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| Format: | Artículo Open Access |
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Wiley
2025
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| Online Access: | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/vec.70043 |
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Table of Contents:
- Perceptions and Experiences of Veterinary Assistants, Veterinary Technicians/Nurses, and Veterinary Technician Specialists Lori R. Kogan Leslie Carter Kelly Foltz Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care ABSTRACT Objective To examine the perceptions and experiences pertaining to the motivations, barriers, well‐being, and utilization of veterinary assistants and technicians/nurses (including veterinary technician specialists) and their influence on job fulfillment, burnout, and interest in remaining in the field. Design Electronic survey distributed via veterinary organizations, associations, listservs, and social media from September 25, 2023, through January 7, 2024. Participants Two thousand one hundred seventy‐six total participants. Setting and Interventions Online survey. Measurement and Main Results Participants included 153 veterinary assistants, 1600 veterinary technicians/nurses, and 414 veterinary technician specialists. Sixty‐four percent of respondents reported decreased interest in remaining in the field long term, with the most frequently endorsed factors for this change being inadequate pay, burnout/compassion fatigue, insufficient staff, and poor leadership. Respect at work, ability to contribute to animal well‐being, self‐improvement and professional development, and ability to effect change when identifying something that could be improved were significant predictors of burnout, fulfillment, and changed interest in remaining in the field long term. Conclusions It is critically important to understand the lived experiences, causes of veterinary assistants’ and veterinary technicians/nurses’ burnout, and the resulting decreased interest in remaining in the field. Even with current shortages and financial limitations, many of the job characteristics identified in the current study can be changed within veterinary hospitals. The results from this study suggest that improvements to workplace culture should focus on respect, the power to effect change, ability to contribute to animal well‐being, and opportunities for professional development. 10.1111/vec.70043 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/