Saskatchewan Association of Veterinary Technologists
114 - 220 20th Street West S7M 0W9 Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Tinille McKenzie-Wyatt, RVT VTS (ECC) is the latest participant in our VTS Project. The VTS/Project interviews RVTs with a specialty and we ask them for their tips, tricks, and experiences in getting their VTS. Thank you Tinille for giving your time and sharing your stories! https://vimeo.com/469112371

Registration is now open for the student session in February. It will cover the different careers that RVTs have available to them. Register below! https://us02web.zoom.us//register/WN_geet0jA3TliTLvi0cpp6DA

Are you an RVT in a management role? You are invited to be a part of the Manager's Roundtable. To register email [email protected].

Mark your calendar for SAVT's Open Office! Registration is not required.

Kudos goes to Albert North Veterinary Clinic from Lucas Graham, RVT. "I want to give a HUGE shout out to the Albert North Veterinary Clinic and its amazing staff of doctors, RVTs, CSRs, and our dedicated cleaning and kennel staff. I also want to send out a huge congratulations to Dr. Fisher and Dr. Liebe on the construction of their beautiful new clinic after having been at the previous location for 30 years! They take amazing care of us, and we can't thank them enough for a...ll they do for us. This year has seen us through many challenges, and of course the culprit has been experiencing the heavy weight of the global pandemic. Not only that, we've moved to an amazing and beautiful new location which we've been newly introduced even with a heavy volume of surgical and medical appointments. Our doctors are amazing, and I wonder how other clinics have been doing since the pandemic. It's certain that many of them have likely been turning away clients of their own, never mind taking new ones for minor or god-forbid emergent cases. I hope everyone is keeping well, we're all in this together! We all hope our fellow Regina clinics are doing ok! Shout out to all of you as well, I'm sure you are feeling this immense weight from this year too! Curb-side services are exhausting, all because we want to keep our staff safe, but our clients as well. Social distancing isn't easy in this profession either. Take care of each other, and check on each other and make sure everyone is doing all right. Burn out is real, and we're far from over this fight. Much love, Lucas"

Kyla Schutzman is celebrating 5 years as an RVT! Kyla graduated from Sask Polytechnic and currently lives in Swift Current and is working at the Swift Current SPCA. When Kyla first graduated she worked in a clinic for about a year before she moved to Swift Current and has worked at the SPCA since. Kyla has always wanted to help out animals ever since she was a child and has always been interested in this field. Her favourite part about being an RVT is that working at the... SPCA she sees some cases that do require some vet care and need a little more care and attention than the healthier animals that come in. For Kyla nothing is more rewarding than to see them recover and be placed in wonderful homes. In Kyla's spare time she enjoys gardening, crocheting, and hiking especially with her new puppy Ellie. Being an RVT has always been very rewarding for Kyla! See more

On Monday we are hosting our Management Panel at 7:00pm. The panel will start with the panelists sharing their stories and then it will be all about your questions. Ask questions to individual panelists or to all of them. You can submit your questions in advance by commenting below, private messaging us, or sending an email to [email protected]. You can use the link below to register! https://us02web.zoom.us//register/WN_oiR_G693TvO1HXan63CdjQ

You can now submit your questions for Don in advance to make sure you don't forget them between now and then and to ensure that your question gets answered! You can comment your questions below, private message them to us, or email [email protected]. If you haven't registered yet visit the link below https://us02web.zoom.us//register/WN_vA5NU49oSt-Jbv77B6Tmlw

