Back-to-School Conference (BTS) at UC Davis June 26-27

Attended by many familiar faces and lots of new ones, the BTS Conference at UC Davis was a great success. There were many visitors at the CaRVTA table who showed much enthusiasm for our Alternate Route Handbook and the RVT Job Task Poster (available through the CaRVTA Store - http://www.carvta.org/carvtastore.html. We also had many new members sign up at the table. Other vendors expressed satisfaction with the opportunity to discuss their products and services with the well-educated RVTs and assistants who attended the conference. This year’s program included more workshops then ever before, including exciting new areas like interventional radiology. CaRVTA is especially proud to be associated with UC Davis in producing this conference, which is intended entirely for RVTs and assistants. Many thanks are due to Harold Davis, BA, RVT, VTS (ECC), Manager of the UC Davis Emergency & Critical Care Service, who put the program together.

CaRVTA Annual Membership Meeting at Back-to-School Conference 

The CaRVTA Annual Membership Meeting took place on June 26, 2010, at the Back-to-School Conference. In addition to discussing the current state of RVT and Association affairs, Jennifer Boyle, RVT, VTS (ECC), President of CaRVTA, was privileged to award Dr. Kaoru Yamazaki, PhD of Tokyo, Japan, the title of “Honorary President of the Back-to-School Conference,” in recognition of her contribution to Veterinary Technician education and international relations. Dr. Yamazaki owns 3 schools in Tokyo, 2 colleges and 1 university that offer certificates and degrees in Animal Health Technology. She has also been instrumental in facilitating communication between American and Japanese technicians by both bringing her students to the US for many years and bringing American RVTs to her schools to lecture. She is hoping to bring an entire class to a special, Japanese-translated Back-to-School Conference at UC Davis next summer.

CaRVTA Is Holding Elections:  Four of CaRVTA’s eight current members of the Board of Directors—Jennifer Boyle, Sue Brodbeck, Jayne Camic and Nancy Ehrlich—are up for re-election. Board members serve 2 year terms and are eligible for re-election. Active Members should be receiving e-mail ballots soon. The ballots include a short bio of each Board member candidate. Active Members are allowed to vote for up to four directors. There is a space on the ballot for a write-in candidate.  Members are being asked to send their marked ballot back by snail mail so that we can accurately count the ballots.

New License Fee Schedule to Take Effect after January 1, 2011:  The new license fee schedule that was supposed to take effect in July, 2010 has been postponed until at least January, 2011.  In addition, some of the proposed fee increases have been lowered, bringing the new fees more in line with the recommendations of CaRVTA at the December, 2009 hearing. The new fee increases will allow the VMB to maintain a 4 month reserve instead of a 5 month reserve.

The fees as originally scheduled were to be:

• Application eligibility review for RVT exam – increased from $100 to $125
• RVT examination fee – increased from $150 to $175
• Initial RVT registration fee for 1 year or more – increased from $100 to $175
• Initial RVT registration fee for less than 1 year – increased from $50 to $87.50
• Biennial RVT license renewal fee – increased from $100 to $175
• Delinquency fee remains the same @ $25

The fees that will take effect after January 1, 2011 are now:

• Application eligibility review for RVT exam - $125 (same)
• RVT examination fee - $175 (same)
• Initial registration fee for 1 year or more - $145 (increase lowered)
• Initial RVT registration fee for less than 1 year – $72.50 (increase lowered)
• Biennial RVT license renewal fee – $145 (increase lowered)
• Delinquency fee remains the same @ $25

Because this is a change from the original regulation approved by the VMB, there will need to be a 15-day notice sent out to all parties who commented on the regulation originally.  If there are no negative comments received during the15 day period, the regulation can proceed without further action of the VMB.

Limited Term Eligibility Window (LTEW):  As of December 31, 2009, a total of 678 individual candidates had applied to take the test under the LTEW. Only 36 applicants were ruled ineligible, and 310 of these candidates have since been licensed.  There are still 62 candidates who have passed the exam who have not yet applied for their licenses and 212 candidates who have not yet taken the exam due to delays in fingerprinting and getting their applications approved.  Because of these delays, some candidates will have until November, 2010 to take the exam under the LTEW.

