Celebrating Vet Tech Week 2023

Happy (almost) Vet Tech Week!

Vet Tech Week aka National Veterinary Technician Week or Vet Tech Appreciation Week is right around the corner.

When is Vet Tech Week 2023?

This year Vet Tech Week is October 15 - 21, 2023.

That might seem like a while away but if you’re planning to make Vet Tech Week special for the techs on your team, it’s time to start planning (if you haven’t already).

Not in charge of the Vet Tech Week celebrations or vet tech gifts at your workplace? Don’t scroll away too fast. We’ve put this blog post together for everyone — from clinic owners and management, veterinarians, pet owners who love their veterinary staff, family and friends of vet techs, and co-workers who want to show some extra love to the hardworking techs in their clinic. Learn more about veterinary technicians, the history of Vet Tech Week and why it’s important that we celebrate and honor our vet techs.

Plus, you’ll find vet tech week gift ideas for every budget + type of team. We reached out to our community on Instagram to learn more about what veterinary technicians actually want during Vet Tech Appreciation Week and the answers might surprise you. Hint: it’s not cold pizza or a Starbucks gift card at the end of the week.

Check out our Vet Tech Week Exclusive Bundles for 2023 here.

If you’re new here or this is the first time you’re hearing the term veterinary technician, you may be wondering:

A veterinary technician aka vet tech is a crucial member of the veterinary team. They provide support to veterinarians and help a veterinary clinic run smoothly — sounds easy enough, right? (cue laughter from vet techs around the world).

Vet techs wear (so) many hats throughout their workday. But what exactly do they do?

Well, just about everything including:

• animal handling
• administering medications and conducting laboratory tests
• taking X-rays and ultrasounds
• preparing tissue samples and drawing blood
• performing dental cleanings
• providing post operative care
• educating pet owners about proper animal care
• assisting with client communication
• cleaning and sterilizing instruments and equipment
• and more!

Honestly, I'm sweating just thinking about it. I mean imagine wrangling a 50 pound Husky or trying to administer medication to a cat that’s feeling extra spicy. This job not only requires you to use your knowledge and skills, but it's physically exhausting sometimes, too.

When you bring your pet to the vet, it’s highly likely that you’ll see (and spend most of your time with) a veterinary technician. Vet techs do it all and are without a doubt the backbone of a veterinary clinic!

There are four important things you must do to become a veterinary technician:

1. Earn your high school diploma or GED
2. Complete an AVMA-accredited postsecondary program (check out the American Veterinary Medical Association’s list of accredited programs here).
3. Complete externship + clinical hour requirements
4. Pass the VTNE & obtain state-required credentials

Since vet techs are highly skilled professionals who have undergone specialized training to do what they do AND the profession is in high demand — vet techs must make a lot of money, right? Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2022 show that veterinary technicians in the United States make between $13.94 - $26.29 an hour or $29,000 - $54,680 per year. For many, this is below the average cost of living in their state. 

For example: California, one of the states with the highest employment level of veterinary technicians in the U.S., had an average salary for vet techs of $49,960 in 2022. Well, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the average cost of living per year in California was $53,082. And that’s not even taking into account the student loan payments that many technicians have to deal with as they navigate their first job post-graduation. Did you know a vet tech degree can cost anywhere between $3,000 — $35,000? That’s potentially a lot of student loans.

Interested in promoting pay transparency for veterinary technicians? Check out Hound’s Vet Med Pay Transparency database at https://www.hound.vet/vet-med-pay-transparency .

Working in the veterinary field can be mentally challenging, emotionally draining, and physically taxing — especially for vet techs. We like to say: “it’s not all puppies and kittens” because many people outside of this field think working in vet med would be joyful and fun everyday, and they will often say something along the lines of “I wish I could play with puppies all day”. But it’s not all puppies and kittens. And even when it is, it’s not always joyful or fun.

Some days are hard. So hard. And those tough cases affect us. We hurt when your pet is hurting and we do everything we can to make them comfortable and feeling better. We carry around feelings of guilt wondering “did I do enough” for things outside of our control. We think about those pet owners who had to say goodbye to their fur baby long after our shift has ended. And we worry about the animals who we tried to help but couldn’t for one reason or another.

