Update from the Academy of Veterinary Surgical Technicians

The Academy of Veterinary Surgical Technicians’ (AVST) Executive Board is pleased to announce that we successfully administered the first certifying examination at the North American Veterinary Conference on Monday, January 21, 2013, in Orlando, Florida.  The AVST Executive Board is comprised of the President-elect, Kim Schmidt, CVT, VTS (Surgery), Secretary, Teri Raffel, CVT, VTS (Surgery), Treasurer, Tanya Niles, LVT, VTS (Surgery), Board Members-at-Large, Susan Holland, LVT, VTS (Anesthesia, Surgery) and Danielle Browning, LVMT, VTS (Surgery), and current President Heidi Reuss-Lamky, LVT, VTS (Anesthesia, Surgery).   We are proud to introduce 6 new members earning the prestigious VTS (Surgery) designation: Karen Ellis, Michelle Jaeger, Daryl Jean Makosky, Megan Ann Richie, Kristine Rigler, and Alison Young.  We invite you to join us in recognizing their accomplishments during the 2013 American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) Symposium in San Antonio, Texas.   
 
Other recent academy accomplishments include acquiring final 501c3 status in the State of Michigan, and posting the 2014 AVST Application Packet to our website.  Please review this revised application packet to see if pursuing a veterinary technician surgical specialty is right for you!
 
Finally, the AVST would like to express gratitude towards outstanding companies such as Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc., and Veterinary Orthopedic Implants for their continued support of veterinary surgical technicians. It would not be possible to accomplish our goals without them.
 
Heidi Reuss-Lamky, LVT, VTS (Anesthesia, Surgery)
President, Academy of Veterinary Surgical Technicians
www.avst-vts.org
hreusslamky@avst-vts.org    

Technicians’ Program at 2013 ACVS Veterinary Symposium 

Technician Jobs on the Rise -  Despite the Recession  

A recent article on Yahoo! Hotjobs provides a list of "Jobs That Are Growing - Despite the Recession."  Among these fields are veterinary technologists and technicians.

"These jobs are projected to experience 36 percent growth between now and 2018, with an average of 4,850 job openings per year," says Laurence Shatkin, the author of "150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs." "Rapid growth does not always translate into job openings right now, but in this case it does. The number of veterinary lab tests continues to grow very rapidly, and colleges where students prepare for this career report good opportunities for their graduates." 

Read the full article. 

AVST Seeking Donations of Gently Used Textbooks  

The Academy of Veterinary Surgical Technicians (AVST) would sincerely appreciate donations from ACVS members of gently used textbooks. These publications will be used for creating the AVST qualifying examination. Donated textbooks (published after 2001) should contain subject matter such as wound care, rehabilitation, surgical techniques, anatomy & physiology, laser surgery, instrumentation, etc., for small animal, large animal and exotic species. Donations that will be useful include the textbooks from the ACVS Examination reading list, although textbooks in related areas will be needed as well.

2010 ACVS Examination Reading List Textbooks (Small Animal and Large Animal)

• Auer JA, Stick JA: Equine Surgery, W.B. Saunders Co., (3rd Ed), 2006.
• Beale BS, Hulse D, Schulz K, Whitney W: Small Animal Arthroscopy, W.B. Saunders Co., 2003.
• Boothe DM: Small Animal Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, W.B. Saunders Co., 2001
• Fackelman GA, Auer JA, Nunamaker DM, eds. AO Principles of Equine Osteosynthesis, AO Publishing, 2000.
• Fossum TW: Small Animal Surgery, Mosby Co. (3rd Ed), 2007.
• Fubini SL, Ducharme NG: Farm Animal Surgery, W.B. Saunders Co., 2004.
• Guyton AC, Hall JE: Textbook of Medical Physiology (11th Ed), W.B. Saunders Co., 2006.
• Johnson AL, Houlton JEF, Vannini R: AO Principles of Fracture Management in the Dog and Cat, AO Publishing, 2005.
• Lumb and Jones: Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia (4th Ed), Blackwell Publishing, 2007.
• McIlwraith CW, Wright I, Nixon AJ, Boening KJ: Diagnostic and Surgical Arthroscopy in the Horse (3rd Ed). Mosby Ltd, 2006.
• Nixon AJ: Equine Fracture Repair, W.B. Saunders Co., 1996.
• Piermattei D, Flo G, DeCamp C: Brinker, Piermattei, and Flo's Handbook of Small Animal Orthopedics and Fracture Repair, (4th Ed), W.B. Saunders Co., 2006.
• Slatter D: Textbook of Small Animal Surgery (3rd Ed), Vol. 1 & 2, W.B. Saunders Co., 2003.
• Stashak TS, Theoret CL: Equine Wound Management, (2nd Ed), Blackwell Publishing, 2008.

Books can be sent directly to: AVST's President: Heidi Reuss-Lamky, 23291 Oberliesen St., Clinton Twp, MI 48036-1230. If there are any questions concerning the book donations, please contact Heidi Reuss-Lamky at frzbdogmom@aol.com, or 586-344-8734.