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Veterinary technician receives specialty designation in anesthesia and analgesia

Beverly Orozco recently completed her veterinary technician specialist, or VTS, credential in anesthesia and analgesia.

Beverly Orozco, a veterinary technician with the UF Veterinary Hospital’s anesthesia service, recently passed her Academy of Veterinary Technicians in Anesthesia and Analgesia examination to become a veterinary technician specialist.

Veterinary technicians credentialed by the academy as a VTS demonstrate superior knowledge in the care and management of anesthesia cases. The credential promotes patient safety, consumer protection, professionalism and excellence in anesthesia care.

“In 2007, my application to be a vet tech at UF was accepted. I was very inexperienced, and UF took me in and taught me all that I know,” Orozco said.

She started in the large animal hospital doing overnight shifts, she said, during which she would often watch the animals’ surgery and recovery from anesthesia.

“After three years in the large animal hospital, I was needing to move to days, and the anesthesia department had an opening,” she said. “I had nothing to lose and all the knowledge to gain. With that in mind, I decided to give it a shot and see what I could achieve.”

Orozco learned the basics of how to handle all kinds of small animals, which she had never worked with before, and after three years working in anesthesia, she passed her certified veterinary technician, or CVT, exam. She learned that she could become a specialist in her field, and enjoyed the discipline of anesthesia and pain management so much that in 2016, she decided to pursue her next set of credentials: the VTS designation.

Although her journey took a few years to complete, after six years of hard work and studying, Orozco was successful at achieving her goal.

“I managed to make it work, and have been blessed with two sets of credentials behind my name,” Orozco said. “I am so appreciative of UF for taking a chance on a very novice technician and helping me become Beverly, CVT, VTS.”

Small Animal Hospital director Sheri Holloway said that by completing the multi-year process to achieve her veterinary technician specialist goal, Orozco “has demonstrated her superior knowledge in her care and management of anesthesia cases.”

“We are very proud of her,” she said.