I am a Licensed veterinary technician (LVT) in New York, I had to complete a 2 years of a specialized college curriculum and graduate with a B or better average to acquire an AAS: Associate of Applied science in veterinary medicine. that allowed me to sit for my board exam: the VTNE to obtain my state license to practice. I currently have to complete CE credits every year and am audited triennially by the state to make sure I have completed those hours. I am currently working on additional boards to become a VTS: ECC (Veterinary Technician Specialist: Emergency & Critical Care) witch will require 2 years of case studies, additional course work & another exam including a practical. My current job title in the busy 24/7 ER in which I work is ICU Nurse. I do everything that job implicates for a human nurse, but I am also the Radiology Technician, Lab technician, anesthesiologist, phlebotomist, Etc.
I tell you all this because I am aware that in the human nursing field there is little knowledge of who we are and what we do. What is our schooling like? what do we do in practice?
And now NAVTA has initiated conversations with global, national, and state organizations regarding implementing the term Veterinary Nurse for the veterinary technician profession, as well as establishing a national standard for credentialing and using Registered Veterinary Nurse, or RVN, as a unified title...
Among Veterinary technicians there are those for and against the change from Veterinary Technician to Veterinary Nurse, but how do you all feel about it? are you ok with sharing your 'protected' title with your veterinary counterparts?
Specializes in Peds Critical Care, Dialysis, General.
I see both sides of this argument, primarily because my husband is a veterinarian. He has techs that are trained in the clinic, by him or his primary tech. There are licensed techs, but not all clinics have these. Unfortunately, it comes down to $$. LVTs are worth way more than they are paid and their education bills are not cheap. Sound familiar?
There are Emergency/Specialty Veterinary Hospitals, with the emphasis being on hospital. This implies that care is available to your pet 24/7, with a DVM available at all times. These particular settings do have ICUs, because we have had pets in their ICU. There are doctors there 24/7 and probably spend more time with their patients that human docs do. These hospitals are staffed 24/7. My understanding is that they are all licensed veterinary technicians - a requirement. We visited our pets in ICU and it was quite similar to a regular ICU. All those beeps and whistles going off. It is only in this setting would I see the necessity for a "nurse."
Why is it that you would want to be called nurse or include that in your title? I'm not understanding. You have told us that your tech friends essentially consider it an insult, as they/you are educated so far above and beyond those who nurse humans. So why, then?
Besides...if you all were truly smart about this (and related matters), you would see human medicine/nursing as somewhat a cautionary tale and would seek to simply treat your patients with humility and compassion and FORGET knowing anything about all this other unimportant crap. If your profession thinks "trying to do things more like human medicine" is a worthy aim, well, at this particular point in history I would disagree!
I see veterinary medicine as a smart group of people who haven't gone off the rails [yet]. We will rue the day when taking one's pet to the vet is ANYTHING like going to a hospital or doctor's office for anything!
I would say it's probably okay as long as "nurse" is always preceded by "veterinary." I can see your role as being similar to that of a nurse, just for animals. But it's important that people recognize that you work with animals and not people.
I am a Licensed veterinary technician (LVT) in New York, I had to complete a 2 years of a specialized college curriculum and graduate with a B or better average to acquire an AAS: Associate of Applied science in veterinary medicine. that allowed me to sit for my board exam: the VTNE to obtain my state license to practice. I currently have to complete CE credits every year and am audited triennially by the state to make sure I have completed those hours. I am currently working on additional boards to become a VTS: ECC (Veterinary Technician Specialist: Emergency & Critical Care) witch will require 2 years of case studies, additional course work & another exam including a practical. My current job title in the busy 24/7 ER in which I work is ICU Nurse. I do everything that job implicates for a human nurse, but I am also the Radiology Technician, Lab technician, anesthesiologist, phlebotomist, Etc.
I tell you all this because I am aware that in the human nursing field there is little knowledge of who we are and what we do. What is our schooling like? what do we do in practice?
And now NAVTA has initiated conversations with global, national, and state organizations regarding implementing the term Veterinary Nurse for the veterinary technician profession, as well as establishing a national standard for credentialing and using Registered Veterinary Nurse, or RVN, as a unified title...
Among Veterinary technicians there are those for and against the change from Veterinary Technician to Veterinary Nurse, but how do you all feel about it? are you ok with sharing your 'protected' title with your veterinary counterparts?
No it is not okay to share the title.
I realize you are educated, hard working and compassionate, but the care of animals.. and the care of humans is beyond comparison.
I provided hospice care to my dog, in the end I put her down. It was one of the most difficult times of my life. Can't really do that for humans can we?
Back in the late 80's I worked as an "Animal Care Specialist" in the US Army. (military working dogs, horses, privately owned pets) We were commonly referred to as "vet techs" by the army veterinarians we assisted. We were trained at Walter Reed Army Medical center in DC. Our duties consisted of vaccinations, taking vitals, lab draws, lab tech work, IV starts, surgical assistance, assist with anesthesia administration, teeth cleanings, radiology, kennel maintenance... This just off of the top of my head. We were used as technicians, or specialists. We were trained very much on the "how to" rather than the "why". Did not know much about disease process. We in the veterinary field prided ourselves on the fact that human nurses and doctors cared for one species - the vets took care of all the rest:) (This may explain the "mere human nurse" remark.) Each species is very different and must be approached medically in very different ways. For example: medications safe for canine use will, in some cases, kill a feline. And don't let's get started on reptiles, amphibians, birds..
Anyway, decades later I went to nursing school. The training much more thorough and rigorous, especially with disease process. We know intimately the "whys" of what we do, and have much more autonomy than that of a vet technician. I can honestly say, having worked in both positions, that a vet tech is not a nurse. That said, I am not trying to take away any credit from veterinary workers. They are very knowledgeable and have some mad skills. They work with patients who cannot verbalize what the problem is - and it is instinctual for animals to mask any problems for survival purposes. But.. Its different, though - they are specialists, techs, assistants. Not nurses, really.
I could go on and on, but Jeeze, I gotta get to the post office with Christmas packages and then get to baking. Happy Holidays:)
You said "mere" first when referring to nurses, i was simply quoting you. It's unfortunate that you can't relate.
I actually had an RN client today who's dog was getting blood work done for the first time, she was surprised that dogs had red blood. I know someone else who's MD client was surprised that his cat had asthma because he didn't realize cats had lungs. Maybe some comparitive anatomy/physiology classes would help the field veterinary medicine be more relatable.
I think you are for highlighting a sentence which I did not.
And if you're sister is an actual educated and boarded veterinary technician, who's read the whole thread and understands the purpose of the initiative then I have no words.
AlabamaBelle
476 Posts
I see both sides of this argument, primarily because my husband is a veterinarian. He has techs that are trained in the clinic, by him or his primary tech. There are licensed techs, but not all clinics have these. Unfortunately, it comes down to $$. LVTs are worth way more than they are paid and their education bills are not cheap. Sound familiar?
There are Emergency/Specialty Veterinary Hospitals, with the emphasis being on hospital. This implies that care is available to your pet 24/7, with a DVM available at all times. These particular settings do have ICUs, because we have had pets in their ICU. There are doctors there 24/7 and probably spend more time with their patients that human docs do. These hospitals are staffed 24/7. My understanding is that they are all licensed veterinary technicians - a requirement. We visited our pets in ICU and it was quite similar to a regular ICU. All those beeps and whistles going off. It is only in this setting would I see the necessity for a "nurse."