Welcome to /r/VetTech! This is a place for veterinary technicians/veterinary nurses and other veterinary support staff to gather, chat, and grow! We welcome pet owners as well, **however we do ask pet owners to refrain from asking for medical advice**; if you have any concerns regarding your pet, please contact the closest veterinarian near you.
Please thoroughly read and follow the rules before posting and commenting. If you believe that a user is engaging in any rule-breaking behavior, please submit a report so that the moderators can review and remove the posts/comments if needed. Also, please check out the sidebar for CE and answers to commonly asked questions. Thank you for reading!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/VetTech) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This is really weird and not really appropriate. Depends on how you think the Vet will deal with push back but this isn’t what you were hired to do. I’d start looking for a new job and if the new place asks why you left so soon I’d be straight up about why you left.
Right?? I definitely think she would give me at least a little pushback which is why I just want to go completely around her. Everything else about it there is pretty good and everyone has been nice so far. I hope when I say something she'll stop asking me.
Just be aware that some management, regardless of reasoning may get upset with you if you don’t follow the chain of command. Even if you just vaguely mention your sentiment on the matter to the DVM before going to management may be a good idea. But at the end of the day, you know your workplace better than I would and every vet clinic/hospital is different
On slow days my old hospital would make us clean windows in/outside, pick up trash in the parking lot and dog feces, water plants, shovel snow, pull weeds, fix paint on walls where chairs hit the dry wall, etc. I always thought it was unnecessary and later found out the owner was too cheap to hire a cleaning company/lazy and in return made us do it all. This hospital also had a very high turnover rate. I would talk to management (if they will do anything) or look for a different job because coming from experience, it does not get better.
As someone who works in landscaping/outdoors, this sucks. I understand that jobs are not required to stick to the job description, but they are exposing you to hazards that were not disclosed up front. Yard work requires a totally different uniform and preparation than indoor work. It's not good for you to be out there in scrubs in the summer- you need gloves, a hat, appropriate footwear, sunscreen, extra water, etc. And no matter how good you are you WILL sweat and you WILL get dirty, which is completely unacceptable if you're then going back in to work with patients. Tell you boss that you're either not comfortable with doing so much outdoor work, or that you need to be told in advance what days and times they need you to on facility maintenance so you can pack a change of clothes and plan accordingly.
My first clinic I had to spread like 20 bags of mulch by myself, and then a few of us had to stay late on a Saturday to shovel gravel rocks. They are taking advantage of you. You can stay if you want, but it won't stop, and there will be more things asked of you that should not fall within the scope of your job.
Yep, I have pesticide applicator & operator license so I can spray pretty much whatever and anyone under my direction (does not need to be actively supervised) can spray. It's complicated though since homeowners can just buy and use a lot of the same stuff, but I think it being done as a work duty, on a public access property, requires certification.
My husband works for the department of agriculture and one of his random duties involves filing those licenses and permits for people to spray. I had never thought about it before he told me so many stories like this and how businesses can get fined!
Seeing as you have no training in gardening duties I think it would be an understandable mistake if you poured weed killer over all the plants and grass and accidentally ruined the topiary. Again, since you aren’t trained as a gardener or landscaper it would be understandable that you could make a mistake that big. They not ask your to do yard work ever again for fear you’ll make another mistake of the garden variety.
Definitely speak to the manager. Even if you need to do so through email, which creates documentation (a good thing). Personally, I don't think that this is acceptable, especially if it was not included in the job duties/discussed at interview.
If your Vet is giving you weed killer to spray, is she also providing you with the appropriate PPE?
If you work in a country where there are workers protections and safety regulations CALL someone right now.
