Assessing Essential Skills of Veterinary Technology Students - 4th Edition (Paperback)

About the Book

"Assessing Essential Skills of Veterinary Technology Students, Fourth Edition, provides a comprehensive review of the required AVMA-CVTEA (American Veterinary Medical Association Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities) essential skills for completion of a veterinary technology degree. It is in fact an effort to standardize how veterinary technology students in accredited programs across the country (and Canada) are assessed in the acquisition of essential skills. The additional details and descriptions which help to maximize understanding of the expectations for each of the skills are for both the students and the supervisors that are responsible for verifying completion of the skill. Currently, the third edition of this book is one of the only published organized resources that provides students with a categorized approach, including the necessary knowledge and decision-making ability required for each skill. Since the AVMA-CVTEA updates the essential skills on a biannual basis (which can include removal of a skill, addition of a new skill or rewording of a current skill), the new edition would provide the most up to date essential skills required for graduation from an accredited veterinary technology program. The third edition was published in 2017; thus, the new edition would include at least eight updates to the essential skills list, which is planned for publication by end of 2023. Several guidelines from veterinary organizations regarding standard of care in veterinary medicine have been updated since the publication of the previous edition. Since this book contains assessment criteria for the acquisition of essential skills for future veterinary professionals, it is important to have the most updated criteria of assessment that is commiserate with current standard of care. The assessment criteria in the new edition will be updated to reflect the advancement of veterinary medicine since the publication of the last edition"--

From the Back Cover

Standardized assessment criteria covering all essential skills from the nine areas required by the American Veterinary Medical Association Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities

The newly revised and updated Fourth Edition of Assessing Essential Skills of Veterinary Technology Students provides a comprehensive review of the required American Veterinary Medical Association Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (AVMA CVTEA^(R)) essential skills for completion of a veterinary technology degree. Each essential skill includes assessment criteria as well as decision-making instructions necessary to demonstrate proficiency both academically and professionally.

The text is organized based on the categories provided by the AVMA CVTEA, making it easy for an instructor and students to locate the assessment criteria for a particular essential skill relative to their course.

Several guidelines from veterinary organizations regarding standard of care in veterinary medicine have been updated since the publication of the previous edition, including 2018 A AHA Infection Control, Prevention and Biosecurity Guidelines, 2022 AAHA Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats, 2021 AAHA/AAFP Feline Life Stages Guidelines, 2019 AAHA Canine Life Stages Guidelines, 2021 AAHA Nutrition and Weight Management Guidelines, 2023 AAHA Technician Utilization Guidelines, and others.

Written by highly qualified authors, Assessing Essential Skills of Veterinary Technology Students includes assessment criteria that addresses the knowledge, decision-making capabilities, and hands-on skills for the following:

• Pharmacologic fundamentals of drug administration, pharmacy essentials of drug dispensing, compliance with state and federal regulation, and monitoring of therapeutic responses.
• Ethics, jurisprudence, and communication in veterinary management.
• Husbandry, nutrition, and therapeutics of common domestic species, handling and restraint, patient assessment, and dental procedures in small animals.
• Fundamentals of and experiences with common surgical procedures, patient management and use of anesthetic equipment, proper surgical assistance, pain management, management of surgical equipment and facilities, and perioperative management.
• Diagnostic laboratory procedures and management of laboratory specimens and equipment, parasitology of common domestic species and diagnostic procedures for parasite, microbiologic procedure and evaluations and necropsy procedures.
• Avian, exotic, small, and large animal husbandry and nursing skills.

The Fourth Edition of Assessing Essential Skills of Veterinary Technology Students is an essential study resource for all undergraduate students enrolled in an AVMA CVTEA accredited veterinary technology program and an excellent teaching resource for instructors of veterinary technology courses.

About the Author

Lisa E. Schenkel, DVM, CCRT, CVMA, Program Director and Assistant Professor, Mercy University, Veterinary Technology Program, Dobbs Ferry, NY, US.

Amanda Colón, DVM, Assistant Professor, Mercy University, Veterinary Technology Program, Dobbs Ferry, NY, US.

Sandra Lynn Bertholf, MS, LVT, Associate Program Director and Assistant Professor, Mercy University, Veterinary Technology Program, Dobbs Ferry, NY, US.

Sabrina Timperman, DVM, Associate Professor, Mercy University, Veterinary Technology Program, Dobbs Ferry, NY, US.

Laurie J. Buell, MS, VT, Former Program Director and Former Associate Professor of Veterinary Technology (Retired), Mercy University, Dobbs Ferry, NY, US.