VSPN AOW : Key Takeaways for Veterin... |
Key Takeaways for Veterinarians from the NAVTA Demographics SurveyToday's Vet Pract. Jul-Aug 2023;13(4):10-14. 4 Refs1 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Author AbstractSupporting the credentialed veterinary nurses/technicians in your clinic will help them to achieve their professional goals and take a step toward profession-wide improvements in utilization, mental health, compensation, and title protection.
Companion NotesKey takeaways for veterinarians from the NAVTA demographics survey (NAVTA = National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America) Results of NAVTA’s most recent demographics survey earlier this year (last performed in ‘16, usually done every 5 years, but delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic) - CrVTs are critical to veterinary team and patient care (CrVTs = credentialed veterinary technicians) - it’s important veterinarians understand the findings of the survey - and how to best support our colleagues going forward - compensation is improved but remains a problem - 25% increase in computed average annual salary since the 2016 survey - $52,000 in ‘22 compared to $41,600 in ‘16) - this number is calculated based on the following: - average number of hours worked per week: 37.5 hours - average pay per hour: $26.50 - “I’m certainly seeing this [pay increase] with our graduates,” said Kathy Koar (MSEd, CVT, director of veterinary nursing at Harcum College in Philadelphia) - higher compensation allows graduates to start “grown-up lives with only one job” - increase is not profession-wide, especially in more rural areas - according to Ashli Selke, RVT, CVT, immediate past president of NAVTA - she’s based in the Midwest and said, “The average technician I see does not make that.” - most survey respondents were attendees at 1 of 2 major national conferences - Selke says it’s important to ask, “Who are the technicians who are able to go to these conventions?” - she hypothesizes attendees are likely to have jobs with higher pay - also, more veterinary nurses/technicians employed in research responded - they have the highest hourly pay and more responded this year - 39% of respondents ranked salary as the top challenge currently - 1 in 3 CrVTs maintains a second job, often full time - mental health and wellness remain major concerns - “high volume of colleagues experiencing compassion fatigue” - considered 2nd biggest problem for the profession in the next 5 years - 65% of respondents reported experiencing compassion fatigue - 70% reported professional burnout - 1 in 3 veterinary technicians knows someone who died by suicide (someone in the veterinary profession] - 61% of respondents reported concern about someone dying by suicide (someone in the veterinary profession] - veterinary schools and veterinary technician/nursing programs are trying - they’re openly discussing wellbeing and mental health issues - including coping skills - but, clearly efforts to support mental health must continue - establishing a national credentialing standard and title protection is a priority - the title “veterinary technician” is often used for licensed and unlicensed individuals - title protection would limit the use of “veterinary technician” to licensed individuals - Selke notes that compensation and title protection are closely linked: “If there’s not title protection, we can’t differentiate ourselves from veterinary assistants” - currently, 31 states have no title protection for CrVTs - 12 of those states do not define veterinary technician in their practice act - in the ‘22 demographics survey - 83% of respondents indicated a national title is important - 87% felt title protection was important - 85% prefer the term “veterinary nurse” (a dramatic increase from ‘16 - currently, CrVTs can be denoted by 1 of 4 different credentials depending on the state - CVT, RVT, LVT, and LVMT - staff turnover was ranked the second most challenging aspect of the job - turnover is multifactorial and influenced by concerns around the following: - salary and benefits - mental health - lack of title protection - proper utilization - only 40% of respondents felt they were fully utilized - major factors that CrVTs viewed as barriers to utilization - lack of trust or confidence in the CrVT skillset by clinicians - training uncredentialed staff to do the same tasks as CrVTs - not allowing CrVTs to do the tasks they are trained for - due to perceived control issues - Selke stressed “We want to help veterinarians” How veterinarians can support their CrVT colleagues - Selke and Koar suggest the following ways to support CrVTs in the clinic: - use appropriate titles - reserve the term “veterinary technician” for those with credentials - know the practice act and scope of practice for your state - let CrVTs perform at their highest level - share business data with CrVTs when discussing compensation packages - invite CrVTs’ opinions into practice protocol development and other decisions - offer student debt relief or assistance as part of a benefits package
“Selke reminds veterinarians that `We went to school to try to elevate ourselves and practice with veterinarians.””
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