Celebrating Veterinary Technician Week with Mike Natale, LVT

Happy National Veterinary Technician Appreciation week, listeners! On this week's episode of The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360, guest Michael Natale, LVT, shares more on why it is so crucial for veterinary technicians to become confident, advocate for themselves and their education, and make sure they are continuously learning. Throughout the show, Natale also shares how he became a veterinary technician and entrepreneaur, the future of the profession in his own words, and more.

Below is a partial transcript, edited lightly for clarity

Adam Christman, DVM, MBA: So it's National Veterinary Technician Appreciation Week, and one of the things we I hear a lot when I'm traveling around the conferences, is technician utilization. What would be a tip or piece of advice to those tuning in, to say, hey, use us. We're here for you veterinary technicians. What are some things that we could we could do?

Michael Natale, LVT: Yeah, I think, for starters, I think it's all about building your confidence up in your skill set. So if you don't know something, say something, learn as much as you can. And when it gets to the point where you feel very confident, speak up to the doctors and say, hey, I can do this. Let me take it off your plate. Or, you know, I feel very comfortable doing that. And the more you communicate with them, I think the more they'll trust and the more you'll be able to do and utilize your license better.

Christman: I like that you say that to speak up and to say hey, because sometimes they'll say, oh, you know I want to do that, or I'm able to assist in surgery a little bit more. But I just don't know where to begin to speak up and talk about it and say, Hey, this is what I want to do. And no gatekeeping of knowledge right?

Natale: Yeah, exactly. I mean, I think we all can share something. Even for me, I feel like I do know a lot. I can always learn something, and even when I meet someone, I always find myself teaching someone something that I thought they would know but they actually didn't know, which then makes me feel good that I told them that information.

Christman: Yeah, I love the position that you're in. This is why I wanted to have him on the show to the listeners, because he's a teacher, he's also in the trenches, and he's an entrepreneur. So you have the opportunity to see the rising and the future veterinary technician students, or those that are going on to the veterinary profession. What does the future look like for the profession with those students that you have?