Working in a zoo hospital is just like working in a hospital for people. Except you never quite know which of several hundred different species may need medical care. And you can’t necessarily communicate verbally with your patients. And you probably can’t study their anatomy from a textbook. Oh, and your patients may not fit through the hospital doors.
Needless to say, working in a zoo hospital is not exactly a traditional medical job. It is a job that requires adaptability, ingenuity, and an enormous range of expertise. It requires a commitment to the health of aardvarks and zebras and dozens of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates in between. But most of all, working in the field of zoological wildlife health requires the unwavering sort of passion that comes from a genuine love for what you do and an appreciation for why you do it. These are the traits that our registered veterinary technicians (RVTs) bring to work each and every day at the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park. As we celebrate National Veterinary Technician Week, we’re honored to recognize the year-round dedication of our RVTs.
RVTs are incredibly skilled medical professionals with the expertise to work with hundreds of wildlife species.
RVTs (also called certified veterinary technicians or licensed veterinary technicians) are highly trained medical professionals who specialize in the health of animals. RVTs work with a host of animals in various settings, including family pets at your local vet clinic or wildlife at a zoo or aquarium.
While it is temptingly simple to compare RVTs to nurses, in reality, each of the RVTs at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is actually an entire hospital team rolled into one; they are a nurse, anesthesiologist, imaging technician, phlebotomist, dental hygienist, laboratory specialist, surgical assistant, and so much more for wildlife at every stage of life. And as if needing to master this diversity of expertise wasn't enough of a challenge, our RVTs need the capacity to apply this expertise to over 700 different species at the Zoo, and over 300 different species at the Safari Park.
For animals that are too big to be treated inside, our team brings the hospital out to the patient.
Because variety is the nature of their work, there is no such thing as a “typical day” for our RVTs. They may be conducting an annual health exam on a Komodo dragon on Monday. On Tuesday they might take a CT scan of an antelope in the morning, analyze condor blood in the afternoon, and then help custom design a tool for an elephant tooth exam. Thursday could call for our team to load up a truck with portable hospital equipment and venture into a field habitat to assist with a giraffe procedure outdoors. Wombat vaccination could be on the agenda for Sunday.
But regardless of the day’s schedule, the constant at the core of our RVTs’ duties is to deliver the highest standards of wildlife healthcare. To do so, RVTs commit to challenging, fast-paced, hands-on work that demands constant learning and quick feet. Doing this job is not for everyone; in fact, only about 1 percent of RVTs in the United States work at an accredited zoo or aquarium. This unique dedication—combined with exceptional abilities—is part of what makes the RVTs at the Zoo and Safari Park so incredible.
RVTs, veterinarians, and wildlife care specialists collaborated to remove a mass from the skin of a koi fish. The koi was treated successfully on a table built specially for fish medical procedures.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is extraordinarily grateful to our teams of RVTs. These teams have an immeasurable impact on the well-being of their patients, and these efforts extend to support healthy wildlife populations being cared for at accredited zoos and aquariums and across native ranges worldwide.
To our registered veterinary technicians: thank you for applying your passion, sharing your knowledge, and embodying the collaborative spirit that makes conservation possible. You make a difference for wildlife every day.