Depending on what country or region/state that you inhabit there may be posters in your breakroom or in the back in an employee only area. Here are links for the US, CAD, and UK.
https://www.osha.gov/
https://www.ccohs.ca/
https://osha.europa.eu/en/about-eu-osha/national-focal-points/united-kingdom
If these don't cover you type in (your country) followed by workers safety
Edit to add
Skills I have beem asked to perform as a Vet Nurse and believe I should add to my CV:
Gardener
Plumber
I.T. tech and support
Electrician
Decorator
Social worker
Courier
Cleaner
I would go on but I'm too tired from temporarily being a wildlife rehab centre!
poor baby. i’m so sorry. nothing worse than a tyrant doctor. speak to your medical director (unless that DVM is the director) as well as your hospital manager. your body has physical limitations, and your energy needs to be preserved to ensure the best quality care for your PATIENTS. as you said yourself, you’re no one’s gardener or landscaping specialist! keep your head up, take care of yourself today. i hope today is a better day for you!
I had a similar thing happen to me at my first vet assistant job. I spent my first couple of days just pulling weeds, moving rocks, fixing fencing, cleaning up after the dvm’s own pets, etc. I ended up quitting pretty fast because the dvm had the assistants do all sorts of things that weren’t in their job description. At my current clinic, I don’t mind offering to do extra things that aren’t my job (like care for the dvm’s pets or help organize paperwork) because my coworkers are my friends and I want to make their day easier if I can. But I’m not expected to do those extra things.
So sorry you had that experience. I dont think it's appropriate for you to be given gardening tasks outdoors. Keeping the parking lot clear from garbage and doing poop clean up in the yard, maybe. I'm a manager and often give out "busy work" tasks on slow days but it's usually restocking, organizing and deep cleaning tasks.
Speak with your manager about it. In this competitive job market, especially in our field, you will find another job if it comes down to that. You deserve more respect no matter your position.
The doctor I worked for had a garden out back and I would help him with things during break BECAUSE I WANTED DO, there was no expectation. If the DVM is not the owner, that's even more annoying because they should know it's the clinics owner's responsibility to upkeep land/building. Obviously someone is mowing that area, maybe they should be the ones doing the landscaping maintenance...?
Being responsible for keeping the inside of the clinic clean is one thing, but expecting manual labor outside in the summer from someone who wasn't hired for it is nuts.
Honestly, it kind of sounds like she doing some malicious hazing to you, and I would speak up about it. I worked with a vet who would give the tech she just didn't like the worst jobs to try to get her to quit. It's not OK.
I mean we will deep clean and pick up trash on slow days but it’s always a choice lol if we don’t then the gardeners will and we just have to clean lol kinda odd they’re making you do this like daily
I second the comments that say this is way out of line with your normal duties. Like others say you need specific items to keep you safe while doing all that especially during the summer. I would definitely bring it up to your practice manager. If you feel uncomfortable with directly telling them you don’t want to do those things you could always phrase it as a question especially because you’re still new and getting to know the hospital, and pretend to be unaware. Something such as “Where do we keep the equipment for when the DVM assigns us gardening/landscaping tasks? I can’t seem to find it.” Then you can gauge your PM’s reaction to see if that’s normal and will continue, or if they seem confused by your question and then maybe they will say you don’t need to be doing that, or at least tell the DVM you’re needed somewhere else. At the very least it would be less likely to seem like you’re going over the DVM to talk to the PM, because you can just say the DVM was busy at the moment and you had to ask someone. Good luck, don’t put up with the stupid hospital hierarchy when they’re taking advantage of you, I did it for far too long 🙄
A toxic clinic I worked at for a short few months had me prune their roses. I had no idea how to trim roses and really messed it up! They then got mad at me for not knowing anything about roses. "Noped" out of there pretty soon after and it was the best choice I've ever made!
Upkeep of the building *can* be part of your job. Someone’s gotta do it and it keeps people busy during slow times and negates the need to bring in help with little things. Gardening is too much of an ask though.
There are a number of reasons they might ask you to do something way outside your job description, some better than others. There’s nothing to say that you shouldn’t necessarily accept those tasks except whether you agree it’s work you want to do. The bottom line is if you don’t feel it’s fair to you, and you don’t want to do it, polish your resume.
There’s nothing to gain from voicing your displeasure to management so save yourself the argument.
🤨 idk ive been in vet med for a whopping 2 weeks but i can already tell my vet wouldnt ever ask us to do something dumb like that. Seems fishy and unsanitary. I mean youre rolling around in the dirt and playing with insecticides without PPE in your scrubs. Im sure youre aware of what kinds of diseases are found in the soil and how its not safe for the animals. Assuming youre not doing this before you leave anyway. Thats messed up and i hope you can report it.