Western Career Colleges Have New Names:  All of the Western Career Colleges are now known as Carrington College California.  See our list of AVMA approved schools for the complete list:
www.carvta.org/californiarvtresources.html#californiarvtprograms

CaRVTA WORK ON BILL AB1980

CaRVTA met with CVMA, the VMB and Bill Gage, consultant to the Senate Business & Professions Committee. After discussing the suggested language of the bill, AB 1980, all parties agreed to support the bill. To read the exact language of the bill, go to www.leginfo.ca.govand enter 1980. It is the Hayashi Bill. Because this is an Omnibus Bill, agreed to in advance by all interested parties, it should pass with no opposition.

GULF WILDLIFE DEVASTATION

CaRVTA shares the concern of animal lovers all over the country regarding the devastation wrought by the BP oil spill off the Gulf Coast. To follow the progress of the clean-up efforts, go to www.nwf.org, the web site of the National Wildlife Federation. You will find complete and up-to-date information about what is being done and how you can help.

Read earlier CaRVTA news:
• May 2010
• Dec. 2009

Send in Your News! Click here for our online news form!

RVT Rescues Missing Police Dog: Erica Densberger, an employee at VCA Forestville Animal Hospital in Sebastopol who had just finished school to become an RVT, found Taz, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois wandering on Starr Road in Windsor while she was on her way to work, Santa Rosa police Lt. Steve Bair said. The dog was discovered missing from an enclosure in the backyard of his handler's Windsor residence at Starr Road and Old Redwood Highway around 11 p.m. For the complete story, go to http://www.foxreno.com/news/24146853/detail.html. CaRVTA plans to offer Erica a free 1-year membership in our Association for her devotion to animal welfare.

Veterinary Clinic Increases Security After Attack on Veterinary Technician: A veterinary technician was raped and murdered by a convicted sex offender moments after she walked alone into her clinic in Orange Park, Fla., a quiet Jacksonville suburb at 5:30 a.m. For the complete story go to: news.vin.com/vinnews.aspx?articleId=16052.

CaRVTA members Virginia Curtis and Kim Williams were re-appointed by the VMB to serve another 3-year term on the RVTC.

AB 1980 at Senate Appropriations Committee:  AB 1980, the bill that will put an RVT on the VMB, add 1 RVT and 1 veterinarian to the Multi Disciplinary Committee (MDC), eliminate the RVTC in the July following the appointment of the RVT to the VMB, give title protection to the term “Veterinary Technician” or any abbreviation  thereof, require unregistered assistants to demonstrate training in radiation safety before operating radiographic equipment and allow RVT students to perform restricted RVT job tasks as part of their education among other provisions, is scheduled for hearing in the state Senate Appropriations Committee on August 2.  CaRVTA, CVMA and the VMB have all agreed to the language of the bill, so it is expected to go on the “Consent” calendar, meaning there will be no discussion about the bill, just a vote. The bill passed the Senate Business & Professions Committee on consent unopposed. After passing the Appropriations Committee, it will go to the Senate floor for a vote, where it is expected to pass.  Since the bill has been amended substantially since being passed in the Assembly, it will have to go back to the Assembly for final approval.  Once the bill is passed by the legislature and signed by the governor, it will go into effect on January 1, 2011.  Since there will be a new governor in January, 2011, it is unlikely that the RVT will be appointed to the VMB immediately. However, the VMB appoints members to the MDC, so the additional RVT and veterinarian appointments to that committee could be made at the VMB’s January meeting.  To follow the progress of the bill, go to www.leginfo.ca.gov and enter 1980.

AB 2411 Pet Insurance:  The VMB is supporting AB 2411, a bill that will require pet insurance companies to inform their customers of exactly what the terms of the insurance are, including pre-existing condition exclusions, etc.  For the exact language of the bill, go to www.leginfo.ca.gov and enter 2411.  This bill is also scheduled for hearing at the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 2.

RVT Approved School Regulations:  The RVTC sent its recommendations for changes to the RVT Approved School regulations to the VMB.  After considerable discussion, and an amendment that will allow candidates from out-of-state RVT schools that have been approved by the licensing body in their US state or territory, Canadian province or territory to apply, the VMB approved the regulations.  The regulations will be scheduled for public hearing. No date for the hearing has been set.

Next Meeting of VMB:  The next meeting of the VMB is scheduled for October 20 in San Diego. For more information, call 916 263-2610 or see www.vmb.ca.gov.

