The CVMA and Animal Health Technicians
G.F.
HAMILTON*
developed, courses were suggested and the last five months of the second year seen to be devoted to practical training away from the centre of theoretical instruction. The Committee recommended and the Council agreed that the CVMA should encourage the establishnient of training courses, that the "model course" be used as a guide by those authorities who may wish to establish a course and that the CVMA membership be encouraged to facilitate the absorption of the Animal Health Technicians into appropriate places in the veterinary forces in Canada.2
This paper is based on the material presented by the author and the following persons to the Plenary Session, Canadian Veterinary Medical Association Annual Convention, Regina 1978. The contribution of each of them is gratefully acknowledged. Animal health technicians Ms. Sandy Cool, Calgary, Alberta and Ms. Tina Romyn, Ladysmith, British Columbia and veterinarians Dr. H. Flatla, Olds, Alberta, Dr. J. Sawatskv, Foam Lake, Saskatchewan, Dr. J. Stone, Calgary, Alberta and Dr. R. C. Topp, Huron Park, Ontario. H I S TO R Y
The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CMVA) Committee on Veterinary Education, in its report in 1964, addressed the subject of Veterinary Technicians. It was foreseen at that time that "a planned approach to technician training [should be] commenced under the wing of the veterinary profession. The training should be broad enough so that technicians can serve practitioners or the field of Provincial or Federal disease and sanitation control. They should compose a junior and supporting wing of veterinary medicine bearing somewhat the relationship of nurse to physician or draughtsman to engineer".' The Committee went on to enunciate six guidelines for the realization of the objectives of which one recommendation was to establish a committee to outline an appropriate course including prerequisite training and the length of the program. The following year, the Committee devoted its undivided attention to developing a model for technician training. It was envisaged that a twoyear program (10 months per year) should be
In the following year, 1965-66, the Committee carried out a nationwide survey to determine more specifically the needs for, and the opportunities open to, graduates of any school training technicians. The results of the survey indicated approximately 1000-1200 technicians currently employed and with an annual turnover of 10%, the annual requirement for graduates, expanded demand notwithstanding, was 100-120. It was agreed to use the term Animal Health Technician without the word "veterinary" and a definition of the role of the technician was adopted from the Ontario Veterinary Association. The description of the role, employment opportunities and the concept of a broadly based training was expanded in some detail. It was considered prudent to train for mobility across a variety of disciplines and not to focus narrowly on a specific veterinary technical role lest the profession be unable to absorb all of those trained and their existence become an embarrassment and hazard. The course description was reworded and greater detail was included in the expanded model. The program was envisaged to require continual change in the light of experience and employment opportunities but the CVMA should assign a Board or Committee responsibility for offering continuous advice in regard to the need for training schools, suitable locations, requirement for facilities, selection of teaching staff, enrollment and curriculum. The Committee commented on the need for some type of control and made recommendations concerning the nature of legislation required in relation to veterinary practice acts: included in this report was the suggestion that eventually separate legislation regulating technicians may be desirable and thereby an organization of technicians would be created. This was a departure from the initial recommendation two years earlier in which the Committee strongly urged that the technicians should be trained by the profession and be controlled by the Provincial Veterinary Association.3
*Department of Veterinary Clinical Studies, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N OWO. 'Minutes XVI Annual Meeting, CVMA, p. 29, 1964. 2Minutes XVII Annual Meeting, CVMA, pp. 29-32, 1965. 3Minutes XVIII Annual Meeting, CVMA, pp. 27-31, 1966.
