March 12, 2020 – Utah Passes HB455 Through Both Chambers

Utah has passed a bill establishing state certification for CVTs through the House and Senate, now awaiting to be signed into law by the governor. This is a prime example of collaboration between national and state level organizations to elevate credentialing standards around the nation.

 

Recent Activities Include:

  1. Establishing and Maintaining Standards in Credentialing
    1. Successfully opposed bills in Maine and North Carolina that would have established individuals with 8th-grade education and experience to qualify to be Veterinary Technicians.
    2. Supported bill to establish LVT in Montana.
    3. Supporting bill to establish state certification for Veterinary Technicians in Utah by providing information on establishing and supportive legislative action.
    4. Opposed bill that would repeal licensure for Veterinary Technicians, supporting West Virginia and the West Virginia Veterinary Medical Board.
  2. Defining the Scope of Practice for Veterinary Technicians
    1. Working with the AAVSB Regulatory Policy Task Force to establish a model regulation document to serve as a guide for future regulation.
    2. Coordinating with RVTTC (Canadian Veterinary Technician Association) on input for the model regulation document.
  3. Emphasizing Importance of Title Protection Compliance and Enforcement
    1. Established a Title Protection Task Force to survey the current state of title protection
    2. Collecting information on title protection laws around the US.
    3. Deployed Title Protection survey to characterize title protection compliance and enforcement
    4. Drafting recommendations for the veterinary field to encourage the establishment of better title protection.
  4. Creating the Registered Veterinary Nurse Model
    1. Working legislatively to establish “Registered Veterinary Nurse” in states that meet current credentialing standards and have title protection.
    2. Current bills include Oklahoma and Ohio.
    3. Working with several state organizations to aid legislative matters towards credentialing standards.
  5. Public and Professional Outreach Regarding Our Profession
    1. Produced #PetsNeedNurseToo video emphasizing the education, credentials, and the expansive role of veterinary technicians and our effort through the VNI.
    2. Established the VNI Voice (example) to be published in The NAVTA Journal featuring voices within the professional community.
  6. Advocating for the profession. – NAVTA had several representatives on the AVMA Task Force on Veterinary Technician Utilization. NAVTA will continue to work with the AVMA on the recommendations made by the Task Force.