At its April 21 meeting in Riverside, the VMB also held a public hearings on a new regulation that will require all veterinarians and RVTs who were not fingerprinted as part of their original licensing to get live scan fingerprinted prior to their next license renewal. This will include any RVT who was licensed prior to January 1, 2004 or for whom no record of submission of fingerprints still exists or was never created.  RVTs will be notified with their license renewal if they need to get fingerprinted.  There was no objection to the regulation and it was approved.

The VMB also approved sending a letter to the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB) supporting changing the composition of their Board to include both a public member and an RVT as well as veterinarians. The VMB had originally sent a letter to the AAVSB urging them to include a public member. The public member position had been filled by an RVT from Illinios, where RVTs are allowed to fill public member positions. California does not consider RVTs to be public members. CaRVTA objected to the original VMB letter and suggested that a new letter be written urging that there be a dedicated position for both a public member and an RVT, especially considering that the AAVSB administers the national RVT exam (VTNE).  Fortunately, the VMB agreed to change their position and send a new letter.

There was a discussion about donating expired, or nearly expired drugs to animal shelters.  Since expired drugs are considered to be “adulterated”, it is not currently legal for them to be used.  Also, veterinarians are not currently allowed to dispense drugs to anyone other than their own patients since they are not pharmacists. Under no circumstances can a veterinarian give controlled drugs to anyone other than their own patients. The VMB legal counsel was directed to review what laws or regulations might need to be changed in order to allow the donation of non-controlled drugs to shelters.

The VMB will be reviewing the new regulations proposed by the RVTC concerning California-approved RVT schools at their July meeting. Assuming the VMB approves the regulations, there will be a public hearing at their October meeting for final approval of the regulations.

The next meeting of the VMB will be on July 20-21 in Sacrmento.

Read past news:
• February 2010
• January 2010

Transition to National RVT Exam (VTNE):  The RVTC heard a report from the Office of Professional Examination Services (OPES) that, after conducting 2 workshops, has concluded that the VTNE is an adequate replacement for the California RVT exam (except for California jurisprudence issues).  This conclusion was based on how the exam is put together and its statistical validity. With this recommendation, the VMB is free to start using the VTNE after July 1, 2011 if it so chooses.

However, there was much discussion about how to test the RVT-only job tasks, such as dental extraction, that exist in California and not in other states and are, therefore, not on the VTNE. The OPES representatives could not answer this question as they did not deal directly with the specific subject matter of the exam. It was also not clear if the California supplement that would include jurisprudence questions could, or would, include questions in the RVT-only task areas. It was also not clear if California would still be able to receive statistics on individual schools.

Sue Geranen, the Executive Officer of the Veterinary Medical Board (VMB), was directed to get answers to these questions from the American Association of State Boards (AAVSB), the organization that administers the VTNE, before the RVTC would recommend making the transition.  It also came up that by having 2 exams (the VTNE & a California supplement), California candidates would actually have to spend more money taking their licensing exams, while the state might not save anything if it is responsible for putting together the California supplement.

RVT Schools in California Reporting Requirements:  All approved RVT schools in California must abide by the regulations pertaining to California approved schools, including those accredited by the AVMA. However, many of these schools are not aware that they must comply and are not reporting changes of name, program director or informing their students of transferability of units or their pass rates on the licensing exam.  The RVTC staff is planning to write a letter to the schools reminding them that they must comply, but cut-backs in staff and funding have limited the ability of the RVTC to get this done.

Veterinary Allied Staff Education (VASE) Alternate Route Program Goes On-Line: VASE is having an informational webinar on how the online course works and also to answer any questions people may have. Go to the web site at www.vetstaff-edu.com or call 1-888-499-8273 to get more information and help on log in number. The webinar will be August 2 at 6:30 PM.

Next Meeting of RVTC:  The next meeting of the RVTC is scheduled for November 16, 2010 in Sacramento.  For more information, call 916 263-2610 or see www.vmb.ca.gov.

Read past news:
• March 2010
• January 2010

Next Meeting of MDC:  The next meeting of the MDC is scheduled for August 18, 2010 in Sacramento. For more information, call 916 263-2610 or see www.vmb.ca.gov.

