The controversies began before the official opening of the 2023 AVMA Convention in Denver. One debate that resurfaced this year was expanding the scope of practice, review of licensed veterinary technicians’ roles, and their permitted professional duties. Despite having no regulatory or enforcement abilities, the AVMA proclaimed it would pledge “to defend against expanding the scope of practice,” particularly in the role of a proposed midlevel practitioner. Unfortunately, the discussions quickly grew to include debates about preventing any establishment of a VCPR by a licensed veterinary technician, going against legislation passed in several states. Viewfinders, we’ve got a lot to talk about in this episode.

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and President-elect of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA), Beckie Mossor, RVT, discuss the recent controversies around expanding the scope of practice and the duties a licensed veterinary technician can perform and how this potentially impacts both the veterinary profession and access to pet care.

Viewfinders, this is a critical issue that impacts veterinarians, vet techs, and all members of the veterinary profession. Please share your opinions on our Facebook or Instagram pages, or email us at [email protected]

RESOURCES CITED:

“AVMA pledges to defend against expanding scope of practice” - AVMA Convention 2023 Daily News

https://www.avma.org/events/avma-convention/convention-newspaper/avma-pledges-defend-against-expanding-scope-practice

AVMA Policies - Safeguarding care for animals with veterinarian-led teams

https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/avma-policies/safeguarding-care-animals-veterinarian-led-teams

NAVTA Response to AVMA Statement on Scope of Practice

https://navta.net/news/navta-response-to-avma-statement-on-scope-of-practice/

Academy of Internal Medicine for Veterinary Technicians open letter to the AVMA:

https://www.aimvt.com/

“AVMA, the ultimate gatekeepers and their disdain for veterinary technician advancement” by Stephen Niño Cital, RVT, SRA, RLAT, CVPP, VTS- LAM (Res. Anesthesia)

https://medium.com/@NinoCital/avma-the-ultimate-gatekeepers-and-their-distain-for-veterinary-technician-advancement-2e09622e400d

“AVMA’s two faces” by Stephen Niño Cital, RVT, SRA, RLAT, CVPP, VTS- LAM (Res. Anesthesia)

https://medium.com/@NinoCital/avmas-two-faces-adf4c7e53364