Can. vet. J. 20: 113-115 (Apil 1979)
113
Nine years elapsed during which time programs became firmly established across the country. The mobility of the graduates of the various programs and the urge to organize nationally inevitably raised the question of standardization from province to province. It became apparent that a measurement of the extent to which a program met the suggested curriculum of the CVMA ought to be available to those institutions wishing to be evaluated. Guidelines for Accreditation of AHT training programs were prepared and approved by the CVMA in 1975. The requirements for a program to be considered for accreditation were reaffirmed, the facilities and faculty described and the accreditation procedure was detailed. The responsibility for accreditation of courses was vested in the National Examining Board and redirected to a Committee with the specific assignment to respond to those invitations that may be extended by institutions offering technician training.4 Experience with application of the guidelines to a couple of schools and the close liason with the Canadian Council on Animal Care in site visits prompted appropriate amendments to the Guidelines which were approved in 1977.5 A vision in 1964 soon became a reality and today we have a number of veterinarians directing programs and instructing animal health technician students in various locations across the country. C U R R ICU L U M
Curricula have been developed to meet the objective of training technicians to assist practicing veterinarians and animal oriented scientists. Veterinarians, technicians and animal scientists have accepted the challenge to teach not only the technical skills involved in the technology but also to provide an understanding of the theory and purpose underlying them: in this way technicians are able to maintain interest in their work, are continually motivated to improve its quality and encouraged to avoid allowing the tasks to become simply mechanical activities. Examples of curriculum design to this end include sufficient instruction in parasitology to understand host-parasite relationships, life cycles and parasite identification as well as the techniques of fecal flotation and administration of antihelmintics; also requiring an understanding of the physics of X-rays so that a radiograph can be safely exposed with appreciation for the techniques of patient positioning, machine settings, film developing and quality recognition. The formal curriculum is broadly based, very demanding and quite extensive: the knowledge acquired by trained technicians is frequently 4CVMA Proceedings, pp. 12-14, 1975. 5CVMA Proceedings, pp. 10-14, 1977. 6Minutes XVIII Annual Meeting, CVMA, pp. 27-31, 1966.
114
underestimated with the result that their capabilities are seldom optimally utilized. EMPLOYMENT
Veterinary practitioners employing technicians have been uniformly complementary when assessing the contribution of these trained assistants: "improved quality of laboratory work, anesthesia and radiology service within the practice, improved patient care and better client communications" are commonplace. These same practitioners are equally forthright about the necessity of recognizing the intelligence, training and capabilities of Animal Health Technicians and for them to have maximum opportunity to use their education and skills to the greatest advantage of the practice. The veterinarian must constantly resist the temptation to assign tasks requiring much less training and thereby lose the potential for expanding and improving the services available to his practice and his clients. Failure to properly use trained personnel interferes with the self satisfaction of the employee and the opportunity to fully develop his/her skills, generates lower salary than the training justifies and depresses and frustrates the highly motivated individual. A technician must be made part of the practice: if they are not offered responsibility and allowed to develop pride in their job and made to feel appreciated as members of the clinic staff, they will not attain their potential as well-trained members of the veterinary medical team. Some technicians have gained employment with farrow-to-finish swine operations and cattle feedlots, in which capacity they are an integral link between the veterinarian and the producer. The managers of these intensified livestock operations are interested in the technical skills and expertise the technician can offer on a daily basis, they usually offer salaries above those offered by veterinarians and the consulting veterinarian has liaison with a health-oriented employee to assist in the delivery of his services. The major employers of AHT graduates at present are private veterinary practices and governments (federal, provincial and university laboratories and research stations) with scattered opportunities in wildlife, drug companies, private livestock enterprises and SPCA. L EGA L STAT U S
It was recognized, at a very early date ( 1966)6, that eventually an organization of technicians should be created and legislation pronounced to enable them to regulate themselves. The role of the technician in respect to veterinary medicine and employment by a veterinarian is governed by the
provincial veterinary acts and bylaws and some, if not all, of these now have clauses defining the duties of the technician and the supervising veterinarian. As envisaged, when the group of animal health technicians within a province becomes numerically large enough to initiate and support an organization, they will cause legislation to be enacted which will provide for autonomy, establish standards for and discipline of the membership. (This is presently occurring in the province of Ontario.) The legislation should not be in conflict with existing roles for technicians described in the veterinary practice acts but should be complementary and enlarge upon their wider opportunities for public service. SUMMARY
The evolution of a support wing of the veterinary profession has been traced from an early concept to the reality of a number of training programs across the country, each having the option of CVMA accreditation available by invitation. The curricula are recognized as broad based and very
demanding, employment opportunities are many and varied with a marked tendency toward under utilization of the skills and competence of the graduate. The final stage in the evolution of Animal Health Technicians is foreseen in the enactment of legislation providing for their autonomy. RESUME
L'evolution d'une branche complementaire a la profession veterinaire a ete elaboree dans un concept anterieur pour faire face a la realite du nombre de programmes d'education a travers le pays, chacun ayant l'option de l'accreditation de l'ACV qui leur est disponible selon leur invitation. Ces programmes d'etudes sont reconnus comme couvrant une etendue vaste de matieres, ils sont ardus et les possibilites d'emplois sont nombreuses et variees ayant une tendance marquee a utiliser les capacites et la competence du dipl6me. Le deroulement final pour les techniciens en sante animale serait le decret d'une loi qui procurerait leur autonomie.