At its March 17 meeting in Sacramento,  the MDC discussed the most common problems found during hospital inspections:
1.  Not aware of requirement for CURES reporting
2.  No physical exam results or initials in records
3.  No posting of x-ray safety signs
4.  No adequate emergency lighting
5.  Expired controlled drugs – poor logs
6.  Lack of notification about no staff on premises, or sign not in conspicuous location
7. Inadequate isolation areas
8.  Exercise runs not adequately separating animals from their waste
9.  Inappropriate objects stored in aseptic surgery room

The MDC is working on a self-assessment work-sheet that practices can download so they can bring their premises into compliance prior to an inspection.  They are also working on redoing the inspection form to clarify what “deficiencies” are actually required to be corrected or are merely suggestions for improvement.

The Minimum Standards themselves are also being reviewed to bring them into compliance with contemporary standards. The MDC is also reviewing how many hospitals a managing licensee should be able to manage. Current law does not have any limits.  The discussion included suggestions that a veterinarian be able to manage up to 3 hospitals and that they have to spend a minimum number of hours at each practice.  The discussion will continue at the next meeting on June 9 in Sacramento.

Read past news:
• November 20009

NAVTA Announces New Specialty Academy

The National Association of Veterinary Technicians in American (NAVTA) recently announced a new specialty academy for their members. The Academy of Veterinary Nutrition Technicians (AVNT) is the newest specialty to become approved as an official specialty by NAVTA. The AVNT joins the nine, NAVTA approved, existing specialties: dentistry, anesthesia, internal medicine, emergency and critical care, surgical, equine, zoology, behavior and clinical practice.

"The NAVTA Academies give veterinary technicians acknowledgment for achieving advanced education, training and experience in an area of specialization,” stated Amy Butzier, CVT, VTS (Equine), Chair of the NAVTA Committee on Veterinary Technician Specialties (CVTS). “We are thrilled to have an increasing number of veterinary technicians seeking this level of specialization—it truly helps the entire veterinary health care team and the services we can provide.”

The AVNT’s mission is to enhance the skills and knowledge of veterinary nutrition technicians and promote technicians as integral members of the veterinary nutrition team. "It is important to our profession to identify nutritional issues in animals and educate veterinary technicians on how to handle nutrition related issues. Nutrition is vital to the health of all of our patients,” explained Kara Burns, MS, MEd, LVT, Chair of AVNT.

For more information about AVNT, visit their web site: nutritiontechs.org.

U.S. Senators Sponsor Veterinary Legislation

Two US Senators have introduced a bipartisan bill that would formally establish a chief veterinary officer in the Department of Homeland Security; a companion bill has been introduced in the House. According to its sponsors, the bill strengthens DHS' food defense and agricultural security capacity and ability to respond to a crisis related to veterinary health by ensuring that there is a veterinary leader within the department who is fully prepared and empowered to respond. The bill specifies formal qualifications and responsibilities for the chief veterinary officer and does not create an additional layer of management within DHS.

New Specialty for Veterinary Technicians in Clinical Practice

Recently the Committee on Veterinary Technician Specialties (CVTS), a subcommittee of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA), granted the Academy of Veterinary Technicians in Clinical Practice (AVTCP) provisional recognition as a Veterinary Technician Specialty (VTS).

AVTCP is the ninth officially recognized veterinary technician specialty and is modeled after the American Veterinary Medical Association accredited veterinary college, the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP). Following the ABVP model, AVTCP has developed three initial species-specific categories, Canine/Feline, Avian/Exotic, and Production Animal.

The credentialed veterinary technicians of the AVTCP are dedicated to providing superior, comprehensive, multi-disciplinary care to our clients and patients. Candidates are expected to be knowledgeable and demonstrate expertise in a broad range of clinical disciplines within their species specialty. Candidates eligible for admission to the AVTCP examinations will be evaluated on multi-disciplinary aspects of clinical practice including: anesthesia/analgesia, behavior, dentistry, diagnostic imaging, general medicine (knowledge of systems and common diseases), general nursing, laboratory testing, pharmacology, practice management, and surgical nursing.

Veterinary Technicians interested in learning more about VTS certification in Clinical Practice should contact the Academy Chair, Liza Wysong Rudolph, LVT, CVT, at lwrlvt@aol.com

Online CURES Reporting Is Now Mandatory

 As you  may or may not be aware, veterinary hospitals are required to report all prescribed controlled substances to the California Department of Justice (DOJ) on a weekly basis. This includes only the controlled drugs that you send home with the pet. Fentanyl patches that are placed on the pet prior to them leaving the clinic are considered in hospital treatments and do not need to be reported. (Fentanyl patches should never be sent home loose.)

