Veterinary practice leaders are trying to solve a difficult equation: meet growing patient needs, protect the well-being of their teams, and keep appointments available with the people they have. Hiring often becomes the first answer. Sometimes, it’s a necessary answer. But before posting another position, practice leaders should ask an equally important question: Are we fully using the education and clinical skills of the credentialed veterinary technicians (CrVTs) already on our teams?
A practice can be busy all day while still underutilizing its people. A CrVT can leave exhausted without having had meaningful opportunities to use their clinical abilities. The schedule may be full, yet the workflow may repeatedly funnel tasks back to the veterinarian that could appropriately be delegated.
Addressing that disconnect requires more than a new task list. It requires examining trust, autonomy, and the systems that shape how people work.
Being Busy Is Not the Same as Being Utilized
Credentialed technicians bring clinical education, technical skills, and professional experience to patient care. Yet how those abilities are used depends heavily on the practice around them: its routines, leadership expectations, staffing structure, and comfort with delegation.
Many pet owners already recognize the value these professionals bring. A national Penn Foster survey of 509 pet owners found that 77% consider credentialed veterinary technicians extremely or very valuable. Yet 30% had never heard the term “veterinary technician” or were unsure of their responsibilities before taking the survey. Practices have an opportunity to close that awareness gap by making technicians’ clinical contributions more visible to pet owners.
Everyone on a veterinary team should expect to help with the shared work of running a practice. The concern arises when a CrVT’s clinical contribution becomes secondary to duties that consistently leave their education underused.
My doctoral work has focused my attention on the relationship between professional utilization, workplace culture, and retention. Trust and autonomy offer useful lenses for examining that relationship. They also raise a practical leadership question: Do our daily systems support the professional contribution we say we value?
Trust Has to Show Up in the Workflow
A leader may sincerely believe they trust their team. But employees experience trust through decisions and interactions. At your practice, ask yourself:
- Are CrVTs invited to contribute to care planning within their role?
- Are their observations taken seriously?
- Can they carry out established responsibilities without repeatedly seeking permission that adds little clinical value?
- When they identify a concern, does the team respond with curiosity and support?
Autonomy must operate within applicable practice laws, supervision requirements, and individual competence. Clear boundaries make it possible. A CrVT should understand what they can do, when a veterinarian must be involved, and how to escalate a concern.
When those expectations are vague, the team must renegotiate them throughout the day. That creates hesitation and inconsistent delegation. Written protocols, demonstrated competencies, and shared expectations can help turn trust into a reliable way of working.
The goal is to give people enough clarity and support to exercise the judgment their role requires.
Build Capacity by Following the Patient
A useful starting point is to follow a patient through the practice, from scheduling to discharge. Who gathers information? Who prepares the patient and equipment? Which clinical tasks require the veterinarian, and which can appropriately be performed by a CrVT? Who provides client education and coordinates follow-up?
Look for the places where work stops. Is the team waiting for a veterinarian to complete something that could be delegated? Does the veterinarian repeat information another team member has already gathered? Are technicians interrupted so frequently that they cannot complete their clinical responsibilities efficiently?
This review should happen with the people doing the work. CrVTs can help identify barriers that may be difficult to see from the appointment calendar alone.
Practices can then select a manageable change. Depending on local requirements and patient needs, that might involve clearer CrVT responsibilities during veterinarian appointments or designated technician appointments for appropriate services under established orders and protocols.
There is reason to believe pet owners would welcome this approach. Penn Foster’s survey found that 24% have already scheduled a separate appointment with a veterinary technician, while another 41% would be interested in doing so. For practices, this presents an opportunity to explore dedicated technician appointments where clinically appropriate and legally permitted.
Start small, define the process, and review what happens. Any additional appointment capacity should follow evidence that the workflow supports it.
More Responsibility Requires More Support
Better utilization should create opportunities for meaningful clinical work. If the result is simply more duties added to an already overloaded day, the practice has missed the purpose.
Before expanding responsibilities, leaders should consider what must change around them. What training is needed? Which existing duties should move elsewhere? Is there sufficient time to complete the work? Does compensation reflect the role? Is a veterinarian available when consultation is required?
These questions matter because responsibility and control need to be considered together. Asking someone to be accountable for an outcome while giving them little influence over the process can create frustration.
A thoughtful approach also protects room for learning. Technicians need opportunities to ask questions, build confidence, and identify where a protocol needs adjustment. Trust grows through consistent support and honest feedback.
Measure the Experience, Too
Appointment numbers alone cannot tell a practice whether a change is successful. Leaders should also review overtime, delays, missed breaks, patient-care concerns, and team feedback. Ask technicians whether they are using their skills more effectively and whether the new process is manageable. Ask veterinarians whether delegation is allowing them to focus more consistently on work requiring their expertise.
These measures can help reveal whether the practice has improved its workflow or simply increased its pace.
Better utilization will not resolve every staffing shortage. It can, however, help leaders understand what their team can accomplish sustainably and where additional staffing is truly needed.
Recognition That Lasts Beyond the Week
National Veterinary Technician Week offers an opportunity to celebrate an essential profession. It also offers a reason to listen.
Ask your credentialed technicians which skills they rarely get to use, what prevents them from using those skills, and what would help them contribute more effectively.
Then act on what you hear.
Recognition becomes meaningful when it shapes the working environment beyond a single week. Giving CrVTs clear responsibilities, appropriate autonomy, and consistent support is a practical place to begin.