Veterinary Technician Specialty: An Overview of the Academies

Presented by Britton Badgley LVT, VTS (anes)
The Committee on Veterinary Technician Specialties (CVTS) was created by the Executive Board of NAVTA in 1994. NAVTA created the CVTS in response to the development of specialty disciplines for veterinary technicians. CVTS was recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) as the governing body that oversees the development of the veterinary technician academies. The CVTS has developed guidelines to assist groups to petition NAVTA for recognition as a specialty academy. The CVTS provides a standardized list of criteria and assistance to these groups and/or SOCIETIES that are interested in attaining ACADEMY status. For the guidelines, please go to the NAVTA website under specialty academies.

The term SOCIETY refers to a group of people including veterinarians, technicians and hospital staff that are interested in a specific discipline of veterinary medicine. Everyone can be a member of a society. A society must have a distinct specialty and be supported by an existing veterinary specialty. The CVTS is the governing body that grants a specialty ACADEMY status.

The CVTS selected the term ACADEMY to designate a group that has received recognition as veterinary technicians, which have a specific discipline that is specialized. The CVTS designates that an ACADEMY recognizes veterinary technicians that have graduated from an AVMA accredited program and/or credentialed i.e. LVT, CVT or RVT. There is an application process for each academy recognizing education, training and experience. There are established requirements for education and experience made by the specific Academy.  Applicants are encouraged to be a member of NAVTA and/or state veterinary technician organization such as NYSAVT. An examination process follows once an application has been accepted by the academy. An acceptable score on the examination and the approval of the academies’ examination committee must be attained in order to receive VTS recognition.

NAVTA and the Committee on Veterinary Technician Specialties currently recognize:

  • Academy of Veterinary Emergency Critical Care Technician (AVECCT)
  • Academy of Veterinary Technician Anesthetist (AVTA)
  • Academy of Dental Technician (AVDT)

AVECCT
AVECCT was the first academy to be recognized by NAVTA. It received provisional recognition in 1996. The first examination was held in 1998 and 26 veterinary technicians sat for the examination. Additional information including application/requirements can be found at www.avecct.org

AVTA
Academy of Veterinary Technician Anesthetist recognizes veterinary technicians in the specialty area of anesthesia. In the early 1990’s, a number of technicians from various backgrounds came together to form the Veterinary Technician Anesthetist Society (VTAS). In 1996, the VTAS with the support of the American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologist petitioned NAVTA/CVTS for recognition as a certifying body of VTS in anesthesia. NAVTA/CVTS recommended forming an organization separate from VTAS that consisted solely of veterinary technicians with a specialty in anesthesia. In February 1999, NAVTA/CVTS recognized the AVTA. The AVTA was the second organization to receive Veterinary Technician Specialty (VTS) with 18 charter members. The first exam was held in October 2002 with nine applicants approved to sit for the examination. There are currently 39 members with VTS (anes) recognition. Additional information including application/requirements can be found at www.avta-vts.org

AVDT
The Academy of Veterinary Dental Technicians received provisional recognition from CVTS/NAVTA in November 2002. The AVDT hopes that VTS will help the advancement of veterinary dentistry in the veterinary field for both specialty practices and the general practice. The AVDT is also forming a society for technicians, support staff and others interested in the field of veterinary dentistry. Additional information can be found at www.avdt.us

AIMVT
The AIMVT plan is to promote greater interest and advanced skills in the discipline of veterinary internal medicine. The first meeting was held in Orlando, FL in January 2004. The AIMVT received the approval from the ACVIM and petitioned the CVTS/NAVTA to begin the process of VTS recognition. The AIMVT received NAVTA approval in 2005. The AIMVT is subdivided into the following: oncology, neurology, cardiology, small animal internal medicine and large animal internal medicine. Additional information, including guidelines and credential requirements can be found at www.AIMVT.com

SOCIETY
The Society of Veterinary Behavior Technicians (SVBT) is a group of credentialed/ licensed technicians from an AVMA accredited technical school and/or veterinary technician student. The SVBT is looking to petition NAVTA/CVTS to achieve specialty status in animal behavior. The SVBT is supported by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorist. The SVBT started with 3 charter members and had approximately 500 members at the end of 2004. Society of Veterinary Behavior Technicians (SVBT) their website is: www.svbt.org

VOTS
The Veterinary Ophthalmic Technician Society (VOTS) was formed in 1995. The need for support and continuing education directed towards ophthalmic veterinary technician was one of the main reasons the society was formed. The VOTS has a number of goals including providing CE opportunities, technician support, a quarterly newsletter and future specialty credentialing. With the support of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologist, the VOTS has an annual meeting that coincides with the ACVO conference. Membership has grown to 147 members in 2005 including technicians and veterinary nurses from Japan, Australia and Canada. Additional information can be found at www.votsweb.com

VCS
The mission of the Veterinary Technician Cancer Society (VCS) is to be an advocate of the cancer patient and maintain the highest standard of care and treatment of animals with cancer. Additional information can be found at www.vetcancersociety.org

AAEVT
American Association of Equine Veterinary Technicians (AAEVT) is still in its infancy. The AAEVT is a sister organization to the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP). The AAEVT is open to veterinary technicians and veterinary technician students in the US and Canada regardless of licensure, certification. The AAEVT goal is to gain international membership, obtain specialty credentialing and create an Equine Veterinary Technician Academy. The first AAEVT meeting was held at the 2004 AAEP convention in Colorado. The AAEVT started accepting charter memberships at the end of 2004. The Goal of the AAEVT is “to promote the health and welfare of the horse through the education and professional enrichment of the equine veterinary technician.” The AAEVT is looking to expand continuing education opportunities including on-line education for the equine veterinary technician. For more information about the AAEVT please see their website at www.AAEVT.org
Historical Note
The National Conference of Veterinary Specialty Academies (NCVTSA) held its first national conference that joined the three VTS academies (AVECCT, AVDT and AVTA) for a day and a half of continuing education presentations. This was the first conference held by the academies for veterinary technicians at the national level. Two CE tracks were offered with a total of 11.25 hours of credits towards certification. The conference was held March 19-20, 2005 in Baltimore, MA in conjunction with the AAHA conference.
 
 

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