The Board of Directors of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA), in upholding the association’s mission to advance the profession of veterinary technology, recently adopted a set of recommended standards for Veterinary Technicians to maintain their licenses. These standards should be the basis upon which states set their license maintenance requirements. The standards are:
- Licenses should be renewed every two years.
- Veterinary Technicians should be required to attain 24 units of continuing education credit in each 2-year cycle.
- There should be no more than six (6) non-medical CE credits in each 2-year cycle.
- Acceptable methods of delivery of CE are live/in-person sessions, live/online sessions, and recorded/on-demand sessions with a quiz required.
- CE can be obtained from national and state bodies, such as NAVTA, AAVSB (RACE), AVMA, AAHA, veterinary medical associations, veterinary technician associations, the US Department of Agriculture, and other entities whose CE is vetted for accuracy, relevancy, and objectivity.
Background
In this recommendation by the VNI Committee, a working group researched and documented current license maintenance requirements for veterinary technicians, veterinarians, and registered nurses. The most common licensing cycle in the veterinary profession is a two-year cycle, which allows individuals to attend large, multi-session conferences and often obtain most or all of their required CE credits at one event.
The working group also researched the appropriate number of required CE credits. The average requirement across the United States is 8.5 CE units each year (12 months). (North Dakota requires 8 CE units every 2 years, while New York requires 45 CE units every 3 years.) With the abundance of high-quality free CE available online, requiring 24 CE credits in a 2-year renewal period should not pose a hardship to individuals.
The working group also found that many states limit non-medical/clinical CE units to 6 or fewer in every 2-year cycle. The subcommittee agreed that this limit was reasonable and necessary.
The working group also learned that many states limit the number of online/live or on-demand CE credits allowed per renewal period, but did not believe that such a limit was necessary, allowing individuals to earn CE however best fits their situation. The working group did, however, believe it was necessary that recorded/on-demand CE be accompanied with a required assessment so that individuals could demonstrate an understanding of the material presented.