Working toward NAVTA’s goal of developing and fostering relationships with allied organizations, NAVTA Executive Director Phillip E. Russo, CAE, attended last week’s AAVSB Annual Meeting & Conference in San Diego.
The meeting began with AAVSB committee meetings and training sessions, including an exam development workshop for the VTNE©. There were also special sessions for Executive Directors and Registrars of state medical boards and licensing agencies. The highlight of the event was the AAVSB Delegate Assembly Business Meeting and Educational Sessions.
The business meeting included the President’s Address, Executive Director’s Report, and Treasurer’s Report, as well as the election of new Board members.
Of greatest importance to NAVTA, the AAVSB board passed a resolution to form a task force charged with identifying those AAVSB Boards that do not regulate Veterinary Technicians and to work with those Boards to explore the political, legal, and practical bases as to why. The task force’s report is due to the AAVSB Delegate Assembly at the 2025 Annual Meeting. NAVTA will, of course, offer its assistance and try to gain a seat on the task force.
On the education side, Dr. Beth Venit highlighted the results of AAVSB’s Veterinary Team survey, which, among other things, showed a high level of support for increased Veterinary Technician utilization and a low level of support, at this time, for the mid-level practitioner concept. The survey showed that DVMs support expanded roles for Veterinary Technicians but are unclear what could be due to the ambiguity in practice acts and scopes of practice and the fear of being in violation.
There was also a session on “The Importance and Impact of Public Members and Veterinary Technicians on Regulatory Boards.” NAVTA Member Leslie Wereszczak delivered the technician portion of this session via recorded webinar, as she was unable to travel due to Hurricane Helene. Leslie noted that 25 states have Veterinary Technicians on their boards with some, but not all, voting positions.
During the conference, Russo also had fruitful conversations with representatives from AAVSB, AVMA, the NJ Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, the Missouri Veterinary Medical Board, the Utah Veterinary Physician Licensing Board, the California Veterinary Medical Board, and AVTE, among others.
NAVTA will continue to implement tactics that enhance the association’s role as a strategic advocate for the veterinary technology profession.