5 simple ways to celebrate veterinary technicians

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It's the perfect time to celebrate technicians-and all team members. Why? Because technicians know they make a difference but most of the time their hard work goes unrecognized, says Julie Legred, CVT, president-elect of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA). Here are some of her celebratory ideas.

1. Tell all your clients that it's National Veterinary Technician Week and make special introductions: "Betty I'd like you to meet our credentialed technician Melissa. Help us wish her an awesome week."

2. Take technicians out for lunch and be sure to let them choose the restaurant.

3. Hang up banners and posters around the clinic that say something like, "We love our technicians!" (You can request free posters from the NAVTA office. Visit http://navta.net/ for more info.)

4. Reward technicians with memberships to their state association and NAVTA.

5. Thank technicians (and any team member) with hand-written cards. Be sure to mention all the great things they do for the clinic every day. "Happy Veterinary Technician Week to all of you hard-working technicians out there," Legred says. "This is your week!"