That’s one of the reasons it’s so important to celebrate Vet Tech Week each year. Vet techs deserve to feel appreciated all year long but Vet Tech Appreciation Week is an opportunity to celebrate, honor, and recognize the hard work, dedication, and expertise of veterinary technicians.

Vet Tech Week (also known as National Veterinary Technician Week and Vet Tech Appreciation Week) happens each year on the third week of October and is a week to celebrate, recognize, and promote the valuable contributions veterinary technicians make to the veterinary profession and society. Vet Tech Week started in June 1993 when a resolution by the National Association of Veterinary Technicians (NAVTA) was passed. That means we’re celebrating 30 years of Vet Tech Week this year 🎉

Each year NAVTA assigns a theme for Vet Tech Week. The theme for Vet Tech Week 2022 was resilience. Here’s what Ashli Selke, RVT, CVT, President of NAVTA had to say in 2022:

“One definition of ‘resilience’ that I think is extremely appropriate for Veterinary Technicians is, ‘the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress.’ That may cause a chuckle, thinking that Veterinary Technicians have been deformed by stress, but there is truth in that. Veterinary Technicians have shown great ability to recover from or adjust to stress and change, especially over the last two years.”

— NAVTA, 2022

NAVTA hasn’t shared the theme for 2023 yet but we’ll update this blog post when they do!

YES! We asked over 150 technicians if their clinic celebrates Vet Tech Week and 70% responded with yes. More importantly, when asked if it was important to them that a clinic celebrated their techs during Vet Tech Week, 97% responded with yes.

But how you celebrate your techs matters. If you’re just throwing together some obligatory gift card or free lunch, the vet techs on your team will feel that. That doesn’t mean you have to blow your budget and go overboard during Vet Tech Week either. It’s important that you do what makes the most sense for your team and your budget while striving to give your veterinary technicians a special week where they feel seen, valued, and appreciated.

If you have a veterinary technician in your life, you can celebrate them during Vet Tech Week. Although some of the bigger gifts and events during Vet Tech Week are more likely to come from their clinic owner or organized by management, there are so many ways that you can show a vet tech some extra love during Vet Tech Week.

Clinic owners, management, and veterinarians you may find this interesting. We asked our community on Instagram who they felt should be responsible for celebrating techs during Vet Tech Week and we had over 630 people respond. 

Here’s what they said:

• 56% of people said both clinic owners / management AND veterinarians should be responsible for celebrating techs during Vet Tech Week
• 42% of people said clinic owners + management should be responsible for Vet Tech Week
• 2% of people said veterinarians alone should be responsible for Vet Tech Week

We can tell you celebrating Vet Tech Week is important but here’s what our community of real veterinary technicians said when we asked them why it was important to them that their workplace celebrates Veterinary Technician Appreciation Week.

• “We are literally the bones of the operation. Without us, nothing would get done.”
• “Vet techs work their asses off for very little pay so it’s nice to feel appreciated.”
• “It’s just nice to be recognized / appreciated.”
• “We are such an asset to the team and are sometimes forgotten or not respected.”
• “Our job is extremely taxing and difficult and deserves recognition.”
• “It creates positivity and shows appreciation for all the work we do.”
• “Everyone loves to be told or shown how much they matter in the workplace.”
• “It’s important to let us know that we’re appreciated in the field and to our employers.”

And of course, veterinary technicians deserve recognition and appreciation all year long but Vet Tech Week is a special week set aside each year to go above and beyond for the people who always go above and beyond for everyone else! So let’s get into how you can make Vet Tech Week 2023 special for the vet techs in your life.

But first let’s start with what not to do when you’re celebrating Vet Tech Week. Someone from our community wrote in that a previous employer brought “lunch” to celebrate techs during Vet Tech Week, and by lunch she meant wonder bread, cheese slices, and lunch meat. 🤢

And that’s a perfect example of what not to do. In general, whatever you do as a way to celebrate your veterinary technicians shouldn’t feel like some obligatory end of the week thing. Your team will absolutely feel the effort that you put into your Vet Tech Week celebrations. You might not have a huge budget to spend on gifts, activities, and more during Vet Tech Week — and that’s okay! Put a little extra thought and intention behind your Vet Tech Week celebrations and your team will feel the love.