 In the past, CURES reports were mailed to the DOJ, but as of November 1st, reporting must be done online. The DOJ has contracted with a third party, “Infinite Cures” to accommodate this.

 The address for Infinite Cures is www.infinitecures.com. Once you access the website, it will walk you through the registration process. You will need the DEA license number and California veterinary license number of the veterinarian under which the controlled substances are ordered to complete the process. A confirmation notice will be sent to the email address of your contact person. You can then start submitting the CURES reports online.

 The website provides tutorials to help with the reporting process. Throughout the process, you will receive prompts to assist you. The client/patient information is entered in first, followed by the prescription information. You can continue until you have entered all clients/patients and prescriptions, then you submit them all together when you are done. It will ask you if you want a detailed “report” generated. If you click on “yes”, it will open a window that allows you to print a report that can be used for your records. You can also edit or delete your individual client/patient/prescription information prior to submittal.

 Remember that these MUST be submitted on a weekly basis, even if you have not prescribed any controlled substances that week. There is a place at the top of the page that you can click to submit a report stating this, but something must be submitting weekly.

Helpful Hints:
Data can not be saved, so if you start to enter information, and leave the website without submitting the report, the information will be lost and will have to be re-entered.

• If you want a printable report, you must request it at the time you submit it. You cannot go back and request it later.
• You may be prompted with “Fields with warning present. Do you want to continue?” This is usually because the program does not recognize the NDC number that you have entered. The company has been made aware of this, but you should still contact them if this occurs (They will probably advise you to continue despite the warning).
• You may be unable to read the prompts and only see windows with a “Yes” and “No”. This is because it is in HMTL format and your computer’s security program may not allow it. This can be resolved by switch it to “Flash” format. There is an option for this at the top of the page. Be aware that if you change from “HTML” to “Flash” after to have entered any information, that information will be lost.
• If you have any questions before or during the process, there is a phone number on the webpage that you can call to speak with a live person that can help you.

NAVTA Announces New Surgical Technician Specialty

The National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) is pleased to announce a new specialty, the Academy of Veterinary Surgical Technicians. Veterinary technicians interested in learning the specific criteria involved in pursuing a surgical technician specialty should contact Teri Raffel at raffelteri@gmail.com or Heidi Reuss-Lamky at frzbdogmom@aol.com.

The NAVTA Committee on Veterinary Technicians Specialties (CVTS) was formed in 1994 and is recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association. CVTS provides guidelines to veterinary technician organizations to facilitate the formation of a specialty organization. Academies develop advanced pathways which a candidate must follow and complete in order to be awarded the designation of VTS (Veterinary Technician Specialist) in their specific discipline.

The National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America is a nonprofit organization that represents and promotes the profession of Veterinary Technology. NAVTA provides direction, education, support and coordination for its members. Incorporated in 1981, NAVTA is the national organization devoted exclusively to developing and enhancing the profession of veterinary technology. For more information about NAVTA and the veterinary technician specialties, visit their website at www.navta.net.

AKC Canine Partners Program

The AKC has a program for mixed breed dogs—AKC Canine Partners. If you have a mixed-breed dog you'd like to enroll in this program—giving him the chance to compete in stand-alone obedience, rally, and agility events—go to akccaninepartners.org! In addition to event eligibility, owners enrolling in AKC Canine Partners will receive lifetime enrollment in the AKC CAR Lost and Found recovery service, a one-year subscription to AKC FAMILY DOG, an AKC Canine Partners decal and a frameable certificate of recognition.

Sharps Disposal

Effective September 1, 2008: It is illigal to dispose of home-generated sharps waste in the trash or recycling bin. Sharps waste must be transported to an official collection center in an approved sharps container. Veterinary hospitals can sell sharps containers, but are not considered appropriate collection sites unless they meet specific criteria. For more details, see www.cvma.net or contact the local waste management enforcement agency.

FIX OUR FERALS CAMPAIGN

Fix Our Ferals, a non-profit spay neuter group for feral cats, is trapping cats in the berkeley/albany/emeryville/piedmont/El Cerrito/RIchmond. We are concentrating on these areas for trap-neuter-return.  If you see or feed stray cats which need to be fixed, Fix our Ferals  loans traps for cats in these areas.  Please call 510 908 0709.  For cats outside these areas and throughout the year, take advantage of the bimonthly spay-neuter clinics in Oakland at the Oakland SPCA spay-neuter facility and call 510 433 9446 or access www.fixourferals.org.