Epicur is excited to welcome Jamie Rauscher, LVT, to its Advisory Council! As a Licensed Veterinary Technician who is always growing and challenging herself to advance the field, Jamie brings a wealth of experience and certifications to the Advisory Council that align perfectly with Epicur’s commitment to helping veterinary professionals better serve their patients. Jamie is a trusted voice among vet professionals, and we are excited to have her share her vet tech expertise!
Get to know Jamie more below as she shares insights about the veterinary industry from her 24 years as a Licensed Veterinary Technician.
We’re excited to have you on the Advisory Council, Jamie! Can you give readers a short overview of your current role and what led you to a career as a veterinary technician?
Yes, I’m a licensed technician, hospital manager, and part owner at a 24/7 GP/ER (general practice, emergency room) practice a little north of Atlanta. But I started out as a lot of us in the field did – I was a teenager walking dogs, picking up poop, cleaning cages, you know, things like that, and then progressed from there. I moved into an assistant position, then went to a different clinic to get more opportunities, and then landed at the practice where I am now, and I’ve been here for 24 years.
I’ve always wanted to take that next step and have the opportunity to flex my skills and do the most that I can. All of the progression in my career has involved things like that, where I’ve been given the opportunity to do more than what I was doing before.
What are some of the new opportunities you’re involved in right now?
Two years ago, I decided I didn’t have enough on my plate and became NAVTA’s president (National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America). My presidency term is two years. It ends next January, and then I’ll be the Past President for two years. I’m Vice President of Georgia’s Technician and Assistant Association. I was the President for several years before moving into the Vice President’s role.
And I’m always dabbling in some other things—the Advisory Council with you guys, my work with Vet Partners, my work with the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP)—different organizations and activities advocating for technicians and helping to teach doctors how to effectively use their staff and continue to grow their practice.
I am terrible at work-life balance, and I’m very well aware of that! But in addition to my work in veterinary organizations, I am married—my husband and I have been together for 26 years. We have a son who is almost 20, plus a golden retriever, three cats with hair, and one cat that is naked. I love cats. I love dogs, too, but I really love cats.
So, I have a lot of irons in the fire and a lot of different things going on, but I like to stay busy. I’m always looking for the next step for me personally and professionally, just as far as my own growth goes. So, when opportunities come up to partner and join other groups, it’s usually something that I will jump at to have the chance to meet other people and make new connections. I speak at conferences throughout the year, write monthly articles for some veterinary practice publications, and do some blogs for other sites and things to fill a little bit of my time as well.
You aren’t kidding, you like to stay busy! When opportunities arise, how do you choose which ones you’ll pursue? Are you driven by a challenging case that you ran into, or are there other decision factors?
Well, a case is a great example, but I find that those that I’m doing now are more based on what’s important to me. So, I like to provide care for hospice and palliative care appointments or euthanasia appointments. That’s a bit of a shift for me over the last couple of years, in a good way. But it’s something that I do have an interest in, and I do it a lot in my practice.
I do find that there are a lot of certifications or training courses out there that feel very basic, and that’s great, but that’s not necessarily something that I’m looking for. I’m trying to look for things that are going to benefit me but also carry over into my practice to benefit my staff and my patients.
Being a part owner of your practice must add an interesting layer to your work as a vet tech. How does that ownership perspective change your work in the practice?
Depending on the state you live in, practice ownership can be with people other than a veterinarian. There are 13 or 14 states where it is legal. In my practice, I was already involved in the decision-making process for practice equipment purchases and other business-related decisions, so when the ownership opportunity came up, it was a no-brainer.
Because I was already involved in the process and business decisions, becoming part owner didn’t change my perspective or approach to my work. If anything, it probably just made me more aware from a financial point of view. When we were looking at things and talking about new purchases and big decisions, I thought about more of the impact of those things and purchases rather than just whether or not we should do them.
Going back to your expertise as a veterinary technician, how has the profession changed since you started?
It is night and day. The financial part is totally different. When I first started, I made $5 an hour walking dogs and cleaning cages. Now, the way technicians are paid and utilized is totally different. Medicine is different, too. Of course, things are always advancing and changing.
When I work on the floor with my team, I’ll share stories about how we used to do it or ‘this is how it used to be’, and they’re very surprised a lot of the times when we have the conversations because they can’t believe that’s how we used to do something. And, of course, equipment has changed. It’s updated, it’s more efficient.
From a utilization point of view, the practice that I’m in has always been a vet tech-driven practice. We’ve always utilized our technicians to the highest point that we can, so for us in this practice, that hasn’t changed. However, the profession overall is changing because people are realizing the need to utilize technicians and how much more effective they can be. They are also realizing the financial implications of using them and being able to utilize their staff.
What have been the best changes?
I will say things are more efficient than they used to be. And then, in addition to things being more efficient, the biggest change is probably the degree to which the public views what is happening in our field. I think there’s more awareness of what’s going on and they have a better idea of how our world functions because they have more detail of our lives when we’re in the clinic.
What are the biggest challenges in your role?
Probably work-life balance – making sure that I have time to fit in the things that I need to fit in, whether professionally or personally. It’s a combination of making sure that I make time for myself and truly remember to do important things. Sometimes, that’s a little struggle, and I think that being able to balance that is a huge thing. I’m trying to do that with my staff, ensuring they are aware of their work-life balance and keeping everything under control to the best of their ability as busy as we are.
A good work-life balance is important.
Read our blog for 10 ways to prevent burnout and promote well-being!
I think it’s a challenge for all vet techs, and there’s no cure. You know, there’s no right or wrong answer or the best way to find that balance. I think everybody tries to handle that in their own way, but the struggle is there for everyone, and we have to find whatever methods work for us.
What are some of the common misconceptions about the vet tech role?
I think the profession has its downfalls when we listen to people who are more negative and who are talking about the bad things or their bad experiences. I think that a lot of people are influenced by that, and that’s hard because people take those things to heart, not really realizing that there’s a lot more to it.
It’s really hard for new vet techs, and they have misconceptions about the field and our profession because they hear what their friends or coworkers are saying. That’s given us a little bit of a bad rap, and we could do a better job of handling those situations.
We should remind new vet techs that they can make a livable wage, support a family, and that the good days will outnumber the bad. This is a profession they can make a good career in.
What excites you most about joining the Epicur Advisory Council?
As always, I am excited about the opportunity, but I am also excited to learn more about the pharmacy side of veterinary medicine and the process of medications and compounding. We use Epicur medications in my practice, and we’ve had nothing but good success with them. However, with 503B medications in general, I think it’s an unknown until a problem comes up.
There are always a lot of concerns with medications, and I think it’s going to be a great opportunity to get more information and learn more about it.
Do you host any CE programs our readers should watch for?
Yeah, once a month, I put on a CE at a local restaurant, and I have different vendors come in to sponsor each event. They will speak on a different topic, and it’s open to technicians and assistants who work at local clinics to come get free CE and a free meal.
Depending on the different associations I work with, I will do CE involving them. For example, our state association just had its yearly conference, and my goal is to provide what continuing education opportunities I can for my staff—to allow them to continue to grow and make sure people who don’t always have the opportunity to attend get the CE.
