STAF148-1112: Veterinary Technician Credentialing and Regulation

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INSTRUCTOR(S): Rebecca Rose, AAS, CVT
COURSE OPEN: November 20-December 22, 2012
REAL TIME SESSION (RTS): Wednesdays, November 28, December 5 and 12, 2012; 8:00pm-9:30pm ET (USA)
Course RTS Times in Your Area: World Clock Converter

Practice Sessions: In order to prepare you for a successful experience in your CE course, we request you attend a Practice Session prior to the first Real Time Session. Please arrive promptly at the start time; each Practice Session is up to 1 hour in length. For more information, please visit the CE Practice Area.

*The instructor for this course will be using audio which will require you to have a headset or speakers to listen. If you have any concerns regarding your computer's audio capabilities, please be sure to attend one of the Practice Sessions.

Level and Prerequisites: This intermediate level course is for veterinary technicians to better understand regulations, laws, and legalese for their profession. This course is geared toward veterinary technician credentialing as it applies in the United States and Canada; however, worldwide participants are welcome! Practice managers, owners, veterinary staff, and veterinarians may find this course helpful in understanding licensure, registration, and certification of veterinary technicians.

VSPN CE Course: Open to VSPN and VIN members. This course has been submitted for RACE approval for veterinary technicians only.

Course Description:
For veterinarians licensure is mandated, national and state association membership is common and individual state Veterinary Practice Acts define the laws governing veterinarians; pretty cut and dry. However, mandated credentialing of veterinary technicians varies from state to state, fewer technicians engage in their professional associations, and governance varies. Veterinary technicians are trained individuals; the majority attend a two year program, graduating with an Associate's degree in Applied Sciences. How is that education best applied in the veterinary hospital? During this course we will demystify the process of education, credentialing, and participation in professional organizations. We will explore credentialing differences of registration, licensure, and certification. What does credentialing mean and how can a technician work within rules and regulations (if any) governing them? We will review benefits of belonging and compare surveys recently conducted with various associations and agencies. Veterinary team members will gain an understanding of training received from AVMA accredited veterinary technology programs, testing, credentialing nomenclature, an overview of the profession, and a list of resources for veterinary technician support.

This course consists of three (3) ninety (90) minute Real Time Session, supplemental library materials, interactive message board discussions, a mandatory end-of-course test, and may include online multiple choice quizzes (after each Real Time Session). Successful completion (scoring 80% or better) on the end-of-course test is required to earn a certificate of completion for the course.
*A portion of this course will be an audio presentation, please be prepared to listen.

Upon completion of this course, the participant should be able to

• differentiate between licensure for a veterinarian and credentialing of veterinary technicians.
• explore governance and charge of veterinary state boards.
• recognize the benefit of observing a meeting of veterinary state board of examiners.
• comprehend the growth of AVMA accredited veterinary technician programs.
• identify the AVMA's supports veterinary technology.
• examine the training and skills learned while attending AVMA accredited programs.
• identify the CAAHT is and their programs.
• define the difference between a veterinary technician and veterinary technologist.
• describe the duties and charge of the CVTEA.
• determine the test requirements for various states upon graduation and distinguish the differences between the VTNE and state exams.
• define Credentialed, Registered, Certified, Licensed, and Specialist with regard to the veterinary technician.
• examine and interpret the governance differences between states.
• discuss liability on the part of the veterinarian and the veterinary technician.
• define the roles of the AAVSB and NAVTA.
• outline organizations currently available to support veterinary technicians in their professional growth.
• examine benefits of belonging to, engaging in, and creating goals for active participation in professional organizations.
• review state veterinary technician association sites, continuing education, and networking.
• compare state and national survey findings in regards to the veterinary profession.

Course Materials: Course materials will be available in the course library prior to each Real Time Session.

Required Textbook(s): There are no textbooks for this class; however, extensive links, books, and articles will be included in the course library.

About the Instructor:
Rebecca Rose has been a CVT for several years and is a current practice consultant for Red Valley Rose Consulting, LLC. She has authored two texts on veterinary technician careers, writes peer reviewed articles, is a contributing author in a text book for veterinary technicians as well as sits on several professional councils and committees.

