The primary mission of the AVA Committee is to manage the NAVTA Approved Veterinary Assistant Program. This program was started in 2011 to provide a way to identify and honor exceptional Veterinary Assistant training programs. A goal of the AVA Program is to help provide the delineation between the unlicensed Veterinary Assistant and the Credentialed Veterinary Technician by defining the skills allowable to the VA and to encourage VA grads to pursue a higher level of education as Credentialed Veterinary Technicians.

The duties of the AVA Committee include:

• Manage and guide the AVA Program
• Communicate with committee members
• Maintain records of meetings, guidelines, standards
• Communicate with Approved Programs
• Communicate with VetMedTeam in management of AVA Exam
• Report to Board on a monthly basis