Vet Question??
 

For 25 years I had the same vet. He and his wife owned their own practice. He performed all services on my pets himself...exams, shots, bloodwork, etc. A few years back he sold his practice to what I call more of a corporate vet office. There are 3 vets now, so you have to schedule appts around the schedule of which vet your prefer or else you have different vets everytime you come in.

Here's my dilemma...the assistants in the office give the pets their vaccinations, not the vet. Twice now in the past year I have had to stop the assistant from giving my little Roxi (2.5 pounds) a vaccination that she had already been given earlier in the year :mad:. I'm getting very frustrated. What if I was a pet parent who didn't pay attention? Also, this last time the assistant gave my Roxi her shot in the waiting room while I was holding her. She has never had any side effects of her vaccinations, but last night she was crying all night because of pain at the injection site. I'm thinking that might have not happened had she been in a room on the table.

I'm just wondering how other vet offices work. I know I was very spoilt with my first vet. I have no problems with the vets themselves. Is it time to look for another vet office?

Time for a new vet. My vet gives all vaccinations

i agree, time for a new vet.
imo, technicians should not be giving vax,
at least they never have at my vet.
good luck

agreed my vet does it all....his assistant works right beside him helping but he does the shots himself.

I also think its outrageous she was given her shots in the waiting room. That is really uncaring type of care

Why is it nothing good ever lasts??????????? Just ANOTHER issue to deal with!!! My vet sees each pet in a room, reviews the chart, gets caught up on how things are going, what the issue is today, and she give any injections, or at least she decides which one is to be given and she is in the room when any form of treatment or shot is given. How unprofessional for them to give injections out in the waiting room....at least that is what I am thinking...If I had gone to the same vet for 25 years, I would just have a chat with him and (I dont know how confrontational you are....) express some concern over the accuracy of your babies records, since the assistant was apparently NOT SEEING those 2 vaccinations on the record that had already had been given....that puts the blame on the record and NOT the assistant...not threatening, no hurt feelings.....and I would just say the pup "is having some site pain which she has never had before, possibly she squirmed when I was holding her out in the waiting room when she got that last shot...In the future, I think I want to go into a room and hold her securely on an exam table, since this has never happened before...had to be the way I was holding her when she got the shot....." There again, no blame for them, but you are getting your point made! Or you can be confrontational like me ands just say, "WHOA! I will wait until we can get in an exam room for any treatments or shots! Makes me feel less 'assembly line' like!" With the records, I would just say, "Lets look over the shot records to make sure everything is accuraste and up to date....I dont want my babies vaccinated with the same shot 3x/year!"

I would certainly find another Vet. I would never allow any of mine to have their shot's in a waiting room. to me this totally uncalled for.

A vet needs to see and exam he pet in my opinion.

New Vet
 

My vet gives all shots with an assistant available to hold the dog if needed. I would think you are paying for the expertise of the Veterinarian not the assistant. If they are so busy they can't take the time to administer shots - I think it's time for a new Vet.

Vet techs at my vets office (my DIL is one of them) are there to assist in holding the pet, handing the vet the vacs..and generally assisting the doctor, but the Vet does the actual innoculations..never the tech.

Definitely time for a new vet. You might want to find one who follows Dr. Dodd's Vaccine Protocol if you want to avoid side effects from continued exposure to vaccines, especially combo shots. The side effects increase with the amount of vaccinations that a dog gets... next time, Roxi might have a worse reaction than pain. Over-vaccination and vaccinosis are very real and very devastating results of negligent vets.

Same with my vet. Vet tech holds - Vet administers Vaccination. Actually they also show me the vaccine prior to administering......Which was a good thing, cause one time, they were going to administer a combo shot...and I said hey doc ... this is a combo.. OOPS.

WEll actually I hold my big boy. Safer for everyone that way.

It's perfectly acceptable for techs to vaccinate. They do a lot more serious things than that..like monitoring your pets' anesthesia during surgery.

