Continuing Education Helps Reinforce Learned Skills
Once you are a full-fledged, full-time working vet tech, you can depend upon membership in a number of different societies and associations to help you keep your veterinary medicine knowledge current and your skills always highly honed.
Membership Provides Helpful Reminders
Education is a life-long process. There will always be something new to learn about your career as a vet tech. Each day you will more than likely learn something about your job and yourself as well. Membership in associations that help you continue career development is extremely important. These groups provide ongoing continuing education courses as well as being valuable sources for placards, brochures and on-the-job teaching aids. Here’s something glommed from one of those sites:
Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation for Pets Example
This is a version of artificial respiration that assists in helping the heartbeat. The activity is designed to keep oxygen flow into the lungs and blood circulating through the body. There are a variety of different ways to perform CPR on small animals. However, using the following acronym that depicts the ABC’s of CPR helps personnel like vet techs in small animal hospitals remember various aspects about the procedure that goes like this:
A = Airway (Is it patent?)
B = Breathing (Is breathing present?)
C = Circulation (Does the patient have a pulse?)
D = Drugs (Are drugs like airopine present?)
E = EKG (Is a rhythm present?)
F = Fluids (Colloids, Crystalloids, etc.)
Helpful Action Reminders
The association to which a veterinary technician belongs will offer many helpful tools like wall cards depicting several types of reminders about daily activities and techniques which need to be used for effective animal healthcare. Furthermore, membership in these groups will usually result in monthly or periodic newsletters sent that have plenty of up-to-date information about what is currently happening in the world of veterinary medicine that is applicable to the daily activities of veterinary technician.
Helpful Downloads
Additionally, there are many different groups and organizations in which a veterinary technician to join that offer either inexpensive download educational products or ones that are free based on membership. Some of these downloadable education materials are designed for a course-like participation that leads to obtaining continuing education credits. Many of these credits can be eventually applied toward specialized certification are the types of industry-wide recognition. And, since your membership to these organizations get you on their e-mail list, you will typically receive plenty of alerts about upcoming educational opportunities that will allow you to participate.
Employer Sanctioned
Veterinary technicians seeking to be in a continual self educating mode may find a lot of encouragement or in sponsorship provided by their employers. This encouragement and support they often come in the form of financial payment for the required fees that accompany some of the educational courses offered by organizations within the industry. Vet techs should inquire at their place of employment if there is a tuition reimbursement program or if the employer encourages participation in particular courses offered from specific companies or other organizations.