Q&A with a veterinary technician: Lauren Campion, CVT

Veterinary technician content is sponsored by Elanco for the month of October.

Lauren Campion was a veterinary assistant in a small animal practice, but knew she wanted to move up in her career to become a certified veterinarian technician. In an interview with dvm360, Lauren Campion discussed her career, what National Veterinary Technician Week means to her, and more.

PLauren Campion, CVT (Photo courtesy of Cylde)

Can you please introduce yourself and what you currently do in veterinary medicine?

My name is Lauren Campion. I am a certified veterinary technician. Currently, I work in an emergency animal hospital as a lead technician. I just recently got my CVT certification in 2019 through the Penn Foster program online and I've been using my certification to teach. It's been very rewarding to have it and use it.

When did you know you wanted to work in veterinary medicine and what led you to pursue the technician role?

So, just like anyone can say, since they were young, they've always taken care of animals. It's a very strong passion of mine. And as I got older and deciding what I wanted to do as a career, the medicine behind taking care of [animals] was very interesting to me. So, I decided to finally go to school and get my certification, so that I can learn more and be better for the patients (since I did have lots of experience being a technician, but not with the certification). It's just really my passion, and I can't see myself doing anything else.

What does National Veterinary Technician Week mean to you?

National Veterinary Technician Week to me, means reflection. So, it’s a week where I sit back and reflect on what I've done, and how far I've come with my certification. Also, what I'm doing now versus in the beginning with patient care, which is a big difference. It's nice to see the growth and recognize that, for this week.

How do you feel veterinary technicians can be more valued or utilized in veterinary medicine?

I think they can be more utilized with more specialty certifications. There is a lot to choose from, which I'm trying to currently pursue now. But if there's more options and more choices for those certifications, to specialize in something, I think that would be really nice to see.

What do you hope to see for the future of veterinary technicians?

It's good, but it's very hard to be in this field. It's a lot of emotions, and it could be a roller coaster, especially when dealing with a hard case. So more support afterwards will be nice and more things to help with those mental [struggles] would be great.

What advice would you give to a new veterinary technician or someone considering the profession?

For someone who's new and unsure or wants to try, they should just get out there and apply. Even something as simple as being a receptionist is very helpful. Then you can be surrounded by the emotions and the terminology, and then kind of work your way up through there. It's also very nice to find someone who really loves to teach and be a great mentor. That was very helpful for me. And if I didn't have people like that for support, that would have made a big difference in my future and where I am now today.

If you're a certified technician now in practice, it's good to try to use that certification to go out there and try new things outside of your comfort levels. You might learn something new, or discover something that you actually are more passionate towards in the field.