Previously, I have addressed some of the challenges credentialed veterinary technicians face: not earning a living wage, a perceived lack of respect, and feeling we are not being used to the full extent of our education and training. Some of these challenges are related to the issues of lack of a standard credential, scope of practice, or title protection. Over the past three decades, various groups have discussed issues of and potential solutions to under-utilization, and some groups continue to study and research these same issues today.

Meanwhile, there are not enough veterinarians or credentialed veterinary technicians to meet the needs of the profession. Part of the reason is fatigue and burnout is running rampant in both groups of veterinary professionals. As a result, credentialed veterinary technicians continue to leave the field. Are we any closer to finding a solution?

Mid-level practitioner

The idea of a mid-level practitioner—a nurse practitioner or physician's assistant-type role, are being discussed by various individuals and organizations. One veterinary publication recently asked, "Would you be supportive of creating a mid-level veterinary position similar to a physician assistant?" Over the next several hours, amidst the 513 likes, 19 shares, and 270 comments, individuals offered interesting insight into the issue:

• "No. We absolutely need to get RVTs, and vets paid better across the board first. Also, the RVT needs to be mandatory, not optional."
• "Instead of creating another position, we need to start implementing a standard nationwide for technicians: they should all be required to be schooled and pass a licensing test to be called technicians and do the tasks of one. If not, they are a veterinary assistant and nothing more. Technicians who are properly schooled and licensed are an incredible asset to DVMs when allowed to do what they have been taught to do; we don't need to further muddy the waters in this field."
• "That position already exists, it's called a RVT. I think we could utilize them more than we already do to fill that type of role. But, I do think veterinary medicine is a different beast, the patients can't communicate with you as in human med, therefore I think that diagnosis, treatment, surgery, etc. should only be performed by a veterinarian."
• "Definitely not. This profession is known to cut costs with staff; soon the new position will replace the job of the vet just for the practice to cut costs. Already an underpaid profession and already too many lay people in the profession who don't know what they are doing."
• "Takes the load of the basic cases off our vets with the legal aspect stating a scope of work that allows, vaccinations inj rv, v+/d+ patient work ups that are then escalated to the DVM. Enabling practices to see more clients, less stress on DVMs and higher job satisfaction because they practice the interesting cases they went to school for."
• "I think it's jumping the gun a bit, considering veterinary nursing isn't even standardized yet."
• "Yes! My goal would be to become a Vet Nurse Practitioner to help alleviate my vet's workload and use more of my knowledge and skills."
• "And don't forget about our VTS groups that are already highly proficient at advanced techniques."

 Most of the comments were negative, as is somewhat common in social media. Some were positive, and some individuals did not seem to fully understand the role of the nurse practitioner or physician's assistant in human medicine. Others seemed to support a similar role in veterinary medicine, but only after addressing the other issues that currently plague the profession in all states.