There has been a huge amount of concern from the public regarding the safety of their animals should this proposal pass, the public is not alone in the concern for there pets. Please remember that Vet Students are first and foremost animal lovers. That is why we are in this profession. We have pets of our own and every single one of us has experienced our own horrific situations regarding their care. The welfare of the patient, your beloved pet, is and always will be the top priority of any student.
Along those same lines, every veterinary student has liability insurance through the Vet School, the employing Veterinarian, and oftentimes extra insurance paid for by ourselves - all for the protection of your pets. Also, at the end of the day the supervising veterinarian is ultimately responsible for any patient in his or her hospital. If a supervising veterinarian is negligent in their supervision or in their judgement of a students' abilities - it is there license on the line. This makes them accountable to both owners and the state licensing board. They are not going to encourage, let alone allow, us to perform anything we are not adequately prepared for or to do so without their direct supervision.
My concern is this: I am a licensed veterinary technician in the state of MD. I used to examine patients, place catheters, and provide care to anywhere from 5-15 patients every day. Since coming to veterinary school I have not placed 2 catheters in a live animals, and only slightly more into plastic models - not to mention my other skills. The skills we are talking about skills that must be practiced repeatedly in order for competence to be established. They are also 'use it or lose it' skills. My ability to place a catheter, an extremely routine and basic procedure in our field performed numerous times daily, has declined greatly since my entrence into Veterinary school - as has my confidence. This has, in my opinion, a very strong and negative impact on the future patients I will be treating - and it worries me greatly.
We are not asking that we perform our 'firsts' on your beloved pets. Our 'firsts' will always occur at school. What we are asking is that our seconds through tenths occur in a safe, controlled, supervised, and relaxed setting with another veterinarian there to guide us along the way - otherwise our seconds may occur after graduation, when we are alone.
Even a heart surgeon, eventually, has to operate on his first patient - there always has to be a first. If there is never a first, because nobody has enough trust and bravery, then 30 years down the road you will still have a practitioner who is incapable of doing their job. Ultimately, I urge all of you to find a veterinarian who understands you and your pets and whom you trust in explicately. If you trust your veterinarian, you trust their hiring decisions - which means you trust their staff. If you have the kind of trust for your Veterinarian that you should, the idea of a student employee should not cause you fear. You should already know in your head that the only reason your Vet has hired them is because they are best of best. If you don't feel this way, I believe you need to find a new Veterinarian - because that trust is so incredibly important.
More than anything, I want to be trusted upon graduation and I want to be capable of providing the best possible care and medicine to every client and pet who walks through my door. I'm asking for you to help me and my fellow veterinary students reach this goal. Thank you so much for all of your support, and thank you so much for voicing all of your concerns - because as future Veterinarians, your concerns are vitally important to us.
Christine Reid