Other things you should consider skipping this Vet Tech Appreciation Week are:

• sharing homemade baked goods — this can be hit or miss so take this advice with a grain of salt. But consider that people have allergies or dietary restrictions that you may not be aware of or that people may not feel comfortable eating food prepared by others.

• celebrating some techs but not others — this one’s pretty self explanatory, we think. But this doesn’t mean turning Vet Tech Week into Staff Appreciation Week either. Yes, everyone is important and works hard at the clinic but this week is about celebrating your veterinary technicians. 

  
  

  Plus, Vet Tech Week is not the only time of year that you can celebrate your veterinary staff. There are other important veterinary holidays throughout the year like veterinary receptionist week, world veterinary day, veterinarian appreciation day, and veterinary assistant week that give you the opportunity to celebrate the rest of your team. There are also holidays, birthday, work anniversaries, and promotions — all great opportunities to do something special or go the extra mile beyond Vet Tech Week.

Save These Important Dates

• October 15 - 21, 2023 — Vet Tech Week 2023
• Feb 12 - 16, 2024 — Veterinary Assistant Week 2024
• April 21 - 27, 2024 — Veterinary Receptionist Week 2024
• April 27, 2024 — World Veterinary Day 2024
• June 18, 2024 — Veterinarian Appreciation Day 2024
• October 20 - 26, 2024 — Vet Tech Week 2024

You don’t want to be that person googling “when is vet tech week 2023” on October 1st or worse November 1st. We’re not saying that you can’t pull off a great Vet Tech Week without planning ahead but you will do yourself a huge favor by planning ahead and not waiting until the last minute. When you’re planning ahead you can do things like save up or budget ahead of time. You also get the opportunity to plan more exciting events, like co-ordinating with local food trucks. And you can even include your techs in the planning so you’re able to personalize their gifts / goodies, gift baskets, and events.

Here’s an idea: If you want to personalize your gift baskets to each of your vet techs, create a poll using Google Forms and ask your techs about their favorite candy, snacks, restaurants, etc. so you can give them more meaningful gifts that they are sure to enjoy. Don’t forget to include this form if you onboard any new veterinary technicians between when you send the form and Vet Tech Week so nobody gets left out.

Already have your Vet Tech Week festivities planned and just looking for the best gifts and bundles from our shop? Check out our gift guide for vet tech week here.

If you’re a pet owner who wants to show some extra appreciation to a veterinary technician or the vet techs at your clinic this Vet Tech Week, consider dropping off a personalized card or group gift card. This might seem like a small gesture but it will mean the world to them. We often deal with disrespectful clients but it’s people like you that feel like family and make our days brighter.

Maybe you’re married to a vet tech, your son / daughter is a vet tech, or your best friend is vet tech. Whatever your relation, if you want to give a gift this Vet Tech Week consider giving the veterinary technician in your life something that allows them to REST. They need it!

Babysit for a night, clean their house, pay for a massage appointment, pay for a DoorDash gift card so they can skip one night of cooking. We don’t expect you to do anything for us for Vet Tech Week but getting recognition from the people who see what we go through outside of our jobs means a lot to us. You see us go through the aftermath of some of our hardest days and just being there for us is enough. So getting an extra night of rest is an incredible bonus that will leave the vet tech in your life feeling appreciated and valued.

As a veterinarian you work closely with your vet techs so why not spoil them this Vet Tech Week? And since it’s likely that you know them better than management / your clinic owner, consider giving personalized gifts to each of your vet techs. You have the opportunity to really do things that make your vet techs feel seen and recognized even with small in-expensive gestures.

When it comes to Vet Tech Week celebrations, clinic owners and management typically have more power and money to make the “bigger” things like catered lunches, gift baskets, etc. happen. And if you don’t have much money in the Vet Tech Week budget — for example, maybe you’re a small clinic who had a lot of extra expenses this year and money is tight — your team will understand. As previously stated, vet techs just want to feel recognized and appreciated during Vet Tech Week, and you can do that with a budget big or small.