An assistant that has only been on the job for a few weeks...not so much..

Vaccines are never given in the wIting room here. They are always given by a vet or tech. If the tech gives them, the vet isn't far and is asked, "is it ok to give xyz"?

I would say that you should just talk to the vets about apthe mixups, but if they are sending assistants to the waiting room to give injections, I'd move on. Assistants can't do exams anyway.

i don't think table vs no table is a huge deal as long as pup is still.
Techs draw blood too. They do fine. Actually some are better at it than vets. Just depends. Remember, techs learned a lot of technical skills in school. Maybe even more extensively than vets...

Thanks everyone for your comments. Just to give a little more background on the situation...

Because of Roxi's small size, her vet and I decided that we would not give her all her shots at one time. 2 weeks ago she went in for her rabies shot. At that time her vet did perform her 6 mos exam and gave Roxi her rabies shot. So yesterday I took her in to get her dhpp-lepto (sp) only.

I have one vet that I prefer to work with on 2 of my 3 animals (my problem children). I have to take Roxi back in to see her in August to have another liver panel workup done (Roxi has been diagnosed with MVD). Her nos keep going up...34 to 84 to 100 last week. Anyway, I will be discussing this situation with her. I want only her to administer Roxi's shots in an exam room. If this is a problem for her, I will definitely be finding another vet since it seems from your comments that this situation is not the norm (I wish my old vet had not retired...I hate change)

Thanks again for all your help.

:eek::eek: No way no how!! My vet gives ours and also exams them before giving them. :eek::eek: Yes it cost a little more but worth it. I would discuss this with my vet. And if you get no where, then I would find a new vet.

OH this makes me feel a little better, thank you! Two weeks ago Luna and Izzy went to the vet for their yearly checkup, rabies shot, and to check out Luna's itchies. They had an appointment this morning for their distemper/parvo vax. The office called me yesterday and said that the vet would be in late (after my appt. time) and they asked if I minded if a tech gave the vax. I said okay and they got them this morning, one tech holding, the other injecting. They did a good job. When I read all the replies here about this, I thought that maybe I had done the wrong thing:eek: So glad to hear that this is pretty normal. The vet did a thorough exam two weeks ago, and he did give them their rabies vax then. Whew:)

As for the waiting room thing, unacceptable imho. If they were that busy maybe they should have rescheduled.

My vet gives the vac's also with assistance if needed. Giving a vacine in the waiting room? Really? I'm thinking that seemed a little bit unprofessional.

I am ok with techs giving shots. I give my dogs shots ( I have been taught how and where for each kind of med.) I also give shots to my Mom. And my hubby is a retired Surgery Tech, he closed incisions, started IVs, drew blood, did x-rays, helped with cathars, and dozens of other things. The docs often called him to get a vein when they couldn't When the patient was badly dehydrated. Vet techs can give shots, draw blood, and many other things. Giving the shot is not the problem, what and how much is in the shot, is something I would be very concerned about.
I would first address my worries with the Vet(s) before I changed. You said they were good Vets and that is a good thing. It is hard to lose a doctor you worked with and trusted. One thing about new practices is younger docs bring new ideas, and new technology and that can be a good thing too.

:thumbup: I dont have a problem with the techs giving the shots either...I dont like the waiting room shots being given....just seems a little unprofessional or like running cattle or sheep thru a dipping tank...just not very personal for the client....we kind of like the feeling of getting personal, undivided attention! As far as techs being qualified to give the injections, I couldn t agree more...they are actually phenominal and they do so much more than just "hold the pets" for the vet. Like nurses with docs, techs are usually better at shots and blood draws than the vets are, because they do it all the time! And they are usually the ones doing the teeth cleaning.... I also agree the table is no big deal for the shot, but it just doesnt "look good" to give shots "out front" and that was a good argument the client could use without being confrontational...Blame it on the table!!!!

