics, I know the importance of listening to the technicians and front desk staff, not just the decision makers who are signing the checks,” Dr. Lopez explains. “Technicians are the ones running the analyzers and packing up samples to send to the reference laboratory. It’s crucial to collaborate with them in developing strategies for medical support and in developing new techniques for promoting wellness and preventive care.”
When it comes to technician wellness, Dr. Meeks sees both progress and room for continued improvement. “I was really concerned during my time as a veterinarian technician, as I saw the hours veterinary professionals worked and could feel how difficult this field is both physically and emotionally,” she notes. “Back then, we didn’t talk much about ‘burnout’ or ‘compassion fatigue.’ We just thought what we were doing was normal.”
Dr. Meeks recalls working a 16-hour shift in which she was the sole technician caring for 20 patients in the ICU. “I’m so pleased that I’ve heard more discussions over the past decade on ways to prevent compassion fatigue. We now talk about things like technician-to-patient ratios and personal wellness. We need to continue pursuing better care of ourselves and each other.”
