How Members Can Help
It is the goal of NMRVTA to have title protection and scope of practice added to the New Mexico Veterinary Practice Act during the next legislative session, or in the year 2024.
What is Title Protection? Title protection is language put in a VPA that applies only to those individuals who have met veterinary technician licensure requirements and would prevent individuals from misrepresenting themselves as meeting qualifications without actually doing so.
What is Scope of Practice? Scope of practice is a definition of those duties that a Veterinary Technician is allowed to perform under the direction, supervision, and responsibility of a Veterinarian.
Click here to view the PowerPoint presentation on title protection and scope of practice.
Click here to view the proposed changes to the New Mexico VPA (Veterinary Practice Act).
Click here to view the current New Mexico VPA (Veterinary Practice Act).
Click here to view the AAVSB (American Association of Veterinary State Boards) model recommendations on scope of practice.
Click here to view NAVTA’s title protection article/report.
We have prepared the form letter below to empower our membership to directly address the New Mexico Board of Veterinary Medicine in support of adding title protection to the Veterinary Practice Act. We would like to enlist the NMBVM as our allies in this journey. This form letter is a way for you to lend your voice to that cause. When you copy it, please identify yourself appropriately, add your own thoughts, and email it to director@nmbvm.org or mail it to the address listed below.
In addition to your own voice, you are encouraged to share the letter and our goals with anyone else who is interested — other veterinary support staff, pet owners — in helping us take this small step to improve veterinary medicine in New Mexico.
As a reminder, the NM Veterinary Practice Act currently contains a title definition for veterinary technician (“a skilled person certified by the board as being qualified by academic and practical training to provide veterinary service under the supervision and direction of a licensed veterinarian who is responsible for the performance of that technician”) but does not offer protection of that title, so there is no obvious penalty included for using the term for a non-licensed veterinary assistant. The NM Registered Veterinary Technician Association will be presenting at the next NM Board of Veterinary Medicine meeting on January 21, 2022, to ask that title protection be added to the Veterinary Practice Act (as it has been in 16 other states), and to ask for their assistance in making future changes to legislation that support the veterinary technician and assistant professions in NM. You may also attend the meeting via Zoom (the invitation and agenda will be posted on their website, NMBVM.org).
If you have any questions, please reach out through our email, nmrvta@outlook.com.
Board of Directors
New Mexico Board of Veterinary Medicine
7301 Jefferson St. NE, Ste H
Albuquerque, NM 87109
I, _____, an (RVT/veterinary assistant/customer service rep/veterinarian/practice manager/NM pet owner), petition to have Title Protection as requested by the Executive Board of the New Mexico Registered Veterinary Technician Association adopted into the Veterinary Practice Act. As per the proposition, I believe that this action will strengthen the integrity of veterinary medical professionals in this state. Title protection is very important to the future of the veterinary technician profession, emphasizing the education needed to be able to hold such a title and elevating the field of veterinary support staff from simply a job to a career. It will encourage individuals to pursue their accreditation with the Board of Veterinary Medicine and develop additional skills. Title protection will also help veterinarians to utilize their staff more appropriately by more formally defining the roles of their support staff, which improves patient care and generates greater profit for veterinary facilities.
We urge you to take this proposition into consideration.
Regards,
______________