"Leading, Teaching, Motivating"
Q: Must I work for a diplomate to qualify?
A: No. It would certainly expedite the completion of your candidate packet but is not necessary.
Q: Must I work for a veterinarian to be a candidate?
A: It is highly recommend you have a “mentor” or “veterinarian of record” who can supervise. You must work with a veterinarian who makes the diagnosis, creates the treatment plan and who you work closely with on follow up cases. The veterinarian is not required to be boarded in animal behavior. Preventive cases to do not require a veterinarian but it must be clear the case is preventive rather than intervention. If the candidate committee has any questions pertaining to your packet (case log) a veterinarian should be on record for the committee to contact with questions.
Q: What can I count on my time record? If I restrain an aggressive dog can I count that?
A: A veterinary technician’s role is primarily preventative, especially in private practice. The committee has taken this into consideration and therefore will allow up to 75% of your time to be in a preventative role. NOTE: No more then 25% of the cases in your case log can be preventative. 75% of your case logs require a diagnosis (considered intervention).
You may include the restraint of an aggressive dog but ONLY if you can document how you improved and modified the situation.
The following are only a few examples that may included on your time sheet as problem prevention:
Puppy classes / kitten classes (on or off hospital property)
Adolescent classes (on or off hospital property)
Discussing problem prevention in the exam room
Desensitization to nail trims, etc. (could be intervention if other issues exist)
Fitting head collars or other training tools (unless the animal has been diagnosed with a behavior problem, then it would be intervention)
Triaging behavior issues on the phone should be considered intervention
We will continue to address questions as they are brought to our attention and add them to the FAQ page.