Course Outline:
Week 1: (Real Time Session November 28): Education, Training, and Testing
Content: The governance of veterinarians and the regulations applying to veterinary technicians/technologists differ at a state and national level. We will briefly review training, laws, state boards, and licensure as it relates to the veterinarian to clarify the differences. AVMA accredited programs, required skills and training, degrees available, testing, and resources for the veterinary technician will follow as a comparison. Anticipate interactives that encourage you to explore several online sites such as AAVSB, veterinary technician programs, state Veterinary Practice Acts, definitions of veterinary team members (or lack thereof), Veterinary Boards at the state level and finding meeting dates to attend an examiner's open session at the state level.

Week 2: (Real Time Session December 5): Credentialing and Governance
Content: Registered, Certified, Credentialed, Specialist, and Licensed, OH MY! Nomenclature can be scary and overwhelming. In this session we will focus on demystifying titles and state regulations. Easier said than done! In the United States alone there are fifty states with fifty different ways of viewing veterinary technicians, their governance, rules and regulations. Canada is another situation all together. We will compare a few of the states and rules. Public protection, ethics, discipline, and liability insurance will surely be hot topics of discussion during this session!

Week 3: (Real Time Session December 12): Professional Organizations and "Survey Says"
Content: A large percentage of veterinarians belong to and participate on their state and national professional organizations. Unfortunately, that is NOT the case within the veterinary technician community. We will discuss why there is low participation and how to improve the statistics. Dialog will include the many benefits of belonging and more importantly actively engaging in veterinary technician associations (you don't have to be a board member!) NAVTA has published several surveys over the past 20 years; we will compare current results to the previous surveys and look at state statistics, too. How do you compare to your fellow technicians in regards to job satisfaction, wages, benefits, age, etc.?

CE CREDITS: 4.5

Tuition: $90 ($81 early bird special if enrolled November 6, 2012).
*Students currently enrolled in and taking at least 2 classes or 5 units at an AVMA accredited or CAAHT approved Veterinary Technician Program may be eligible to receive a 50% discount off the regular rate for this course (upon verification of student status).
NOTE: To ensure participants are ready and prepared for classes, enrollment will close when the maximum number of participants is reached or at 5pm ET the day of the first Real Time Session unless otherwise noted. If the first Real Time Session is on a weekend, course enrollment will close on the Friday before the first Real Time Session.

*For more information on how online CE works, see the Participant Resource Center.

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1. Enrollment qualifications: VIN CE courses are open to VIN member and non-member veterinarians. Veterinarians enrolling in a VSPN CE course must be a VIN member. Veterinary support staff must be a VSPN member to enroll in a VSPN CE or a VIN CE course open to VSPN member enrollment.
2. Each enrollee must be able to receive emails from @vspn.org and @vin.com addresses. Email is our major form of communication with participants; personal emails are highly recommended rather than clinic/hospital email addresses.
3. Each person is individually responsible for his/her own registration. To ensure that all information received is secure and correct, please do not enroll for a course on behalf of another individual.
4. For further assistance call 1-800-700-INFO (4636) or email (VIN CE) CEonVIN@vin.com or (VSPN CE) VSPNCE@vspn.org. Please include the course title, your full name, and contact information in your correspondence.

*Note: "This course is submitted for approval for 4.5 continuing education credits in jurisdictions which recognize AAVSB RACE approval; however participants should be aware that some boards have limitations on the number of hours accepted in certain categories and/or restrictions on certain methods of delivery of continuing education." Call VSPN/VIN CE at 1-800-700-4636 for further information. (Attendees are encouraged to check with their licensing jurisdiction(s) for information regarding recognition by their board).

Course withdrawal and refund policy: A complete refund of the paid course price will be issued when your withdrawal request is received prior to the listed start date of the course. If you wish to withdraw after the start date please contact the VIN/VSPN office 1-800-700-INFO (4636) to discuss eligibility for a pro-rated refund.
* Note: To ensure rapid handling of your request for withdrawal, we recommend that you call the VIN/VSPN office at 1-800-700-INFO (4636).

*For more information on VSPN's upcoming CE courses, check the VSPN Course Catalog.

Nanette R. Walker Smith, MEd, RVT, CVT, LVT
VSPN Content Director & CE Coordinator

VSPN CE Services: VSPNCE@vspn.org
1-800-846-0028 or 1-530-756-4881 or direct line to VIN/VSPN from the United Kingdom: 01452226154
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Jennifer Withrow (Jennifer@vspn.org); ext 159 (Virginia)
Nanette Walker Smith (Nanette@vspn.org); ext 187 (Colorado)

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