National Veterinary Technician Week

October 14-18 marks this year’s National Veterinary Technician Week (NVTW), a celebration the United States Congress declared 21 years ago to be celebrated during the third week of October. This year’s theme for NVTW is “Your Trusted Partner in Lifelong Care”.

Veterinary technicians often work behind the scenes, throughout animal clinics and hospitals, providing nursing care, patient assessment, and surgical assistance. Additionally, veterinary technicians work as radiography technicians, dental hygienists, client communicators, educators, medical laboratory technicians, and often as hospital and practice managers. Although many work in private veterinary practices, technicians may also find employment with universities, animal shelters, stables, reproductive facilities, zoos, wildlife facilities, pharmaceutical sales, the military, and homeland security.

“Technicians act as the patient’s advocate in much the same way as Registered Nurses do for humans,” said Melanie T. Landis, DVM, MBA, director of the Veterinary Technology Program at Blinn College.  “Not only do they ensure that treatments are performed, but also monitor responses and keep the veterinarian informed.”

The Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, in addition to employing many veterinary technicians, hosts second-year veterinary technology students from nearby Blinn College for up to seven weeks each spring semester.

After they graduate and have passed both the Veterinary Technician National Examination and a state jurisprudence exam, these students will become a credentialed veterinary technician. Blinn is one of only eight schools in Texas that offer a veterinary technology program accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Recently, the Texas state legislature adopted a bill which will change this credential from “registered veterinary technician” (RVT) to “licensed veterinary technician” (LVT), beginning in September 2014.  This moves technicians from a voluntary registration overseen by the Texas Veterinary Medical Association to a licensed profession with legal standing that will be monitored by the Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. Current RVTs will be able to make this transition fairly easily; all they will need to do is fill out an application and pay the annual licensing fee before next September.

“Working at Texas A&M is a dream come true for me,” said Liz Wood, a registered veterinary technician working in internal medicine at the VMTH. “I have the opportunity to utilize every aspect of my training. I help care for and treat some of the most baffling cases in the country. I work with some of the most renowned specialists in their fields. Most importantly, I have the pleasure of training and influencing future veterinarians. They leave us knowing the gold standard with which to care for their patients as well as the best ways to utilize their technicians. They know that their clinic and hospital staff are a part of the veterinary care team, and when used appropriately, can be very efficient and successful. I am very proud to be a part of the future of veterinary medicine.”


Print
Show Buttons
Hide Buttons