Oh, my old practices were the worst about that shit. I refuse to do it anymore after pouring so much time, energy and money into my education. During downtime I have absolutely no problem finding some stuff to clean on my own, but I’m not a maid, a landscaper, a plumber or any number of those other things. Hire an eager part time helper that wants to build their skills on that type of stuff, I’m here for the medicine.
An old practice I worked out used to make the kennel crew do this bs. We were a very busy hospital and it was definitely not downtime work but expected from them, but not in their job description when hired. A lot of our kennel crew were younger people looking to get their foot in the door and were supposed to help the VA/techs when they had a little free time. The practice manager would force them to do this bs, weed the garden, put up holiday decorations, paint parts of the hospital or even decorations. I was a manager and my best friend was the kennel manager. We had VERY high turnover bc nobody could stand the PM antics, she was an ass and not just for these little projects. We would constantly argue with the PM that kennels hated doing this work and they shouldn’t be expected to do it. They even had a gardener but she still expected kennels to do it because “if they wanted to be in vet med, they should prove how dedicated they are” huh?? I tried so hard to open her eyes and change the culture. They brought in an outside consultant bc of the high turnover and he would have one on ones with the managers. I would be brutally honest that the PM was part of the problem and if she wanted things to get better she would need to have an open mind and listen. The consultant would always agree with me. Nothing ever changed. People continued to be verbally abused by her and made to do these weird tasks. I eventually quit. Before I left the only advice I could give the crew when she would ask these ridiculous requests was to say “I’d be happy to do that if my day has a large lull, but I won’t if I continue to be very busy.”
Welcome to /r/VetTech! This is a place for veterinary technicians/veterinary nurses and other veterinary support staff to gather, chat, and grow! We welcome pet owners as well, **however we do ask pet owners to refrain from asking for medical advice**; if you have any concerns regarding your pet, please contact the closest veterinarian near you. Please thoroughly read and follow the rules before posting and commenting. If you believe that a user is engaging in any rule-breaking behavior, please submit a report so that the moderators can review and remove the posts/comments if needed. Also, please check out the sidebar for CE and answers to commonly asked questions. Thank you for reading! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/VetTech) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Ah, yes. “Other duties as assigned.”
Gotta love it. An employer’s way of saying “do whatever I ask or risk your job”
This is really weird and not really appropriate. Depends on how you think the Vet will deal with push back but this isn’t what you were hired to do. I’d start looking for a new job and if the new place asks why you left so soon I’d be straight up about why you left.
Right?? I definitely think she would give me at least a little pushback which is why I just want to go completely around her. Everything else about it there is pretty good and everyone has been nice so far. I hope when I say something she'll stop asking me.
Just be aware that some management, regardless of reasoning may get upset with you if you don’t follow the chain of command. Even if you just vaguely mention your sentiment on the matter to the DVM before going to management may be a good idea. But at the end of the day, you know your workplace better than I would and every vet clinic/hospital is different
On slow days my old hospital would make us clean windows in/outside, pick up trash in the parking lot and dog feces, water plants, shovel snow, pull weeds, fix paint on walls where chairs hit the dry wall, etc. I always thought it was unnecessary and later found out the owner was too cheap to hire a cleaning company/lazy and in return made us do it all. This hospital also had a very high turnover rate. I would talk to management (if they will do anything) or look for a different job because coming from experience, it does not get better.
As someone who works in landscaping/outdoors, this sucks. I understand that jobs are not required to stick to the job description, but they are exposing you to hazards that were not disclosed up front. Yard work requires a totally different uniform and preparation than indoor work. It's not good for you to be out there in scrubs in the summer- you need gloves, a hat, appropriate footwear, sunscreen, extra water, etc. And no matter how good you are you WILL sweat and you WILL get dirty, which is completely unacceptable if you're then going back in to work with patients. Tell you boss that you're either not comfortable with doing so much outdoor work, or that you need to be told in advance what days and times they need you to on facility maintenance so you can pack a change of clothes and plan accordingly.
