Graduation Speech #2

This was my most recent graduation speech done for the graduating class of winter 2013 at Bel-Rea Institute of Animal Technology:

Recently, one of our faculty had to go to Jury Duty. It reminded me of my jury duty experience . At the time, I lived on Staten Island, NY. I was actually pretty excited to perform my civic duty for the first time.

As I went through the questions, the defense attorneys took a real liking to me, until they asked, “What do you do?” I told them I was a veterinary technician. The attorney responded, “awww, you hold the cute little animals for the veterinarian to examine?”. I responded “I work in surgery, where I prep the patient for surgery, sterilize the instruments, and monitor anesthesia. I also work in the Intensive Care Unit where I participate in CPR,set up patients on a ventilator, perform diagnostic imaging and laboratory work, place IV catheters, calculate emergency drips of drugs, including Total Parenteral Nutrition, and yes, I hold the cute and fuzzy animals for the veterinarian and my peers.” Fortunately, or unfortunately, I was promptly evicted from the jury panel for this medical malpractice case.

This experience made me realize how misunderstood and misrepresented we really have been. Most who hear about our profession think little more than someone who holds their cute and fuzzy little pets. We, as veterinary technicians and veterinary technician students have been quickly disabused of this notion. We realize our jobs are equal parts physical labor, mental rigor, and compassion toward our patients, and our clients. We forget that many people are like us the first day we attended Bel-Rea, and do not completely understand what an undertaking it is to become a veterinary technician.

I bring up these aspects of our profession because so frequently we as veterinary technicians forget how important our role is in veterinary medicine. Many of your supporters: family, peers, and friends, don't realize what the veterinary technician does:

To the supporters of all of our graduates, I want you to reflect on what your significant other, peer, and relative is being asked of them:

Think about the role any nurse or technician has had in your life when you go to the doctor, roll it all into one person, and you have the veterinary technician.

We care for the patient and give it's treatments. We are the first line of their defense, by watching and calculating what our patient needs.

We premedicate and monitor the anesthesia of our patient, letting the veterinarian know our concerns and offering live-saving drugs and interventions.

We perform just about every diagnostic test to evaluate the condition of your pet.

We console the grieving owner.

We perform every task that we can to make the veterinarians' job easier.

I mention this because I want you and your supporters to remember how key your role is in veterinary medicine. I also want you to remember with this great responsibility, comes the obligation to always analyze how you have performed, how you can perform better, and to become the most indispensable asset of a veterinary hospital. In pre-clinicals, we have always taught you it is good to be nervous, but not to let it paralyze you. Remember you are the first line of defense for all the animals you treat. You can always do your job better and you should make it your responsibility to determine how you can do your job better.

There is a little irony that I wrote this speech while cleaning up the mess my dogs made in the backyard, which is also part of our job. It reminds me of the acerbic wit of Oscar Wilde's, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” I think you all can see the stars and are closer to them than most.

For those of you about to commit your life to the health of the patients you treat, I salute you. Congratulations Winter Class of 2013.