Caring for zoo animals as a veterinary technician

In a dvm360 interview, Kourtney Conti, CVT, of the Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown, Pennsylvania, explained that her role is less client-facing than that of a more traditional veterinary technician in a small animal practice. Veterinary technicians on a zoo medicine team also work more with many different species. In this video, Conti discusses what her day-to-day work looks like and how veterinary technicians bring value to the health of zoo animals.

The following is a transcript of this video:

Question: What is the primary role of a veterinary technician in zoo medicine?

Kourtney Conti, CVT: At a zoo, we're the [person with] boots on the ground. Anytime a keeper notices a problem with an animal or [has] a concern, we go out and do the triaging and see what's going on with that animal. We also do help with the preventive health program. Almost all of our animals are in some sort of preventive health program.

[Not] all [animals] get sedated for exams, but a lot of them do, and during that is when we do more of a clinical role—managing anesthesia, [collecting] blood, placing catheters, taking radiographs, all of those types of things. But more [of] the day-to-day, I'd say, is problem-solving with sick animals, prescribing medications, [and] helping keepers if animals aren't taking their medications, because a lot of our zoo animals are very particular.

In recognition of National Veterinary Technician Week, which dvm360 is celebrating for the entire month of October, we are bringing veterinary technician stories to life at dvm360.com. Follow our dedicated Technicians page for the latest content highlighting these veterinary professionals.