Celebrating Vet Tech Week in Your Veterinary Practice

National Veterinary Technician Week occurs each year on the third week of October to recognize and celebrate the vital role vet techs play in keeping animals healthy and happy. Whether they’re aiding in medical procedures, educating pet owners, dealing with an angry client, or ensuring the well-being of pets, vet techs are essential members of any veterinary clinic. Vet Tech Week aims to recognize veterinary technicians’ contributions to the veterinary profession.

The theme for 2023’s National Vet Tech Week was “Pearls of Wisdom.” This year marks the 30th anniversary of National Veterinary Technician Week. The National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America compiled “Pearls of Wisdom,” or thoughtful insights, from a few Credentialed Veterinary Technicians who have worked in the veterinary profession for over 30 years. Pearls are a traditional 30th-anniversary gift, so the name seemed fitting for the valuable contributions that the Credentialed Veterinary Technicians will be providing.

Keep reading to learn more about the great profession of veterinary technology, the history of National Vet Tech Week, and how you can celebrate veterinary technicians on your team this year.

Understanding National Veterinary Technician Week

National Veterinary Technician Week began in June 1993 after the National Association of Veterinary Technicians passed a resolution to create the appreciation week. The week was developed to create a national spotlight on the integral part vet techs play in maintaining animal health. Since its development, the veterinary industry has spent the third week of every October celebrating the professional and personal lives of their fellow vet techs in all different ways.

Each year, National Veterinary Technician Week has a different theme. For example, 2022’s theme was “resilience,” giving a shout-out to vet techs’ ability to act quickly and effectively in such a fast-moving environment. The theme for last year’s Vet Tech Week focused on the exciting 30-year anniversary.

Why Celebrate Vet Tech Week?

Everyone deserves to feel appreciated in the workplace, though not everyone gets the recognition they deserve. Vet techs assist in so many veterinary medicine tasks, yet their hard work often goes unnoticed. The veterinary technician profession can be a highly taxing and under-appreciated job.

When you celebrate National Veterinary Technician Week, you can show your vet techs much-needed appreciation. Even the smallest recognition can go a long way. You can ensure that your vet techs feel like valued, key members of your clinic support system.

The more practices that join in on National Veterinary Technician Week, the bigger of an event it will become. By showing your support, you’re ensuring that the next generation of veterinary technicians can gain the necessary vet tech appreciation for their skills and hard work.

Preparing for Vet Tech Week

This year’s National Veterinary Technician Week will run from October 15 to 21, 2024. If you haven’t started planning how you will show support for your team during the week, now’s a great time. Here are the first steps you should take to plan ahead for Vet Tech Week:

• Plan your schedules: Careful scheduling is key during National Veterinary Technician Week. If you plan a surprise catered lunch on Tuesday, you need to make sure all of your techs are there to enjoy it. You can also consider having a few assistants sub in for the day so your vet techs can enjoy a Friday off.
• Set your budget: Before planning any celebrations for National Veterinary Technicians Week, consider what your budget will be if you have one. Can you afford a catered lunch or office field trip? Maybe a few local organizations can help with providing funding if you reach out to them now.
• Send out surveys: Vet Tech Week is not Veterinary Receptionist Week. You should only be celebrating your tech team, so you can try sending out a survey early on to learn how they would like to be supported. Maybe your technician team wants to win gift cards or maybe they simply want more praise for their hard work.
• Gather celebration ideas: After doing your research, you can work on coming up with celebration ideas for the week. We’ll go over a few options below for in-house or community celebrations below.
• Shop for gifts: If you plan on giving your team any gifts, you should start shopping now so you aren’t overwhelmed at the last minute. You’ll want to personalize the gifts, so you should begin thinking about what your technicians may want.

Celebration Ideas for Vet Tech Week

So, how exactly can you join in on National Veterinary Technician Week? Depending on your budget, you can show your credentialed veterinary technicians you care in small or big ways. Here are a few ideas for Vet Tech Appreciation Week:

In-House Celebrations

In many cases, your technician team likely wants to be recognized within your practice for all their hard efforts to keep your clinic running. In-house celebrations show clients that veterinarians are not the only ones caring for their pets. During National Veterinary Technician Week, you could try the following:

• Host themed dress-up days
• Provide a catered in-house lunch (be sure to check dietary restrictions in advance)
• Post your team on appreciation boards for clients to see
• Plan an out-of-office team activity
• Host several contests, allowing your team to win prizes

Public Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments on public platforms show off the hard work of your vet techs so clients, friends, family members, and everyone else can support the challenging profession. You can try the following during Vet Tech Appreciation Week:

• Post social media spotlights, acknowledging your veterinary technician team
• Publish a professional press release shedding light on the career path of a vet tech
• Encourage clients to share positive reviews of your vet tech team that you can post online
• Host community outreach events to spread awareness of all that vet techs do

Personalized Gifts and Recognition

People want to know they’re valued, recognized, and listened to. Personalized gifts can greatly impact staff morale. You can learn more about your vet techs by sending out surveys in advance so you can curate the perfect gifts for them when October rolls around.

Here are some ways you can show your support:

• Personalized gifts
• Bonuses or raises
• Thoughtful thank you notes

How Technology Enhances Veterinary Medicine

As today’s modern veterinary medicine advances, so do the jobs of veterinarians and vet techs. Another great way you can celebrate Vet Tech Week is by making your team’s job a bit easier with a new streamlined internal system.

At Weave, we offer products like digital forms, automated online scheduling, and seamless communication tools that can eliminate much of your techs’ time-consuming, manual jobs. By integrating technology into your practice, you can make your vet techs’ day-to-day lives a bit easier while enhancing patient care and business management.

Get Ready To Celebrate Your Veterinary Technicians

Vet Tech Week is a great way to show appreciation for all that veterinary technicians do to maintain animal health. By celebrating, you can boost staff morale while encouraging a positive practice environment. National Vet Tech Week is coming soon, so you should begin planning early and engaging your staff in the celebration.

Get a demo of Weave’s products today to see how we can streamline the celebration process while making your staff’s jobs a bit easier.