Credentialed veterinary technicians (CVTs) are valuable assets and partners in providing practical and high-quality pet care. They perform a range of indispensable tasks - assisting with surgeries, performing diagnostic tests, and educating clients about their pet’s health– functions that all contribute to a smoother and more efficient operation, bringing your practice’s success to a whole new level!
A study by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) highlighted that vet practices with CVTs on their team were able to earn higher average revenues - a whopping $ 500,000 - than those who don’t have CVTs on their team. And if that isn’t enticing enough, increases in revenue associated with employing CVTs or their equivalent are perceived to be higher than the cost of their salaries or wages. So, for every CVT hired, you can expect an increase in revenue of about $100,000!
How exactly are CVTs able to maximize your success? Consider the following facets:
Efficient Operations
For starters, CVTs can lend an extra helping hand in increasing affordability and access to services. It's merely impossible for veterinarians to be solely in charge of all aspects of patient care. CVTs carry a wealth of knowledge with them and are more than capable of covering that level of care that might otherwise be overlooked by vets swamped with workload. This gives vets the chance to focus on the more complex cases, leading to productivity.
Enhanced Patient Care
Collaborating with CVTs ensures 360 degree, personalized patient care. Vet technicians specialize in educating and giving follow up recommendations in critical areas on top of providing emotional support. They also address client questions about disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment plans.
This makes clients feel they are involved in decisions about their pets and are more likely to trust and adhere to veterinary recommendations.
Increased Client Satisfaction and Loyalty
A survey of pet owners found that they trust and have positive feelings toward CVT qualifications (North American Veterinary Community, 2021). That’s because expertise is 1 of the 3 main things clients value when it comes to veterinary professionals, the others being a strong relationship and providing personal recommendations.
But, here’s the caveat.
Clinics that employ CVTs were found to underutilize CVT skills in the workplace (National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, 2016). CVTs are being given tasks that are below their skill level and are not being given the opportunity to learn new skills or to take on leadership roles. This can significantly impair the quality of care that pets receive.
So how do we actually make the best out of our CVTs?
To enhance patient care means to match CVTs’ talent to tasks, enabling them to exercise their strengths and grow their skills. Here are a few strategies to attract, engage, and maintain technicians by your side:
- Foster a sense of autonomy, competency, and impact.
- Pay a competitive wage so that it is a reason to stay rather than to leave.
- Consider nonmonetary rewards, such as recognition on social media or extra time off.
- Maximize their opportunities to apply their diverse skill sets.
- Empower them to recognize and solve problems.
- Thank them for a job well done.
- Use language that conveys respect and fosters a sense that they’re making a difference.
- Support those interested in specialty training.
- Provide them with career advancement opportunities, like a senior technician role or practice management duties.
- Help clients understand the special training and skills required to be credentialed.
- Encourage non credentialed assistants to become credentialed technicians.
By effectively utilizing CVTs in your veterinary practice, both for operational success and staff satisfaction, you reap the benefits that you and your clientele deserve.
In addition to partnering with CVTs, you need the right equipment to provide quality care to patients while having control over your budget.
At AIV Vet, we support products for intravenous medication delivery. As part of our total IV pump support program and in meeting your growing needs, we stock patient-ready and cost-effective new and used IV pumps that have reliable fluid delivery, equivalent to that of factory performance. You can also trust our IVetMATE IV Fluid Warmer for accurate fluid temperature.
Need repairs and want to extend the life of your pumps? Worry no more. We provide repair services for many popular infusion pump models, performed in our ISO 13485:2016 certified facility to strict quality standards. We offer both flat rate, all-inclusive pump repairs as well as fixed-rate labor repairs to better suit your budgeting needs!
Source: AVMA Veterinary Economics Division staff & AVMA Veterinary Economics Division staff; (2022, October 14). 5 ways credentialed veterinary technicians can boost practice success. DVM 360.