Paraveterinary worker
A paraveterinarian is a professional of veterinary medicine who performs procedures autonomously or semi-autonomously, as part of a veterinary assistance system. The job role varies throughout the world, and common titles include veterinary nurse, veterinary technician, and veterinary assistant, and variants with the prefix of "animal health".
The scope of practice varies between countries, with some allowing suitably qualified paraveterinarian scope of autonomous practice, including minor surgery, whilst others restricting their workers as assistants to other professionals.
Nomenclature
Veterinary technician / nurse
In North America, paraveterinary workers who have completed a course of study, passed an examination, and have a defined scope of practice are called veterinary technicians. Veterinary technicians hold a technician degree in Veterinary Technology. Most Canadian provinces have a formal registration process and, legally, veterinarians must hire registered veterinary technicians. In America credentialed veterinary technicians must attend a Veterinary Technician program approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association, most of which are two year programs which confer an Associate of Science Degree in Veterinary Technology. Graduates must pass the VTNE to become credentialed in their state. These credentials must be renewed every two years with requirements varying from state-to-state.Human nursing associations have often claimed rights over the term "nurse". In some countries this is protected by law, and in the United States, 39 states have title protection over "Nurse", with Nursing Practice Acts mandating that only those who are Registered Nurses may use the title "Nurse".
"Nurse" title protection was in place in the United Kingdom until 1984, where veterinary nurses were referred to as 'registered animal nursing auxiliaries', in line with the naming convention at the time for less qualified assistants in human nursing, called 'nursing auxiliaries'.
There are currently only seven countries in the world who have a recognized paraveterinary profession and use the term "Veterinary Nurse" to describe those workers:
- UK - Registered Veterinary Nurses
- Ireland - Registered Veterinary Nurses
- Australia:
- * Veterinary Nurses in only ONE STATE. However, a VN title can be acquired with little education and only a certificate. Voluntary credentialing opened in some other states in 2018, but this is also a profession in its infancy.
- * Vet Technicians, in contrast, hold a 3-year degree completed through a University program. The curriculum is not influenced by the industry or government as such and there is no quality assurance of practical skills; however, this degree has more in-depth knowledge required and exposure to much higher level skills.
- New Zealand - both Registered Veterinary Nurses and Veterinary Technicians
- * Veterinary Technicians have the higher degree
- South Africa - Veterinary Nurse and Animal Health Technician
- * Each title conferred has completely separate curricula, with the AHT being more like a Nurse Practitioner ; aka a mid-level medical professional.
- * Veterinary Nurses in SA are more like veterinary assistants in the US
- Denmark - title translates to Veterinary Nurse
- Norway - title translates to Veterinary Nurse
Veterinary assistant
In most countries, a veterinary assistant is a person with fewer or no formal animal health qualifications, who has no autonomous practice, but who is designated to assist other professionals.Training programs are often workplace-based, and no formal licence or certification is required to perform the role.
In the US, veterinary assistants have the option to earn a certificate of completion by taking basic animal health classes about contagious diseases, animal restraint, record keeping, work place safety, administration, etc. Having the knowledge of the basics allows for the development of trust between the veterinarian and the assistant, as well as smoother job training of veterinary assistants. Their scope of practice remains limited and equal to many on the job trained staff. Local laws restrict what activities a veterinary assistant may perform, as some procedures may only be legally completed by a licensed veterinary technician, including IV anesthesia induction, oral surgery, splinting and casting, and in some states, administering the rabies vaccine.
History
Veterinarians have had assistance from staff throughout their existence of the profession, but the first organised paraveterinary workers were the canine nurses trained by the Canine Nurses Institute in 1908, and announced in the magazine 'The Veterinary Student'. According to the founder, they would "carry out directions of the veterinary surgeon, meet a genuine need on the part of the dog owners, and at the same time provide a reasonably paid occupation for young women with a real liking for animals".In 1913, the Ruislip Dog Sanatorium was founded, and employed nurses to care for unwell dogs and in the 1920s, at least one veterinary surgery in Mayfair employed qualified human nurses to tend the animals. In the mid-1930s, the early veterinary nurses approached the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for official recognition, and in 1938 the Royal Veterinary College had a head nurse appointed, but the official recognition was not given until 1957, first as veterinary nurses, but changed within a year to Royal Animal Nursing Auxiliaries following objection from the human nursing profession.
In 1951, the first formal paraveterinary role was created by the United States Air Force who introduced veterinary technicians, and this was followed in 1961 by a civilian programme at the State University of New York Agricultural and Technical College. In 1965 Walter Collins, DVM received federal funding to develop model curricula for training technicians. He produced several guides over the next seven years, and for this work he is considered the "father of veterinary technology" in the United States.
In 1984, the term veterinary nurse was formally restored to paraveterinary workers in the United Kingdom.
Role and responsibilities
The scope of practice for paraveterinary workers varies by jurisdiction, and by qualification level. In some places, more than one grade of paraveterinary worker exists. For instance, in the United Kingdom there are both veterinary nurses, who are qualified professionals with a protected title, and veterinary assistants, who do not have a single level of qualification which they must attain, and whose title is not protected. Furthermore, job roles may be divided further into roles such as Veterinary Surgical Technician, Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Technician, Veterinary Technician Anesthesia Specialist, etc.In the United States, veterinary technicians can become registered both nationally and by their state of residence by taking board exams. Not all states require a state test. States that license veterinary technicians include Alaska, Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. Once they are registered, they are allowed to perform certain tasks with or without the supervision of another professional. To see a list by state, to view some of these tasks. In order to keep their skills and knowledge up to par, some states require registered technicians to engage in continued education before renewing their license.
At the higher levels, veterinary nurses or technicians may be able to practice skills autonomously, including examinations and minor surgery on animals, without the direct supervision of other professionals.
Paraveterinary workers are likely to assist other professionals, or perform by themselves, medical skills such as observations, wound and trauma management, physical interventions and preparing and analysing biological samples. Most Paravetrinary workers can also do imagining, take labs, do patient prep for surgeries, record and update patient records and under Veterinarian supervision can do client relations such as examining a patient. Paraveterinary workers are able to do all of these things due to them passing their licenseing exams, typically some of the only things a Paraveterinary worker cannot do is prescribe medication and perform surgeries.
Dependent on their scope of practice and training, they may also be called upon to operate diagnostic screening equipment, including electrocardiographic, radiographic and ultrasonographic instruments, including complex machines such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imagers and gamma cameras. In veterinary hospitals, veterinary technicians can perform complete blood counts, differential counts, and morphologic examinations of blood.
Veterinary technicians commonly assist other professionals in surgery by providing correct equipment and instruments and by assuring that monitoring and support equipment are in good working condition. They may also maintain treatment records and inventory of all pharmaceuticals, equipment and supplies, and help with other administrative tasks within a veterinary practice, such as client education.
Client education plays a key role of the veterinary technician's responsibilities, such as effectively communicating complex medical instructions in a positive and understandable way, and to facilitate the patient's care as an intermediary between the doctor, hospital and the patient. In this way, open lines of communication are established that can benefit the patient and hospital.