From Dr. Keri Riddick, GVMA Executive Director:
The GVMA supported the Colorado VMA’s opposing position for Proposition 129. Unfortunately, this passed during their general election on November 5th and creates a new role in veterinary medicine called a Veterinary Professional Associate (VPA). The scope of this role includes performing surgery, diagnosing and ordering tests and procedures on dogs and cats. Currently, Colorado State University is developing a curriculum for a VPA and more information can be found here.
The GVMA strongly opposes the mid-level practitioner as a new professional and believes the creation of such is not a practical approach to address the existing workforce issues.
Being opposed to the MLP is not enough – solutions are needed to address concerns that led to Proposition 129. The GVMA supports increased utilization and education of licensed veterinary technicians as an alternative solution. Educating technicians is comprehensive, accredited and has a national examination to ensure the competence of candidates prior to their applying for licensure. Now is the time to examine the utilization of technicians in your practice, ensure they are being granted the opportunity to grow in their practice in a manner equivalent to a recently graduated veterinarian, and allow them to practice throughout all aspects of their license.
The GVMA remains open to your feedback and welcomes your ideas. For more information, please read the GVMA’s Position Statement against Mid-Level Practitioners in full below:
GVMA Position Statement on the Veterinary Professional Associate (Mid-Level Practitioner)
GVMA strongly opposes the mid-level veterinary practitioner as a new professional and opposes any education program that would educate and graduate such a professional.
Creating a veterinary midlevel position (MLP) is neither a sufficiently targeted nor practical approach to address existing workforce issues – more expedient and sustainable solutions are available.
The past few years have been extremely difficult for the veterinary profession. Hiring challenges are real, but some of the numbers being circulated about the future workforce appear to overestimate demand and underestimate supply. These numbers, which are being used to support claims of a future shortage of companion animal veterinarians, are also being used to drive proposed longterm changes—like the MLP—that will negatively reverberate across the profession; fail to effectively target solutions that are unique for each segment where shortages are evident (e.g., food animal, equine, academia, emergency practices, specialties, public health); and pose threats to animal health and welfare, food safety, and public health.
GVMA supports increased utilization and education of licensed veterinary technicians.
GVMA supports the following recommendations as alternative solutions to access to care issues in veterinary medicine.
- Statutory solutions and/or education to promote optimal utilization of licensed veterinary technicians: GVMA strongly supports both immediate statutory solutions that will elevate the role of licensed veterinary technicians. GVMA supports education and policy clarifying what tasks are prime for delegation under levels of supervision by veterinarians to licensed veterinary technicians, and educating and informing veterinarians and licensed veterinary technicians on the efficiency and utilization improvements that can be achieved in veterinary practice by fully utilizing the demonstrated, tested, competence of licensed veterinary technicians.
- Creation of advanced educational programs for licensed veterinary technicians: GVMA strongly supports the creation of advanced educational programs for licensed veterinary technicians that will result in:
- Robust utilization of LVTs in clinical settings.
- Expedite LVTs achieving their Licensed veterinary technician Specialist designation.
- Improve engagement and retention of LVTs in the veterinary profession.
- Help ensure that licensed veterinary technicians are paid a living wage that reflects the high value of their work.
Key barriers to the mid-level veterinary practitioner
GVMA cannot support the proposal to create a new profession because of the numerous, significant barriers to public health and productivity that the professional would face and/or create. Therefore, GVMA cannot support the educational and financial investment required to develop, GVMA Position Statement on the Veterinary Professional Associate (Mid-Level Practitioner) launch, and operate a degree program for such a new profession. Georgia deserves a better return on its investment.
There are numerous barriers to the successful integration and utilization of this brand-new veterinary professional.
- FDA allows only licensed veterinarians to prescribe. This means that unlike human medicine, a mid-level professional would be unable to prescribe independently.
- USDA accreditation is available only to licensed veterinarians. This means that according to federal requirements, USDA-required tests, CVI health certificates, and veterinary feed directives can only be performed by licensed veterinarians.
- Only licensed veterinarians can legally perform four essential tasks: diagnose, initiate treatment, prescribe, and perform surgery. This means that the proposed mid-level practitioner would not be able to perform these tasks in Georgia and most of the U.S. without changes to individual state laws; any professional performing these tasks would need to do so under a veterinarian’s liability insurance.
- Procedures and systems for determining professional competence to practice do not exist and will take years to create. This means that owners, employers, and colleagues cannot be assured of a mid-level practitioner’s competence to practice.
- The projected salary for mid-level practitioners does not fit the current reality. In 2022, the AVMA reported that only 43% of all 2021 veterinary graduates earned $80,000 per year or more; it is not clear why it is assumed that the mid-level practitioner would earn $80,000 per year.
GVMA supports existing law.
GVMA endorses and supports existing Georgia law that clearly designates diagnosing, prognosing, developing treatment plans, performing surgery, and prescribing drugs for animals as the work of veterinarians. GVMA believes that these veterinary medical tasks require both expertise and accountability to the public by veterinarians who have met legal standards by completion of an accredited program and demonstrated their competence through successful passage of a nationally-recognized examination.
In conclusion, GVMA does not support the creation of a mid-level practitioner in Georgia. There is a better way forward: GVMA encourages increased utilization and education of existing licensed veterinary technicians as a more robust and straightforward solution to veterinary issues in Georgia.
The GVMA referenced and used AVMA, CVMA and AAVSB positions in the development of this document.
Approved October 20, 2024
