The Role of the Veterinary Technician in the Emergency Care System for Small Companion Animals

Emergency care for small companion animals depends on speed, coordinated action, and stable clinical judgment under pressure. Within that chain, the veterinary technician connects triage, early stabilization, monitoring, communication with owners, and transfer of information across the treatment pathway. The article examines how this position has moved beyond procedural assistance and taken on a coordinating function inside emergency and critical care. The aim is to determine how veterinary technicians support early prioritization, how their technical work shapes continuity of treatment, and how workforce conditions influence the dependability of emergency services. The study draws on recent peer-reviewed publications and professional guidelines published between 2021 and 2025. Comparative analysis, source analysis, conceptual synthesis, and analytical generalization were used. The results identify three interlinked functions of the veterinary technician in emergency systems: accelerating first-line intervention, reducing information loss during handoffs, and sustaining team performance under pressure. The conclusions have direct practical value for staffing models, protocol design, and clinical training.

`veterinary technician, emergency care, small companion animals, triage, critical care, CPR, referral systems, veterinary nursing, client communication, workforce sustainability

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