Following up on her commitment to increase and enhance communications between the NAVTA Board of Directors and NAVTA’s committee leaders, NAVTA President Jamie Rauscher recently conducted the first of several informational/update Zoom meetings with representatives from every NAVTA committee. Here are highlights of the information Jamie shared.
Strategic Direction
The NAVTA Board held a two-day strategic planning meeting in January that sets the association’s direction for the next year or so. All committee chairs, co-chairs, and vice chairs were invited to a workshop to delve deeper into this new strategic plan, and to gain valuable leadership training. The one-day session, for which NAVTA is paying all expenses, will be June 19 in Austin, Texas.
Government Relations Work
NAVTA’s Government Relations Committee (GRC) monitors legislation in every state and reaches out to states to see if assistance is needed or wanted. NAVTA has provided several state Veterinary Technician associations with letters of support for legislation that would, among other things, provide title protection, expand responsibilities, and require Veterinary Technician licensure.
The GRC, District Rep Committee, and VNI Committee have begun meeting on a regular basis to coordinate their efforts and ensure full cooperation and communication among the groups.
Mid-Level Practitioner/Veterinary Professional Associate
NAVTA has repeatedly reiterated its position of neutrality on the proposed creation of new veterinary positions that would, in theory, be slotted somewhere between a Veterinary Technician and a Veterinarian.
Committee on Veterinary Technician Specialties
CVTS recently wrapped up a monumental revision to its Policies and Procedures document, which was long in the making. The P&P serves as the committee’s “bible” in terms of how it is structured, the work it does, and the processes it follows to get that work done.
Recognition for Veterinary Assistants
NAVTA expanded last year’s “Veterinary Assistants Day” to “Approved Veterinary Assistant Week” beginning this May. The extension beyond just one day came at the request of many members who appreciated last year’s effort but wanted to see more recognition given to Assistants. The first-ever “Approved Veterinary Assistants Week” was May 19-25, 2024.
Proposed Resolution for AAVSB
NAVTA sent a letter to AAVSB asking that organization to adopt a resolution that recommends that state boards create and fill with a Veterinary Technician a voting seat on every board.
Tuition for Technicians
The annual Tuition for Technicians scholarship program, funded by BI, opened this month. It provides $2,500 scholarships to 20 Veterinary Technician students and/or recent graduates.
SCNAVTA Awards
We recently closed the nomination process for the SCNAVTA Advisor and Chapter of the Year awards. Purina is the exclusive sponsor of these awards. Purina will be present at the AVTE conference when we announce the winners.
The NAVTA Journal
Mary Berg has assumed the role of Chair of the Editorial Committee. This committee determines the content of each issue of The NAVTA Journal, solicits manuscripts from writers, and helps review those manuscripts. The committee has a pretty firm calendar of articles for each of the remaining issues of TNJ for this year, but they are always looking for good writers and articles.
AVMA Membership Task Force
NAVTA formed a task force charged with developing a proposal that would set the parameters for a possible NAVTA-AVMA joint membership.
VNI
The AAVSB is seeking comments on their 2020 Model Regulations: Scope of Practice for Veterinary Technicians and Veterinary Technologists and Appropriate Use of Opioids. NAVTA has asked the VNI committee to review the model scope of practice and draft recommendations for the NAVTA Board of Directors to consider. VNI is reaching out to other committees and board members to get their input.
Continuing Education at Conferences
In addition to having planned the content for NAVTA’s track at this year’s WVC event in Las Vegas, NAVTA’s CE Committee is curating 22 hours of CE for the Wild West vet show this October and 13 hours of CE for the New York Vet Show in November.