1. Providing lunch aka catered lunches, food trucks, ordering delivery

Providing lunch for your vet techs — whether that’s once or all week long — is one of the most popular ways to celebrate Vet Tech Week. And when we asked veterinary technicians in our community what they enjoyed receiving during Vet Tech Week, food or provided lunch was #4 on the list. However, when we asked what they least enjoyed receiving during Vet Tech Week, food or provided lunch tied for the number one spot with public recognition. And this is because there is a lot that can go wrong when you provide food / lunch to celebrate your veterinary technicians.

1. Not everyone gets lunch: If you’re a 24 hour clinic, it’s important to think about your night shift veterinary technicians, too. And what about the people who are off on the day of catered lunch if you choose to only do one day? And what happens when the day you order lunch turns out to be the day that everyone’s pet has an emergency or half of your staff calls in sick?
2. Consider dietary restrictions: Similar to problem 1, if you have people at your clinic with allergies or dietary restrictions, they also may not be able to partake in the catered lunch or provided food. And beyond dietary restrictions, some people may just be picky about their food choices.
3. Food gets cold: Nobody wants cold food that was dropped off who-knows-when, and it can be tricky to keep a catered lunch fresh when your vet techs are not available for lunch at the same time. A good work around for this problem is to work with food trucks in your local community. You can pay for a food truck to park outside of your clinic for the day / week, and then supply your vet techs with raffle tickets that can be used for free lunch.

Again, we’re not saying that you absolutely should not provide lunch for your team — it was voted fourth (of 9 total choices) as one of the gifts most enjoyed during Vet Tech Week. But these are important things to consider when putting your budget toward this gift idea for vet tech week. If you find that this isn’t the best option for your team, there are plenty of other ways that you can spoil them.

2. Spirit Week

If you want to make Vet Tech Week really special, make it Spirit Week at your clinic. Spirit Week is a fun way to get everyone involved during Vet Tech Week and stretch the fun, excitement, and joy throughout the workday + work week. The key with Spirit Week is to make it fun + accessible and to personalize it to your team. Spirit Week typically consists of:

1. Themed days: Choose a different theme to focus on for each day. Some theme ideas for Spirit Week include: spooky day, superhero / villain day, retro day, sports day, Disney / character day, dress like your pet day, dress like a meme day, etc.
2. Decorating the clinic: One of the ways to pull off your different theme each day is by decorating the clinic. And don’t break the bank with expensive decorations — head to your local Dollar Tree and stock up on what you can find. If you’re planning ahead, try stopping in every season to see what new themed items you can grab. And if you’re not doing a different theme each day or do not plan to change the decorations daily, why not have a little more fun? Again, you don’t have to break the bank — but your vet techs will really appreciate your time and effort into adding some extra joy into the clinic by decorating during Vet Tech Week.
3. Dressing up: Another way to pull off your daily theme — and a staple of Spirit Week — is dressing up. Of course — there are limits at the clinic so make sure you’re choosing themes that would still be fun to execute while rocking scrubs and staying compliant.
4. Games: Games are another staple of Spirit Week but can be a challenge to pull off when your whole team isn’t in one place at one time / your clinic doesn’t have a big open space. But let’s just say you do and there is a day during Vet Tech Week where everyone is planning to be together for some fun. You could play some games like having a lip sync battle, doing an obstacle course, a decorating contest, and so much more. And if you aren’t able to get your whole team together or you just don’t have the room for games, consider setting out games that can be left on the table throughout the day like caption contests (share a funny picture and ask people to submit their ideas), guessing games, etc.

Again, make it fun and easy to participate in all of the activities and fun you have planned for Spirit Week during Vet Tech Week. Try to make your themed days fit the personality of your clinic and veterinary technicians so it’s even more fun for everyone, and stick with choosing themes that will be simple for your staff to pull off (you don’t want to force anyone to go out and buy something if they don’t want to / can’t afford to).

Help your staff and veterinary technicians prepare for the fun by sharing an outline of the themed days and any activities that you have planned for Vet Tech Week with your staff ahead of time. This may even encourage more people to participate!