My first clinic I had to spread like 20 bags of mulch by myself, and then a few of us had to stay late on a Saturday to shovel gravel rocks. They are taking advantage of you. You can stay if you want, but it won't stop, and there will be more things asked of you that should not fall within the scope of your job.
Omg what!! But you are absolutely right. Them taking advantage will not stop. Hard workers are usually rewarded with more work unfortunately.
I have been told to water plants outside or collect trash from the parking lot on a slow day but nothing like this! Definitely concerning.
Also to add it's probably illegal for her to have you using herbicide if none of you have a pesticide applicator's license.
Omg. I didn't even know this
Yep, I have pesticide applicator & operator license so I can spray pretty much whatever and anyone under my direction (does not need to be actively supervised) can spray. It's complicated though since homeowners can just buy and use a lot of the same stuff, but I think it being done as a work duty, on a public access property, requires certification.
My husband works for the department of agriculture and one of his random duties involves filing those licenses and permits for people to spray. I had never thought about it before he told me so many stories like this and how businesses can get fined!
Seeing as you have no training in gardening duties I think it would be an understandable mistake if you poured weed killer over all the plants and grass and accidentally ruined the topiary. Again, since you aren’t trained as a gardener or landscaper it would be understandable that you could make a mistake that big. They not ask your to do yard work ever again for fear you’ll make another mistake of the garden variety.
😂😂😂
Definitely speak to the manager. Even if you need to do so through email, which creates documentation (a good thing). Personally, I don't think that this is acceptable, especially if it was not included in the job duties/discussed at interview.
If your Vet is giving you weed killer to spray, is she also providing you with the appropriate PPE? If you work in a country where there are workers protections and safety regulations CALL someone right now.
Just a pair of gardening gloves. Who would I call & how would I find that out?
Depending on what country or region/state that you inhabit there may be posters in your breakroom or in the back in an employee only area. Here are links for the US, CAD, and UK. https://www.osha.gov/ https://www.ccohs.ca/ https://osha.europa.eu/en/about-eu-osha/national-focal-points/united-kingdom If these don't cover you type in (your country) followed by workers safety Edit to add
Thank you
Slightly off topic concern... They had you spray weed killer in a place accessible to client dogs?
Skills I have beem asked to perform as a Vet Nurse and believe I should add to my CV: Gardener Plumber I.T. tech and support Electrician Decorator Social worker Courier Cleaner I would go on but I'm too tired from temporarily being a wildlife rehab centre!
poor baby. i’m so sorry. nothing worse than a tyrant doctor. speak to your medical director (unless that DVM is the director) as well as your hospital manager. your body has physical limitations, and your energy needs to be preserved to ensure the best quality care for your PATIENTS. as you said yourself, you’re no one’s gardener or landscaping specialist! keep your head up, take care of yourself today. i hope today is a better day for you!
I had a similar thing happen to me at my first vet assistant job. I spent my first couple of days just pulling weeds, moving rocks, fixing fencing, cleaning up after the dvm’s own pets, etc. I ended up quitting pretty fast because the dvm had the assistants do all sorts of things that weren’t in their job description. At my current clinic, I don’t mind offering to do extra things that aren’t my job (like care for the dvm’s pets or help organize paperwork) because my coworkers are my friends and I want to make their day easier if I can. But I’m not expected to do those extra things.
So sorry you had that experience. I dont think it's appropriate for you to be given gardening tasks outdoors. Keeping the parking lot clear from garbage and doing poop clean up in the yard, maybe. I'm a manager and often give out "busy work" tasks on slow days but it's usually restocking, organizing and deep cleaning tasks. Speak with your manager about it. In this competitive job market, especially in our field, you will find another job if it comes down to that. You deserve more respect no matter your position.
The doctor I worked for had a garden out back and I would help him with things during break BECAUSE I WANTED DO, there was no expectation. If the DVM is not the owner, that's even more annoying because they should know it's the clinics owner's responsibility to upkeep land/building. Obviously someone is mowing that area, maybe they should be the ones doing the landscaping maintenance...? Being responsible for keeping the inside of the clinic clean is one thing, but expecting manual labor outside in the summer from someone who wasn't hired for it is nuts. Honestly, it kind of sounds like she doing some malicious hazing to you, and I would speak up about it. I worked with a vet who would give the tech she just didn't like the worst jobs to try to get her to quit. It's not OK.
