Vet Technicians Carry the Load in End-of-Life Care

Hospice and end-of-life care has become a recognized service line in companion-animal practice, and DVM360 reports that veterinary technicians sit at the center of it. A new feature from the publication, "The heart of hospice: How veterinary technicians make end-of-life care work," examines the role technicians play when curative treatment ends and comfort-focused care begins.

The piece addresses a practical reality for clinics: hospice work is technician-intensive. Managing pain, monitoring quality of life, and coaching owners through a pet's final weeks all demand time and trained hands.

What does the feature cover?

DVM360 frames hospice as a team discipline rather than a veterinarian-only service. Technicians conduct much of the routine contact — assessing comfort, walking owners through medication schedules, and flagging declines between doctor visits.

For practitioners, the takeaway is structural. A practice that offers end-of-life care without dedicated technician capacity risks delivering it poorly, because the workload lands on whoever is available.

The feature's focus is companion-animal practice. It does not address food-animal or regulatory questions, and no drug, vaccine, or agency approval appears in the reporting.

Why this matters at the exam table

End-of-life conversations are among the most demanding appointments in general practice. Owners often need repeated guidance on recognizing suffering, and technicians frequently provide that continuity between visits.

The DVM360 feature argues that practices should treat technician involvement in hospice as a defined role, not an informal add-on.

Veterinary teams looking to build or refine hospice services can read the full feature for the publication's account of how technicians make this model function in daily practice.