Vet techs are trained to give shots. They have to learn all about types of vaccines, vaccine injection sites, possible side effects, etc. They are quite qualified at giving vaccines or taking blood. I've even seen some vet techs better at it than the vet because they have done it more often. Vet techs are like nurses, they have to learn a lot of stuff which is why surgeries and diagnosing are the only 2 things they can't do.

However, they really shouldn't have given the shot in the waiting room where other dogs are around, that is ridiculous.

As far as the pain, some are better at giving shots than others.

For example, I dread taking Peppi to the vets to get a shot. They always do a horrible job and leave poor Peppi shaking. She has even tried to bite a vet once for it because it hurt and that isn't like her at all.

Well this year I took her to get a shot at a vaccine clinic. We told them how past experiences never went well. Two vet techs did the job this time. They did an amazing job. Peppi didn't even know she got a shot. I was totally shocked in a good way. It was the best shot she ever had and it wasn't done by a vet.

First off, if the vet is still giving yearly shots, I'd be finding a new vet for sure. Yearly shots are not necessary at all. I will only go to a vet that follows AAHA protocols (3 years) *or* is okay with titers, and not even getting all vaccines every 3 years.

I wouldn't mind a tech giving a vaccine, although if memory recalls, I'm pretty certain the vet gave Jackson all of his as a pup and his one year. But getting a shot in the waiting room would be a huuugeee no-no. How unprofessional.

I don't see anything wrong with the Tech's giving the shots. In the 2 hospitals I worked at the Tech's did the vaccines.

As Ellie May said- The tech's do far more serious tasks, assist with surgery, taking blood.. etc etc

Well, Roxi is fine today. I was just really cranky after getting no sleep because of Roxi screaming everytime she moved wrong and we also had storms coming through Wichita. I can deal with the techs giving the shot...I can even deal with the waiting room (there was nobody else in the waiting room at the time and I think they just did it so I wouldn't have to wait for a room as Roxi was only there for a shot.) But I am going to address the issue of not paying attention and almost giving Roxi shots that she has already had for the year (especially since this is the 2nd time it has happened).

Thanks for your comments :)

I would not have a problem with a tech giving my pups their DHPP. My vet does them because that is just her policy, but it really is not a big thing for the techs to do them. I d however, find it out of line to do it in the waiting room.

My guess is that your vet, since they are separating vaccines, opted to do it this way to avoid having you pay another exam fee. (just a guess) My vet splits the shots three weeks apart ... and still sees the pups in her exam room the second time but does not charge an exam fee.

But...if you are uncomfortable, then look for another vet! It is very important to follow our gut feelings.

Someone mentioned the yearly vaccines...that is another issue...ask any vet you use whether they follow the AAHA guidelines for vaccines. Yearly vaccines are not recommended.

I agree...they need to be careful!

I like a vet onsite for vax just in case of reaction. Who gives it..don't care. Techs give pain injections during surgery anyway. They place IVs, draw blood, do cystos, take xrays, are taught how to suture in school, draw up meds, run the iso/sevo machine, monitor after surgery, run lab work, etc., etc. A vax is the least of my concerns as far as techs are concerned. They have to be very sharp people..and are miserably paid.

The other vet was there, there are two. I'm sure the techs don't get paid enough, they're basically like the nurses for us humans. They really run the show;)

Indeed...and give better injections. ;) On both counts!

I am a registered nurse and trust me sometimes we do know more than the Dr lol. I am more cautious with my girls than my kids. My kids will tell the dr or nurse to stop if something hurts but my babies can't do that. How much education do most techs have. I have never seen a corse for it. I would love to know. BTW I am great with shots you would never know I just stabbed you till the bandaid came out lol

Techs spend two to two and a half years in school here generally. That includes general education. Then they usually do internships. Then there are two licensing exams here. I remember obe trch saying that they are tough..and with one they can't retake for a year.

They make ten to fifteen ish dollars/hour.