dvm360 Q&A highlights practical guidance on venipuncture
Bottom line
Venipuncture and IV catheter placement remain core technician skills, and dvm360 has put a timely spotlight on that reality through a new Q&A with Alyssa Mages, BS, CVT, FVTE, cofounder and chief visionary officer of Empowering Veterinary Teams. In the interview, published October 20, 2026, Mages walks through practical decision-making around vessel selection, catheter sizing, blood-draw technique, and common placement mistakes, while emphasizing that choices should be tailored to the patient, the procedure, and the team’s skill level. She also underscores the value of practicing on models before attempting these procedures on live patients. (dvm360.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this isn’t just a skills refresher. It speaks directly to technician utilization, patient comfort, procedural success, and training consistency across the hospital. Mages’ broader work has focused on how better use of technician skills supports workflow, retention, and sustainable team growth, and her workshop materials frame venipuncture and catheterization as teachable, repeatable competencies that improve with structured, hands-on practice and attention to asepsis. (aaha.org)
What to watch: Expect continued attention on technician training models, skills development, and role utilization as practices look for ways to strengthen efficiency and retention. (aaha.org)
A new dvm360 Q&A is putting the spotlight on one of the most fundamental, and often most pressure-filled, areas of veterinary technician practice: venipuncture and IV catheter placement. In the article, published October 20, 2026, Alyssa Mages, BS, CVT, FVTE, shares practical guidance drawn from a hands-on session she presented at the Fetch dvm360 Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, covering catheter selection, vessel choice, preparation, common errors, and the role of practice models before live-patient work. (dvm360.com)
The discussion lands at a time when technician training, utilization, and retention remain tightly linked issues across the profession. Mages has been a visible advocate for stronger team-based training and fuller use of credentialed technician skills, and AAHA recently highlighted her view that veterinary medicine’s future depends in part on how well practices use every team member’s capabilities. That makes this Q&A more than a procedural how-to; it’s part of a broader conversation about workforce sustainability and clinical confidence. (aaha.org)
In the dvm360 interview, Mages argues against a one-size-fits-all approach to catheter choice, noting that catheter size should be driven by the patient’s status, the procedure, and the team’s skill level. The article’s framing emphasizes that these early choices can affect both patient comfort and procedural success. It also flags several practical teaching points: common IV catheter placement mistakes, steps for safer and more efficient blood draws, and the importance of rehearsal before live attempts. (dvm360.com)
That emphasis aligns with Mages’ broader educational materials. Proceedings for her “Go With the Flow – Venipuncture & IVC Placement” workshop describe a curriculum built around vascular anatomy, asepsis, standard peripheral catheter placement, and more advanced line techniques, followed by repeated hands-on practice using vein models. The workshop materials stress that regular, repeated practice is essential, especially for high-pressure clinical situations, and position simulation as a bridge between theory and patient care. (idexx.co.uk)
Industry reaction, at least from adjacent professional channels, points in the same direction. AAHA’s recent podcast coverage of Mages’ work tied technician utilization and team-based training to workflow, retention, revenue, and burnout prevention. While that commentary wasn’t specific to this dvm360 Q&A, it reinforces the wider professional interest in practical skills training that helps technicians work at the top of their capabilities. (aaha.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the biggest takeaway may be that venipuncture and catheter placement aren’t merely entry-level technical tasks. They’re foundational clinical competencies that shape patient flow, treatment speed, sample quality, catheter longevity, pet parent experience, and team confidence. Training systems that rely only on opportunistic learning during busy shifts can create uneven performance and added stress; by contrast, structured practice, clear decision frameworks, and attention to aseptic technique can support both better outcomes and better technician utilization. That framing is consistent with broader competency documents that list mastery of venipuncture and IV catheter placement among essential veterinary technician skills. (idexx.co.uk)
For hospitals dealing with staffing pressure, this kind of content may also resonate as a workforce story. When technicians are well trained and consistently supported in core procedures, veterinarians can be freed for higher-level tasks, and newer team members may build confidence faster. That doesn’t solve retention on its own, but it does address one of the everyday friction points that can affect morale and efficiency. This is an inference based on Mages’ training focus and AAHA’s discussion of utilization, workflow, and burnout. (aaha.org)
What to watch: The next signal to follow is whether this conversation expands beyond conference education into broader hospital training protocols, CE offerings, and technician utilization strategies, especially as educators and employers continue looking for scalable ways to build procedural confidence without sacrificing patient safety. (idexx.co.uk)