Benefits of using LVTs/assistants in food animal medicine

Abstract

The use of veterinary technicians or veterinary assistants in food animal medicine, especially cow-calf medicine, is highly underutilized, and is an area that should be more thoroughly explored. Often, bovine veterinarians bring no help for chute side activities such as bangs vaccinating, pregnancy diagnosis, ultrasound, breeding soundness exams, and routine vaccina­tion of cattle. A very obvious benefit to bringing a technician to the field is increased efficiency of work, as most procedures at the chute are often where activities take place that ultimately decrease pace. That being said, many other benefits of bring­ing trained help often go unrecognized, such as quality of chute side activities, increased client/clinic relationship, and most importantly, value-added services. With the rise in lay people diagnosing pregnancies and conducting breeding soundness exams, adding perceived value is crucial in maintaining high-value services in your clinic, as well as separating ourselves from the lay person.