Veterinary Spotlight: Q&A with Banfield’s Ava Bartley, LVT

During the week, veterinary technician Ava Bartley oversees campus outreach programs and externships for Banfield Pet Hospital, connecting with aspiring veterinary technicians. On weekends, you might find her working with pets and people at a Banfield hospital in southwest Washington, where she began her career.

When did you realize you wanted to work in the veterinary profession?

When I was a kid, something just clicked. I remember thinking, “I need to be an advocate for animals.” I wanted to be a veterinarian, but when I started working at Banfield, I realized I was more drawn to the nursing portion of the profession: the bedside manner and treatment delivery. I’m grateful I had that exposure prior to taking the huge leap into a doctorate program.

What keeps you excited about your work?

Vet tech students are so enthusiastic and caring, and they want to get into this helping profession. This is not an easy job. Our patients can’t communicate with us, and often they’re incredibly scared. But having that passion is what drives you on those hard days. Veterinary technicians go through years of specialized education and we take a national board exam – after that, the state grants us a license. We work hard to obtain this credential, and it makes me proud to help people get there.

What do you find most rewarding about being in a clinical setting?

I still practice on the weekends, and I love interacting with clients. That’s a huge part of what this career is about. The owner is their pet’s advocate. They really understand the patient. I spend a lot of time counseling owners – for example, training them on how to take care of a chronically ill patient. We have cats that need to get subcutaneous fluids delivered at home and diabetic pets that need insulin injections. Veterinary technicians get to teach owners how to do that. It’s one of my favorite parts of the job.

Also, it’s important for me to stay sharp and use my technical skills — especially with something as important as surgery. Helping a pet have a really safe and quick anesthetic procedure is so vital, and I’m grateful to be part of the surgical team. It takes many different steps, and Banfield has done a great job of providing a solid anesthetic protocol, which makes my job much easier.

Veterinary technician students do a lot of things independently, but for any type of anesthetic procedure or surgical nursing, they work in close partnership with a veterinarian. I have been lucky enough to work with several really, really talented doctors in school and in practice. I’ve learned a lot from them along the way!

What do you do for fun?

I love cooking and baking, as well as finding ways to be active and enjoy the outdoors. I run, ride my bike and do a lot of hiking. And I love to take weekend getaway trips to the coast.

I would also say that practicing veterinary medicine is a huge activity for me. I’ve been working in the same Banfield hospital since I was 18, and a lot of the people I’ve worked with from the beginning are still there. It’s like going home in a way.