NAVTA Reiterates:
“Our focus is on higher utilization, better wages, scope of practice, and title protection, not Veterinary Professional Associate Position.”
October 13, 2023. The Board of Directors of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) unequivocally asserts and reiterates its statement from January 2023 that NAVTA will continue to focus its time, energy, money, and human resources on the top priorities of improving Veterinary Technician utilization and wages, defining a uniform scope of practice for all Credentialed Veterinary Technicians, and protecting the Veterinary Technician title. NAVTA will not be prioritizing the development of any “mid-level practitioner” or “veterinary professional associate” positions before these other critical issues are addressed.
The recent launch of a website developed by the Coalition for the Veterinary Professional Associate (CVPA) ignited a flurry of conversation on social media, most of which denounced the Coalition’s efforts as mistimed and unnecessary. NAVTA President Jamie Rauscher, LVT, echoed those sentiments, saying, “There are higher priorities and bigger issues that need to be fixed first in the Veterinary Technician world. We need to ensure every practice knows how to and actually utilizes their Veterinary Technicians to the highest degrees possible. We need to increase the average wage of a credentialed Veterinary Technician to an actual livable wage. We need to harmonize the scope of practice of all credentialed Veterinary Technicians. And we need to protect the title of ‘Veterinary Technician’ so that uncredentialed individuals are not allowed to use that title. Those are the things that are important to the profession. Those are the areas where NAVTA is putting its resources.”
NAVTA was invited in February 2023 to participate in the CVPA’s meetings and conversations. This invitation came as a result of NAVTA’s January 2023 public statement declaring NAVTA’s strong desire to be proactively involved in the conversations and developments with regard to the mid-level practitioner position. Should there be other groups formed related to this topic, NAVTA will seek to have a representative at those tables, too.
NAVTA’s role on the CVPA is to represent Veterinary Technicians and bring to the CVPA the concerns of NAVTA’s members and the Veterinary Technician profession. NAVTA’s Immediate Past President, Ashli Selke, CVT, RVT is NAVTA’s representative on the CVPA.
“The NAVTA Board of Directors believes it is critical that NAVTA be at the table for these conversations, to have a say in the decisions and outcomes, and to ensure the Veterinary Technician profession is not harmed in any way by the proposal to create a new veterinary position,” Selke said. “But having a seat at the table does not mean that NAVTA supports this new position. It is a strategically intelligent move on NAVTA’s part to be part of these conversations now, rather than trying to respond or react to the outcomes later on, should they come to fruition. There are only three Veterinary Technicians on the CVPA – the rest of the Coalition includes veterinarians, lawyers, business people, and association executives. It is imperative that NAVTA be involved in these discussions on behalf of the entire Veterinary Technician profession. In fact, it would be a dereliction of duty if NAVTA were not involved in these conversations.” NAVTA has set up an online portal for Veterinary Technicians to submit their comments, questions, and concerns about the mid-level practitioner or veterinary professional associate position. Click here to begin that process. Your input will be delivered directly to the CVPA leadership.