PRIX VETERINAIRE GAINES Dans le but d'encourager le progr&s en medecine et en chirurgie des petits animaux, la compagnie General Foods Limited, par l'entremise du Centre de Service professionnels Gaines, a institue le "prix veterinaire Gaines". Ce prix sera decerne a un veterinaire dont on aura juge que le travail a contribue a l'avancement de la medecine et de la chirurgie des petits animaux, soit en recherches cliniques ou en recherches fondamentales, ou s'est distingue dans la gerance d'une pratique pour petits animaux contribuant a aider le public a prendre connaissance de leurs responsabilites en tant que proprietaires d'animaux. On considerera en premier lieu les travaux executes au cours des cinq dernieres annees ainsi que les travaux des membres qui demeurent toujours actifs dans la profession.
Toute personne peut, jusqu'au 30 avril 1979 au plus tard, presenter des candidats pour le prix de 1979 en s'adressant au Comite executif de 1'ACV. Avec chaque recommandation, le proposeur devra soumettre une description des travaux de son candidat. I1 devra aussi demontrer comment ces travaux ont contribue a l'avancement de la medecine et de la chirurgie des petits animaux et soumettre une bibliographie pertinente (s'il en existe) en meme temps qu'une notice
biographique. Le prix consistera en un medaillon d'or accompagnant une somme de $500.00. Le tout sera decerne a l'occasion du congres annuel. Toute correspondance a ce sujet peut etre adressee au soussigne. J.R. Kinney 360 avenue Bronson Ottawa, Ontario K I R 6J3
G.F.
HAMILTON*
developed, courses were suggested and the last five months of the second year seen to be devoted to practical training away from the centre of theoretical instruction. The Committee recommended and the Council agreed that the CVMA should encourage the establishnient of training courses, that the "model course" be used as a guide by those authorities who may wish to establish a course and that the CVMA membership be encouraged to facilitate the absorption of the Animal Health Technicians into appropriate places in the veterinary forces in Canada.2
This paper is based on the material presented by the author and the following persons to the Plenary Session, Canadian Veterinary Medical Association Annual Convention, Regina 1978. The contribution of each of them is gratefully acknowledged. Animal health technicians Ms. Sandy Cool, Calgary, Alberta and Ms. Tina Romyn, Ladysmith, British Columbia and veterinarians Dr. H. Flatla, Olds, Alberta, Dr. J. Sawatskv, Foam Lake, Saskatchewan, Dr. J. Stone, Calgary, Alberta and Dr. R. C. Topp, Huron Park, Ontario. H I S TO R Y
The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CMVA) Committee on Veterinary Education, in its report in 1964, addressed the subject of Veterinary Technicians. It was foreseen at that time that "a planned approach to technician training [should be] commenced under the wing of the veterinary profession. The training should be broad enough so that technicians can serve practitioners or the field of Provincial or Federal disease and sanitation control. They should compose a junior and supporting wing of veterinary medicine bearing somewhat the relationship of nurse to physician or draughtsman to engineer".' The Committee went on to enunciate six guidelines for the realization of the objectives of which one recommendation was to establish a committee to outline an appropriate course including prerequisite training and the length of the program. The following year, the Committee devoted its undivided attention to developing a model for technician training. It was envisaged that a twoyear program (10 months per year) should be
In the following year, 1965-66, the Committee carried out a nationwide survey to determine more specifically the needs for, and the opportunities open to, graduates of any school training technicians. The results of the survey indicated approximately 1000-1200 technicians currently employed and with an annual turnover of 10%, the annual requirement for graduates, expanded demand notwithstanding, was 100-120. It was agreed to use the term Animal Health Technician without the word "veterinary" and a definition of the role of the technician was adopted from the Ontario Veterinary Association. The description of the role, employment opportunities and the concept