Do You Have What it Takes to Work With Large Animals?
The surgical team at Comstock Large Animal Veterinary Hospital begins prepping for surgery. The surgeon scrubs in, putting on sterile gloves and a gown while the veterinary technician prepares the drugs. The room is sanitized and ready to be used, the smell of Betadine fills the air, and surgical trays line the back walls. New smells, sights, and sounds heighten the horse’s interest as it is brought into the preparation room by the veterinary technician. The veterinary technician begins administering the sedative so that the horse becomes relaxed and can move into the surgical room. The veterinary technician waits for the doctor’s signal to deliver the dosage of anesthetic needed to allow the horse to fall asleep. When the horse falls to the ground, the effort of a crane and rope attachment moves it on top of the surgical table. A tube, placed down the horse’s throat, begins to deliver the appropriate amount of oxygen and monitors are attached to oversee vital signs. Surgery then takes place.
The large animal veterinary field is full of various jobs and opportunities awaiting young students. The two most common jobs include veterinarian and veterinarian technician. The salaries, responsibilities, and qualifications vary between each job. According to the accredited article “Large Animal Veterinarian,” large animal veterinarians administer vaccines, perform health check-ups, clean teeth, fix broken bones, treat skin infections, and perform surgeries. One must graduate with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree to become a large animal veterinarian.
Comstock Large Animal Hospital in Reno, Nevada, is made up of a team of six veterinarians and four veterinary technicians. Current Equine Medicine and Surgeon Intern for Comstock Large Animal Hospital, Dr. Christy Copeland, can attest to the amount of schooling required to become a veterinarian. After receiving her bachelor’s degree, she attended veterinary school for four years at the University of California, Davis. She passed the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam, allowing her to practice medicine. The amount of money put toward vet school is substantial and “it is really good to know what you are getting yourself into,” Copeland said. She recommends prospective vet students work in a specialization of interest before investing such a large amount of money, to make sure they end up with a career they enjoy.
Dr. Jaime Hustace-Lehfeldt, large animal veterinarian at Sierra Nevada Large Animal Hospital Reno, Nevada, attended veterinary school at Oregon State University. She worked as an Internal Medicine Resident at the university for three years after her internship in Colorado. Hustace-Lehfeldt agrees with Copeland that the amount of time and education as a veterinary student takes dedication; advising veterinary students to “keep working for it and don’t be afraid of putting yourself out there.”
Many large animal vet clinics welcome applying vet students to job shadow. Job shadowing allowed Copeland to find her passion, “Job shadowing helped me a lot and pointed me in the right career direction,” she said. The University of Northern Colorado suggests Pre-vet students complete around 1,000 to 2,000 hours of veterinary service before starting the application process.
As an intern, Copeland was given a case and had to come up with a treatment plan and diagnosis with qualified veterinarians standing by. Copeland’s one-year internship will end this June, becoming an official associate. She emphasized that her internship was the next step in preparing her after graduate school.
An accredited veterinary technician career profile states that a veterinary technician’s duties include taking blood counts, administering medications and vaccinations, preparing tissue samples, maintaining patient records, taking x-rays, and providing nursing care. Veterinary technician at Comstock Large Animal Hospital, Wendy Wyatt, believes there should be strong communication between the veterinarian and the veterinary technician, “If I screw up on a patient it’s not just my license, it’s the supervising veterinarian’s as well,” she said.
The career profile emphasized that veterinary technicians must receive a two-year associates degree in animal science and pass the Veterinary Technician National Examination or receive a bachelor’s degree and pass the exam before being able to practice.
According to the accredited site Salary Genius, which represents salaries of different jobs, the starting yearly salary for a large animal veterinarian in Reno, Nevada is $44,842. A large animal veterinary technician’s starting yearly salary is $31,760. The gap in salary doesn’t matter much to Wyatt, who explains that one of the major benefits of being a veterinary technician is less time spent in school and less student debt.
The surgeon makes the last suture as the veterinary assistants are emptying the surgery room so that the horse has substantial room to stand up. The monitors and breathing tube are removed in preparation for the animal to breathe on its own. The metal surgical trays are rolled out of the room and a towel covers the horse’s eyes eliminating uneasiness. The veterinary technician stays in the room with the horse, while the rest of the surgical team clears out. The lights are dimmed to reduce sensitivity and the vet tech puts pressure on the horse to refrain it from getting up too early and losing balance. A drug is administered to help ease the horse back into consciousness. After about 10 to 15 minutes the horse is stimulated and starts to stand up. It is then brought to the recovery stalls until it is ready for the owners to take home. A successful surgery in the day of a large animal veterinarian.