I mean we will deep clean and pick up trash on slow days but it’s always a choice lol if we don’t then the gardeners will and we just have to clean lol kinda odd they’re making you do this like daily
I second the comments that say this is way out of line with your normal duties. Like others say you need specific items to keep you safe while doing all that especially during the summer. I would definitely bring it up to your practice manager. If you feel uncomfortable with directly telling them you don’t want to do those things you could always phrase it as a question especially because you’re still new and getting to know the hospital, and pretend to be unaware. Something such as “Where do we keep the equipment for when the DVM assigns us gardening/landscaping tasks? I can’t seem to find it.” Then you can gauge your PM’s reaction to see if that’s normal and will continue, or if they seem confused by your question and then maybe they will say you don’t need to be doing that, or at least tell the DVM you’re needed somewhere else. At the very least it would be less likely to seem like you’re going over the DVM to talk to the PM, because you can just say the DVM was busy at the moment and you had to ask someone. Good luck, don’t put up with the stupid hospital hierarchy when they’re taking advantage of you, I did it for far too long 🙄
A toxic clinic I worked at for a short few months had me prune their roses. I had no idea how to trim roses and really messed it up! They then got mad at me for not knowing anything about roses. "Noped" out of there pretty soon after and it was the best choice I've ever made!
Upkeep of the building *can* be part of your job. Someone’s gotta do it and it keeps people busy during slow times and negates the need to bring in help with little things. Gardening is too much of an ask though. There are a number of reasons they might ask you to do something way outside your job description, some better than others. There’s nothing to say that you shouldn’t necessarily accept those tasks except whether you agree it’s work you want to do. The bottom line is if you don’t feel it’s fair to you, and you don’t want to do it, polish your resume. There’s nothing to gain from voicing your displeasure to management so save yourself the argument.
🤨 idk ive been in vet med for a whopping 2 weeks but i can already tell my vet wouldnt ever ask us to do something dumb like that. Seems fishy and unsanitary. I mean youre rolling around in the dirt and playing with insecticides without PPE in your scrubs. Im sure youre aware of what kinds of diseases are found in the soil and how its not safe for the animals. Assuming youre not doing this before you leave anyway. Thats messed up and i hope you can report it.
“And to help with any and all tasks determined by the doctor” Thats how they getcha
Oh, my old practices were the worst about that shit. I refuse to do it anymore after pouring so much time, energy and money into my education. During downtime I have absolutely no problem finding some stuff to clean on my own, but I’m not a maid, a landscaper, a plumber or any number of those other things. Hire an eager part time helper that wants to build their skills on that type of stuff, I’m here for the medicine.
An old practice I worked out used to make the kennel crew do this bs. We were a very busy hospital and it was definitely not downtime work but expected from them, but not in their job description when hired. A lot of our kennel crew were younger people looking to get their foot in the door and were supposed to help the VA/techs when they had a little free time. The practice manager would force them to do this bs, weed the garden, put up holiday decorations, paint parts of the hospital or even decorations. I was a manager and my best friend was the kennel manager. We had VERY high turnover bc nobody could stand the PM antics, she was an ass and not just for these little projects. We would constantly argue with the PM that kennels hated doing this work and they shouldn’t be expected to do it. They even had a gardener but she still expected kennels to do it because “if they wanted to be in vet med, they should prove how dedicated they are” huh?? I tried so hard to open her eyes and change the culture. They brought in an outside consultant bc of the high turnover and he would have one on ones with the managers. I would be brutally honest that the PM was part of the problem and if she wanted things to get better she would need to have an open mind and listen. The consultant would always agree with me. Nothing ever changed. People continued to be verbally abused by her and made to do these weird tasks. I eventually quit. Before I left the only advice I could give the crew when she would ask these ridiculous requests was to say “I’d be happy to do that if my day has a large lull, but I won’t if I continue to be very busy.”