My Mental Health Led me to be a Registered Veterinary Technician
Interested in a career with animals, but not sure where to start? The beginning of this story may sound a little similar to many, so I’ll try to keep it short. I went to university, fresh out of high school with big dreams, and little direction. Eager to get away from home and start my own life, I moved out of Toronto into the small city of Kingston. I met amazing people and loved the independence. Two years into university, I specialized in Bio-Psychology, the study of how our brain influences our behavior and feelings. I have always been passionate about mental health and an advocate for mental health support. What I didn’t consider was how a career in mental health would affect my own.
I began working at the local mental health hospital as a Patient Assistant to gain experience. Working in the geriatric department, I learned more than I’d ever hoped for, and I will forever be grateful for the experience. This job, however, made it hard to leave my emotions at work; I often found I brought my experiences of the day back home. One day, when I came into the hospital, I learned that my favorite patient passed away. The week before, I helped him shave his head, and painted his face like an ogre for Halloween. He was so proud of how terrifying he looked! We walked around the entire ward trying to spook staff members, he even won the costume contest! Four days later, he passed away playing his favorite video game.
Shortly after this event, I found myself spiraling into a new feeling I’d never experienced before, depression. I stopped going to classes, spent all day in bed, stopped eating, and refused to go out with friends. After months of suffering, I pushed myself to find something I was passionate about, to get me out of bed. I spent hours on the internet searching for the right thing and found a link to the volunteer application for a local small animal rescue. Quickly after starting this opportunity, I developed a new love for working with animals. I spent every minute I had volunteering with the rescue to keep my mind busy. When exam season came around, it was too late for me to make up all the time I had lost. I missed my exams, dropped out of school, and moved back home into my old bedroom.
This was the year that I was determined to define something I truly loved doing. since being home, I missed the volunteer work I did with the animal rescue, and within a few weeks of being back home, I applied to work at every pet store in the city as well as several animal rescues. I wanted to make sure that I had a true interest in this field before jumping into the deep-end. It was months before I heard back from anyone, but soon I had a job lined up at a pet store and had an interview to volunteer at a local wildlife centre. I learned so much working at the pet store and volunteering at the wildlife centre. At this time, I knew that if I was happy cleaning cages, picking up poop, and feeding animals, while learning all about the cool medical aspects and care that each animal needed, I could be happy doing this long term.
While volunteering at the wildlife center, I learned what a registered veterinary technician (RVT or LVT) was. My whole life, I thought that being a veterinarian was the only option to care for animals as a career. Six months into volunteering, I was hired by the wildlife center to work as a wildlife rehab assistant and had the opportunity to shadow the veterinary team. After watching the lead RVT assist in surgery and anesthesia, medicate countless animals, and bandage the tail of a red-tailed hawk, all in a day’s work, I realized how bad-ass registered veterinary technicians were. That winter I applied to go back to school.
I’m not here to tell you that becoming an RVT is going to cure your depression. For me, that will continue to be a life-long battle. What I can tell you, is finding something you’re passionate about can make some days easier, and for me, becoming an RVT helped me become a stronger person. An RVT is capable of so many things. We are advocates for our patients, we are educators, we are anesthesiologists, radiologists, dental hygienists, we draw blood, and place catheters, fill prescriptions, and administer medication. We do all of this and more under the direction of a veterinarian. You can work alongside an amazing team of veterinary assistants, receptionists, veterinarians, animal care workers, and volunteers. Every day I learn something new and the opportunities are endless! In the four years I have been working in this field, I have worked at the local wildlife center as a wildlife rehab assistant and a nursery supervisor, as a veterinary assistant at a small cat and dog clinic, as a RVT at a referral hospital specializing in Avian and Exotics, as a RVT at an animal shelter, and I have volunteered in spay-neuter clinics in first nation reserves.
Think about spay-neuter trips abroad, volunteering with sloths in Costa Rica, or specializing your career in what you love most: anesthesia, nutrition, exotics, large animal, the possibilities are endless! Still not sure if this is the right path for you? Try volunteering and shadowing at your local veterinary clinic, shelter, or animal rescue to gain experience, and build connections.
For more information on how to become a Registered Veterinary Technician, look into the laws and regulations of your province or state. Please refer to the links below to get started:
