Registered Veterinary Nurse?

What’s in a name? In the United States there is a campaign being waged by the National Association of Veterinary Technicians of America (NAVTA) to change the veterinary technician titles to “registered veterinary nurse” (RVN). This Veterinary Nurse Initiative (VNI) is proceeding by seeking to have legislation passed in various states to give legal status to the title registered veterinary nurse (1). Tennessee and Ohio were the initial states in which the effort was launched. In Tennessee the move met strong opposition from human nurses whose lobbying is credited with preventing the bill from passing. A petition from the nurses argued that “Just as ‘animal doctors’ are called veterinarians, not physicians, ‘animal nurses’ should be called something other than nurses.” In Ohio the bill was strongly supported at the House committee stage but it did not get to the legislature before recess (1). Here too there was strong opposition from the state nurse association. In late January of this year Indiana passed the RVN bill through their State Senate Committee but it must pass in the legislature to be effective.

The position of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians of America (NAVTA) is that a single title should replace the various titles used in different states to refer to veterinary technicians and that registered veterinary nurse is an appropriate replacement title (2). At present, veterinary technicians in the United States are referred to as Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT), Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT) or Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT). NAVTA is also proposing uniform requirements for credentials and scope of practice. The problem appears to be the enormous variation from state to state in terminology and regulations related to veterinary technicians. NAVTA recognizes that the changes that are needed will take time and they speak of a 5- to 10-year period to effect these changes. The major hurdle for the initiative is the new name that has been proposed.

The term veterinary nurse has been in use for decades in several countries. In the UK, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) approved the first Animal Nursing Auxiliary training scheme in 1961 and the British Veterinary Nursing Association was formed in 1965. In New Zealand, formal organization of veterinary nurses occurred in 1992 and in Australia the Veterinary Nurses Council was established in 1995. In the European Union (EU), The Accreditation Committee for Veterinary Nurse Education was founded in 2007 to accredit veterinary nurse education programs in the EU and there are now more than 70 accredited programs from 7 EU countries. It is interesting that in the UK the title veterinary nurse, despite its general use for over 50 years, does not have legislative protection. In 2015, the RCVS submitted a petition to the government seeking protection of the title “veterinary nurse.” The concern was that, because the title is not protected under the law, individuals lacking appropriate training and education could use the title veterinary nurse. Despite the petition having more than 36 000 signatures the government declined to give the requested legal protection.

Are Registered Veterinary Technicians nurses or technicians? Technician is defined as “a person employed to look after technical equipment or do practical work in a laboratory” or “a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skill and technique.” A nurse is defined as “a person trained to care for the sick or infirm, especially in a hospital.” The term nurse emphasizes the caring aspect of the work, which is a critical component of the work of RVTs. It seems to me that veterinary technicians are both technicians and nurses and this is reflected in the titles in use in North America and the UK.

In Canada, there is a distinct, nationally recognized title — Registered Veterinary Technician/Technologist (RVT). The Registered Veterinary Technicians and Technologists of Canada (RVTTC) have determined that their focus should not be on attempting to change the title of veterinary technicians/technologists but rather it should be on educating the public on the work done by RVTs (3).

RVTs are a critically important part of the veterinary practice team and the task of ensuring that they receive the respect and recognition they are due is one which veterinarians are eager to support. This support is shown not only at the individual clinic level but also at the levels of provincial and national veterinary associations. I salute the RVTs for their technical skills, their passion for animal care, and their focus on seeking a better understanding of the work they do.