Angela Turner is celebrating 25 years as an RVT! Angela graduated from Fairview College and now lives in Saskatoon and works as the program coordinator, technical instructor, in Veterinary Pathology at the U of S. Angela's family bred and trained labrador retrievers and was responsible for their care and training for dog shows. This led Angela to introduce herself to the vets that worked the dog shows. One of the local vets from the shows Dr. Arvid Finell, was kind enough... to offer her a job as a kennel worker in his clinic. Angela was hooked! Pippa Goodfellow, the lead technician became Angela's technician hero and she chose to follow in her footsteps and head to Fairview College. Angela did her practicum at the Calgary Zoo and then worked at Claresholm Vet Services, Martensville Vet Services, Lawson Heights Vet Clinic, and PDS. In Veterinary Pathology Angela started as an incinerator operator/tech then became the teaching teach. After completing a Business Admin Certificate program through the U of S added the undergraduate and graduate program coordination to her duties. Angela's favourite part about being an RVT is the animals that have given her so much pride, protection, joy, and comfort and her work has allowed her to give back some of that in thanks. The lack of understanding many people have of the strength it takes to serve others is one of the hardest parts about being an RVT. Angela has also learned that she is the most powerful when she is helping other rather than giving orders. Angela's hobbies have varied drastically over the years. Everything from Shutzhund training and TaeKwonDo to Tupperware and becoming a fierce cheer mom. Her passions have stayed the same - to protect those who cannot protect themselves and to share whatever she has to help strengthen them. Angela feels blessed to be doing work that she loves and hopes that everyone can be as blessed as she has in her career as an RVT. If she could give herself a piece of advice on her graduation it would be to always, always, always, get it in writing. Angela would like to give a shout out to Lois Ridgway - "I learned a lot about leadership from her and am grateful for her encouragement and support in my teaching abilities".

Kudos goes to Conner Nix, RVT from Dr. Emily Boutilier. "Conner has been a key member of our team for many years. Not only are his skills as a registered veterinary technician impeccable, but he is also a constant source of support and humour for our team. We are so lucky to have him!"

Teresa Nahachewsky is celebrating 5 years as an RVT! She graduated from Sask Polytech, lives in Regina, and works at the General Hospital as a phlebotomist and as an entrepreneur. When Teresa first graduated she was hired at Park Range Vet Clinic in Prince Albert where she stayed for two years until she went on a horse back trip across western Canada with her dad and sister. Although they had to cut their trip short they still managed to be accepted into the Long Rider's ...Guild. After that she was hired on as an RVT at Sherwood Animal Clinic. She decided to change her career path and start her own business, Animal Harmony Solutions. She took a course and became a certified Family Paws Parent Educator while working at a big rig detailing company. She went back to Sherwood Clinic as a receptionist until she was accepted into Sask Polytech again as a Phlebotomy student. Right before COVID she got a full time job at the Regina General Hospital. She always continues to build her business and dog training/handling skills while serving on the SAVT Board of Directors. Teresa became an RVT because her sister suggested it as she was hanging out with her sister while she studied vet med. Teresa has always liked helping people and their pets and really enjoys medicine as a whole field so it was a good fit. Teresa's favourite part about being an RVT is definitely client education. Teresa loves being able to see that "click" moment in an owner's eyes when they explain how things could be done to benefit both owner and pet. The behaviour field is Teresa's happy place, so helping people build a better relationship with their pets is really rewarding to Teresa. The advice that Teresa would give herself is to listen to your gut. You'll know when you're in the right place when you can go to work smiling every day. Don't ever be afraid to change things up to find a place that suits you. It's out there. Every other stop in between is a learning opportunity, so study up and soak in everything you can from EVERY team member but also learn to budget, ASAP! Teresa's career highlight would be working with large animals in general. She loved learning to work cattle/bison at Park Range and more about horses and their babies at Sherwood! Those memories will be with her forever! Teresa's hobbies include reading as many books as she can get her hands on, camping, canoeing, working with her dog, and she recently joined Search and Rescue as a volunteer.

Congratulations to Janelle Hren, RVT for winning a copy of Amy Newfield's book "Oops, I Became a Manager". Janelle shared the post of Amy's interview and won!

This announcement is a little late but we want to congratulate Wendy Erdman, RVT on being the winner of RVT Month's Week 4 $50 in SAVT merchandise! Congratulations Wendy!