of a broadly based training was expanded in some detail. It was considered prudent to train for mobility across a variety of disciplines and not to focus narrowly on a specific veterinary technical role lest the profession be unable to absorb all of those trained and their existence become an embarrassment and hazard. The course description was reworded and greater detail was included in the expanded model. The program was envisaged to require continual change in the light of experience and employment opportunities but the CVMA should assign a Board or Committee responsibility for offering continuous advice in regard to the need for training schools, suitable locations, requirement for facilities, selection of teaching staff, enrollment and curriculum. The Committee commented on the need for some type of control and made recommendations concerning the nature of legislation required in relation to veterinary practice acts: included in this report was the suggestion that eventually separate legislation regulating technicians may be desirable and thereby an organization of technicians would be created. This was a departure from the initial recommendation two years earlier in which the Committee strongly urged that the technicians should be trained by the profession and be controlled by the Provincial Veterinary Association.3
*Department of Veterinary Clinical Studies, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N OWO. 'Minutes XVI Annual Meeting, CVMA, p. 29, 1964. 2Minutes XVII Annual Meeting, CVMA, pp. 29-32, 1965. 3Minutes XVIII Annual Meeting, CVMA, pp. 27-31, 1966.
Can. vet. J. 20: 113-115 (Apil 1979)
113
Nine years elapsed during which time programs became firmly established across the country. The mobility of the graduates of the various programs and the urge to organize nationally inevitably raised the question of standardization from province to province. It became apparent that a measurement of the extent to which a program met the suggested curriculum of the CVMA ought to be available to those institutions wishing to be evaluated. Guidelines for Accreditation of AHT training programs were prepared and approved by the CVMA in 1975. The requirements for a program to be considered for accreditation were reaffirmed, the facilities and faculty described and the accreditation procedure was detailed. The responsibility for accreditation of courses was vested in the National Examining Board and redirected to a Committee with the specific assignment to respond to those invitations that may be extended by institutions offering technician training.4 Experience with application of the guidelines to a couple of schools and the close liason with the Canadian Council on Animal Care in site visits prompted appropriate amendments to the Guidelines which were approved in 1977.5 A vision in 1964 soon became a reality and today we have a number of veterinarians directing programs and instructing animal health technician students in various locations across the country. C U R R ICU L U M
Curricula have been developed to meet the objective of training technicians to assist practicing veterinarians and animal oriented scientists. Veterinarians, technicians and animal scientists have accepted the challenge to teach not only the technical skills involved in the technology but also to provide an understanding of the theory and purpose underlying them: in this way technicians are able to maintain interest in their work, are continually motivated to improve its quality and encouraged to avoid allowing the tasks to become simply mechanical activities. Examples of curriculum design to this end include sufficient instruction in parasitology to understand host-parasite relationships, life cycles and parasite identification as well as the techniques of fecal flotation and administration of antihelmintics; also requiring an understanding of the physics of X-rays so that a radiograph can be safely exposed with appreciation for the techniques of patient positioning, machine settings, film developing and quality recognition. The formal curriculum is broadly based, very demanding and quite extensive: the knowledge acquired by trained technicians is frequently 4CVMA Proceedings, pp. 12-14, 1975. 5CVMA Proceedings, pp. 10-14, 1977. 6Minutes XVIII Annual Meeting, CVMA, pp. 27-31, 1966.