3. Personalized Gifts — Vet Tech Week Gift Ideas

Personalized / custom gifts ranked #1 in our poll for what veterinary technicians would most like to receive during Vet Tech Week. Consider gifting engraved instruments or stethoscopes, jackets with their name on it, and other items that your vet techs will love and use daily that are personalized especially for them. 

And skip the corporate swag. They don’t want it. Sorry 🤭

Interested in getting custom scrub caps, badge reel or stethoscope charms, or a custom sticker sheet for Vet Tech Week? Love Huvet can do all of that and more! Check out our custom page for more details.

4. Gift Baskets / Goodie Bags

Gift baskets and goodie bags ranked #2 in our poll for what veterinary technicians would most like to receive during Vet Tech Week — but only when the gift baskets + goodie bags were focused on quality items rather than a quantity of cheap, useless junk. And gift baskets / goodie bags were even better when personalized to the person receiving the basket — so don’t be afraid to ask what everyone’s favorite treats are if you’re planning to go this route.

Check out our Vet Tech Week Exclusive Bundles for 2023 here.

Looking for vet tech gifts to include in your Vet Tech Week gift basket or goodie bag? Love Huvet has you covered. We offer bulk discounts on our best-selling stickers and Vet Med Wellness Journal. Plus, we have tons of other products that the vet techs are your clinic will absolutely love!

5. Team Building Outside of Work

This idea won’t work for every team so consider the personalities and lifestyles among your veterinary technicians before planning any outside of work events for Vet Tech Week. But if it is the right route for your team, celebrating your vet techs outside of work can be a great way to show them how much you appreciate their hard work while having some fun!

One of our community members shared that for a past Vet Tech Week the vet techs on her team did an escape room together, which could be a great idea if your team loves puzzles and searching for clues. Some other ideas include: mini golf, hatchet throwing, paint or craft night, doing a fitness class or outdoor activity, trivia night, etc. Check your local events to see if there is anything that jumps out at you, and include it in your Vet Tech Week celebrations if it makes sense for your team.

6. Social Media Shoutouts + Public Recognition

Public recognition and social media shoutouts were among vet techs least favorite ways to celebrate or be celebrated during Vet Tech Week, according to our poll. But you can pull this idea off well if you make your recognition posts / shoutouts more meaningful than sharing a picture and saying “Thanks for all your hard work.”

This route is technically free so put a little more time and effort into making it special — personalize the posts, gather positive messages from clients and other staff to include in the caption, gather fun photos that show off each vet techs personality. 

 vet techs.

7. Continuing Education Opportunities

This was actually one of the more controversial options that we included on our poll. We received several messages and comments from vet techs who felt that CE opportunities should be part of the hiring package and not a “gift” during Vet Tech Week. 

And we agree! CE’s are important; they help sharpen and refresh your team’s skills so it’s in your benefit as a clinic owner / management to make sure there are CE opportunities available for your team. So skip the CE’s as gift and make them part of your benefits instead.

Plus, gifting CE opportunities is like giving homework or classwork as a gift… and that’s not exactly on my wish list. How about yours?

8. Hire a Relief Tech and Give Everyone a Day Off

We didn’t include it on the poll (because we understand for most clinics this is just impossible) but we did have several people include something along the lines of cash, more PTO, and “a day off” as what they wish they could receive during Vet Tech Week. 

And we know you can’t just give everyone a paid day off — who is going to work at the clinic? Consider hiring a relief veterinary technician for a month and rotating who gets their shift covered.

Again, we understand that doing something like this isn't financially possible for a lot of clinics. But if you happen to have an extra chunk of change to spend on Vet Tech Week this year, put it toward the ultimate Vet Tech Week gift.

We are so grateful when our co-workers and other veterinary staff celebrate us during Vet Tech Week. Plus, co-workers share a special bond built on inside jokes and horror stories — which can make choosing a vet tech week gift for your work bestie really fun. 

And don’t stress yourself out about breaking the bank and overspending on your gift. Tokens of appreciation like $10 gift cards, bringing coffee for the techs one day, or dropping off some croissants or donuts from the local bakery are inexpensive ideas that show your vet techs that you appreciate them.

