Where did all the Vet Techs Go? Featuring April Bays (CVT, VTS(ECC), VCC)

Tails from a Vet Tech

Vet Techs leaving the field isn’t a new issue, although the pandemic has brought more awareness to it. There are various reasons why veterinary technicians are leaving the field including not being utilized, being underpaid, no room to grow, and more!
This week Tabitha talks to April Bays about why technicians are leaving and how we can help them succeed and thrive. We also share our stories of leaving general practice to start our own businesses.
About our guest:
April Bays CVT, VTS (ECC), VCC - April became a Certified Veterinary Technician in 2007 while discovering her love for emergency and critical care medicine. Having found her passion, April pursued her Veterinary Technician Specialty and earned her VTS in Emergency and Critical Care in 2013.

She ultimately became the head technician at her practice, where the massive challenge of meeting the needs of staff, as they meet the needs of the patients, came into focus. April believes that technician education and training have been overlooked while the profession has grown exponentially.

In her leadership role, April recognized the dire need for putting knowledge into action and shifting the paradigm from accepting “the way we’ve always done things” to validating by empowering the powerhouse of the clinic: veterinary technicians. Progress demanded a structured training program, and after many years she developed the Veterinary Technician and Assistant Clinical Development Program.

In 2020, April created Elevative Veterinary Training Solutions in order to focus full-time on technician development and training, and to provide practical, hands-on guidance to practices which are implementing her Program.

April has written for journals, blogs, and co-authored a chapter in the Veterinary Technician’s Manual for Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care. She continues to lecture for conferences - including the prestigious International Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Symposium - on emergency topics and the art of critical care and critical thinking. Her areas of interest include metabolic, endocrine, and respiratory emergencies. She also lectures on topics related to veterinary cannabis medicine and became a Veterinary Cannabis Counselor in 2021. Pain management is of particular interest to April, and she was the recipient of the 2022 IVAPM (International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management) Pain Management Advocacy Award.

When she’s not eliminating pain, training veterinary professionals, or writing proceedings, you can find her supporting the many local breweries in Oregon, backpacking, and getting lost in the wilderness. Literally.

Elevative Veterinary Training Solutions
https://elevativevts.wixsite.com/mysite
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