114
underestimated with the result that their capabilities are seldom optimally utilized. EMPLOYMENT
Veterinary practitioners employing technicians have been uniformly complementary when assessing the contribution of these trained assistants: "improved quality of laboratory work, anesthesia and radiology service within the practice, improved patient care and better client communications" are commonplace. These same practitioners are equally forthright about the necessity of recognizing the intelligence, training and capabilities of Animal Health Technicians and for them to have maximum opportunity to use their education and skills to the greatest advantage of the practice. The veterinarian must constantly resist the temptation to assign tasks requiring much less training and thereby lose the potential for expanding and improving the services available to his practice and his clients. Failure to properly use trained personnel interferes with the self satisfaction of the employee and the opportunity to fully develop his/her skills, generates lower salary than the training justifies and depresses and frustrates the highly motivated individual. A technician must be made part of the practice: if they are not offered responsibility and allowed to develop pride in their job and made to feel appreciated as members of the clinic staff, they will not attain their potential as well-trained members of the veterinary medical team. Some technicians have gained employment with farrow-to-finish swine operations and cattle feedlots, in which capacity they are an integral link between the veterinarian and the producer. The managers of these intensified livestock operations are interested in the technical skills and expertise the technician can offer on a daily basis, they usually offer salaries above those offered by veterinarians and the consulting veterinarian has liaison with a health-oriented employee to assist in the delivery of his services. The major employers of AHT graduates at present are private veterinary practices and governments (federal, provincial and university laboratories and research stations) with scattered opportunities in wildlife, drug companies, private livestock enterprises and SPCA. L EGA L STAT U S
It was recognized, at a very early date ( 1966)6, that eventually an organization of technicians should be created and legislation pronounced to enable them to regulate themselves. The role of the technician in respect to veterinary medicine and employment by a veterinarian is governed by the
provincial veterinary acts and bylaws and some, if not all, of these now have clauses defining the duties of the technician and the supervising veterinarian. As envisaged, when the group of animal health technicians within a province becomes numerically large enough to initiate and support an organization, they will cause legislation to be enacted which will provide for autonomy, establish standards for and discipline of the membership. (This is presently occurring in the province of Ontario.) The legislation should not be in conflict with existing roles for technicians described in the veterinary practice acts but should be complementary and enlarge upon their wider opportunities for public service. SUMMARY
The evolution of a support wing of the veterinary profession has been traced from an early concept to the reality of a number of training programs across the country, each having the option of CVMA accreditation available by invitation. The curricula are recognized as broad based and very
demanding, employment opportunities are many and varied with a marked tendency toward under utilization of the skills and competence of the graduate. The final stage in the evolution of Animal Health Technicians is foreseen in the enactment of legislation providing for their autonomy. RESUME
L'evolution d'une branche complementaire a la profession veterinaire a ete elaboree dans un concept anterieur pour faire face a la realite du nombre de programmes d'education a travers le pays, chacun ayant l'option de l'accreditation de l'ACV qui leur est disponible selon leur invitation. Ces programmes d'etudes sont reconnus comme couvrant une etendue vaste de matieres, ils sont ardus et les possibilites d'emplois sont nombreuses et variees ayant une tendance marquee a utiliser les capacites et la competence du dipl6me. Le deroulement final pour les techniciens en sante animale serait le decret d'une loi qui procurerait leur autonomie.
PRIX VETERINAIRE GAINES Dans le but d'encourager le progr&s en medecine et en chirurgie des petits animaux, la compagnie General Foods Limited, par l'entremise du Centre de Service professionnels Gaines, a institue le "prix veterinaire Gaines". Ce prix sera decerne a un veterinaire dont on aura juge que le travail a contribue a l'avancement de la medecine et de la chirurgie des petits animaux, soit en recherches cliniques ou en recherches fondamentales, ou s'est distingue dans la gerance d'une pratique pour petits animaux contribuant a aider le public a prendre connaissance de leurs responsabilites en tant que proprietaires d'animaux. On considerera en premier lieu les travaux executes au cours des cinq dernieres annees ainsi que les travaux des membres qui demeurent toujours actifs dans la profession.
Toute personne peut, jusqu'au 30 avril 1979 au plus tard, presenter des candidats pour le prix de 1979 en s'adressant au Comite executif de 1'ACV. Avec chaque recommandation, le proposeur devra soumettre une description des travaux de son candidat. I1 devra aussi demontrer comment ces travaux ont contribue a l'avancement de la medecine et de la chirurgie des petits animaux et soumettre une bibliographie pertinente (s'il en existe) en meme temps qu'une notice
biographique. Le prix consistera en un medaillon d'or accompagnant une somme de $500.00. Le tout sera decerne a l'occasion du congres annuel. Toute correspondance a ce sujet peut etre adressee au soussigne. J.R. Kinney 360 avenue Bronson Ottawa, Ontario K I R 6J3
