Health and Fitness Tips for Busy Vet Tech Students

Studying to become a veterinary technician is a lot of hard work, combining lectures and classes with gaining practical, on-the-job experience in the lab or surgery, and searching sites for vet jobs once you graduate in your final year. Educational dedication combined with long work hours can quickly take its toll on your health, so it’s important for vet tech students to bump self-care up to the top of their priority list. As a trainee veterinary technician, your job revolves around caring for others but caring for yourself first will ensure you get the best results. We’ve put together some top healthcare tips for busy vet tech students.

#1. Revisit Your Schedule:

If you’re working long hours for little pay, taking on bar or restaurant work at the evenings and weekends to make ends meet, and attending all your classes and lab sessions too, it’s no surprise if you’re feeling a little burned out. You may want to consider going over your schedule and trying to cut down the amount of work you’re taking on. Think about switching to online classes to provide more flexibility for your study hours and stay on the look-out for paid veterinary jobs involving surgery where you can get the experience that you need whilst earning money. Speak to your tutors – many colleges are partnered with veterinary surgeries who provide work placement and paid employment opportunities to students. Best-Vettechschools.com may also help.

#2. Improve Your Sleep Habits:

It may be tempting to sit up until the early hours of the morning finishing off your essay or working on a lab report, but these habits can quickly start to take their toll on your health, especially if you still have to be up early in the morning for work or class. Sleep deprivation can leave you feeling tired, confused, and unable to focus, all of which can quickly cause havoc with your studies and career. Try to take an hour each night to wind down and do something that relaxes you, such as listening to music, taking a bubble bath, or having your partner give you a massage. Aim for some screen-free time where all smartphones, tablets, and laptops are put away until the morning.

#3. Stay Hydrated:

When you’re working long hours that require you to be on your feet for a large portion of the day, it can be all too easy to forget to rehydrate. If you’re currently working at a busy animal hospital as part of your veterinary technician training, chances are that you don’t get to take that many refreshment breaks. If you can, keep a bottle of water as close to your workstation as possible and take regular sips. Avoid drinking coffee and other caffeinated beverages after lunchtime, and incorporate foods high in water content such as melon, celery, and cucumber into your meals and snacks.

#4. Use Strength Training:

Lastly, being on your feet all day can be physically taxing, so incorporating some strength workouts into your routine may be helpful. A couple of visits to the gym each week to work on lower, core, and upper body strength can help you avoid aches and pains at work.

If you found these tips helpful, we’d love to hear from you in the comments!