If you’re a vet tech wanting to celebrate your fellow vet techs / your vet tech bestie during Vet Tech Week, consider giving something from the heart like a personalized letter sharing what you admire about your fellow techs or creating a feel good playlist that can be played on the days they need a pick me up. 

It could also be fun to do a “secret santa” or white elephant style gift exchange with your co-techs where everyone purchases a small gift (set a budget for everyone to stick to) and then you take turns swapping gifts with each other. Not familiar with white elephant? Learn more here.

It’s 100% possible to make your vet techs feel appreciated and recognized during Vet Tech Week regardless of your budget. People won’t remember what you said (or the pizza that you brought) but they’ll remember how you made them feel. So if you can’t spoil your vet techs with an elaborate Vet Tech Week celebration, focus your energy on doing things that do not cost money or are inexpensive and that have an emotional impact.

We’ve already mentioned creating a slideshow for your vet techs and posting thoughtfully on social media but if you're feeling creative and you have some extra time on your hands could create “fake” award certificates for things like most likely to volunteer to express anal glands or best at dealing with spicy purritos and then present them to your vet techs at a lunchtime ceremony.

More Ways to Save During Vet Tech Week

It can be helpful to stock up on supplies and gifts for Vet Tech Week throughout the year so you’re not paying for everything at once and blowing your budget. Try picking up your decorations from the dollar tree so your money can go towards quality gifts. Look for bulk discounts or group discounts for gifts and things to do. And consider collaborating with other clinics in your area and splitting the cost on things that can be reasonably shared or split.

As we’ve mentioned numerous times throughout this blog post, when it comes to Vet Tech Week gifts, it’s important that you’re taking into consideration your team. If you have a team of introverts or busy moms who wouldn’t or couldn’t attend something on their day off / after work, it would be a good idea to skip the team building outside of work ideas. One member of our community mentioned that the vet techs at her clinic were invited to meet with a pet psychic as one of their Vet Tech Week gifts, and not everyone was into it.

And if you’re worried that people may not be into something or may not be able to participate for one reason or another, consider having a backup plan or alternate option for them so they still get to feel appreciated during Vet Tech Week.

Based on our research:

• Personalized gifts
• Gift baskets / goodies
• Personalized letters or cards
• And more PTO, time off, and cash is what they want but won’t ask for

What some techs do not want:

• cold lunches (okay — ALL techs do not want this one)
• public recognition
• team building outside of work
• social media shoutouts
• for Vet Tech Week to be the only time of year they feel appreciated by their employers

Love Huvet has vet tech gifts that the veterinary technician in your life will absolutely love! Check out some of our best sellers below. Check out our Vet Tech Week Exclusive Bundles for 2023 here.

We hope this blog helped you understand the importance of celebrating Vet Tech Week and gave you ideas for vet tech gifts and ways you can celebrate your vet techs regardless of your budget. Vet Tech Week is happening October 15 - 21, 2023. And if your clinic hasn’t celebrated Vet Tech Week in the past, it’s not too late to start putting something together for this year. It will mean a lot to the veterinary technicians on your team.

We believe being the change in veterinary medicine means leading by example and Vet Tech Week is an opportunity to infuse your clinic with positivity and appreciation. Remember, vet techs want and deserve respect and appreciation all year. And beyond celebrating Vet Tech Week, one of the best ways you can show your veterinary technicians and all veterinary staff that you appreciate their hard work and effort is with fair compensation.

Happy Vet Tech Week from all of us at Love Huvet!

Save These Dates

• October 15 - 21, 2023 — Vet Tech Week 2023
• Feb 12 - 16, 2024 — Veterinary Assistant Week 2024
• April 21 - 27, 2024 — Veterinary Receptionist Week 2024
• April 27, 2024 — World Veterinary Day 2024
• June 18, 2024 — Veterinarian Appreciation Day 2024
• October 20 - 26, 2024 — Vet Tech Week 2024

Check out our Vet Tech Week Exclusive Bundles for 2023 here.

Sources:

https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes292056.htm

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinary-technologists-and-technicians.htm

http://justice.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/20220401/bci_data/median_income_table.htm

https://www.sofi.com/cost-of-living-in-california/

https://www.avma.org/national-veterinary-technician-week