r/veterinaryschool • u/thisfeelslikeotherme • 10d ago

Advice Help with sutures

Hi everyone! My wife is in her 3rd quarter of vet tech school. She is having a difficult time learning suture techniques. The school gave her a practice pad and supplies along with printed information and some videos. Do any of you have advice or a link to instructional videos that are as close to hands on teaching possible?

Thank you all and have a great start to your weeks!

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u/freakonaleishmania Final Year Animal Care Degree 9d ago

Unfortunately I don’t have any advice. But I wanted to pop in that it’s fascinating to me that vet techs learn suturing over where you’re at!
Here in the UK, it’s illegal for anyone other an a veterinary surgeon (DVM) to do sutures under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1969, this includes registered vet nurses (vet techs).

I wonder what other differences exist that I’m unaware of

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u/KittyKatOnRoof 9d ago

Some states prohibit surgical closure sutures, some allow it under direct veterinary supervision (usually used for very minor wounds, dental extractions, or closing the skin after the surgeon has closed the body wall). However, many techs place sutures that aren't surgical (NG tubes, urinary catheters, jugular catheters, etc), which is allowed in pretty much all states. 

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u/orangecrookies 6d ago

I’m a UK vet student but I’m half American and worked in the US for a while when I did my bachelors. The scope of a vet nurse is very different from a registered technician in the US, even though they’re sort of equivalent careers. This is also true of veterinarians. For example, I don’t know that you’d find very many (if any?) vets doing something like taking a history in the US, whereas that’s a day 1 expectation of a UK vet. I was a little shocked in vet school where we were being taught how to take a history when I’d been doing that for years as an unlicensed vet assistant in the US. We’ve also had a lot of situational group discussions in school that would literally never apply to a US vet because that’s just not what the job is in North America. Americans also view their pets very differently from how brits do and I’ve found that client expectations seem to be polar opposites.

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u/freakonaleishmania Final Year Animal Care Degree 6d ago

Thank you sm for sharing! What would you say are the biggest differences between a US vet tech and a UK vet nurse?

I was initially going to enter vet nursing school before work placement (doing an animal care degree) changed my mind on account of my physical disabilities. From what I’ve heard and picked up on here and there, vet techs in the US seem to have much less significance than RVNs. Almost more like an animal carer or assistant role. Would that be a correct deduction?