How do we empower technicians?

A veterinarian recently asked me, "What do we need to pay our veterinary technicians to keep them with us? And what do we need to offer to get more educated technicians in the field?" I explained that there's not a dollar amount associated with retention and recruitment—technicians want to feel respected and need a chance to use their skills as well as receiving fair compensation. Here are the tough questions I'm struggling with:

• How can we get more people interested in attending school for a degree in veterinary technology?

• What are recently graduated registered technicians looking for in the form of wages, benefits, and so on?

• How do we keep registered technicians from leaving the field?

Any help you could give me is greatly appreciated.

Melanie R. Parham, RVT, University of Georgia Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Athens, Ga.