Veterinary Technician Essay

The History of the Veterinary Technician Career

A Veterinary Technician is an animal care specialist who assists veterinarians in caring for animals and improving their overall health. The Veterinary Technician career is newer than others in the United States. Even though it is newer, it has come a long way from when it started.

Timeline

Starting in the 1950s, the very first animal technology program began in the military. Army veterinary technicians provide a wide range of services to animals. They take the animal’s vitals and give them medication to perform diagnostic tests and assist with surgery under the supervision of a veterinarian. In addition to caring for military working dogs, Army veterinary technicians care for research animals

A year later, Nebraska had become the first state to give credentials to certified animal technicians (Burns, 2022). In 1972, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) chose to start authorizing animal technician programs. The AVMA House of Delegates also created what was previously named the Committee on Accreditation for Training of Animal Technicians (Burns, 2022). In 1973, the CVTEA was born. It stands for Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities. This was formerly known as the Committee on Accreditation for Training of Animal Technicians. It accredited its first two programs at Michigan State and Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture. The CVTEA accredits educational programs for veterinary technicians across the United States, just as the AVMA Council on Education accredits veterinary colleges (Burns, 2022). Today, this organization has accredited more than 200 programs in 49 states and in Puerto Rico. These are two-year programs, along with some four-year programs. This also includes distance learning programs. In 1974, seven programs were accredited. The next year, eight more programs were accredited (Burns, 2022). By the

In 1995, the CVTEA accredited the first ever distance learning program at St. Petersburg College. Today, there are now 10 distance learning programs. In the years 2000 through 2006, the CVTEA redid the entirety of their policies and procedures, which included the accreditation standards. They did this to be more organized and consistent to make sure that the accreditation standards met the needs of what a program needed to be going forward (Burns, 2022). In the year 2002, VTS adds another group called the Academy of Veterinary Dental Technicians (AVDT). According to AVDT’s website, the AVDT is a group of men and women dedicated to advancing dentistry knowledge in clinics as well as instructing veterinary staff members at various conferences worldwide. AVDT members also have knowledge of dental diseases to help educate clients on the importance of oral health and explain potential doctor-performed treatments. This same year, Canada established its own animal health care association, known as CAAHTT, and pulls out of NAVTA. The Executive Board of the North American Association of Veterinary Technicians changes its name to the