Thank You Hill’s Pet Nutrition

Hill’s Pet Nutrition has long been considered a leader in the realm of nutrition-based companion animal health and an ardent supporter of the veterinary health care team. On behalf of the entire organizing committee of the Academy of Veterinary Surgical Technicians (AVST), it therefore gives me great pleasure to thank a company as prestigious as Hill’s Pet Nutrition for its recent generous donation and support. Furthermore, we look forward to sharing the news about the generosity of Hill’s Pet Nutrition, as well as the importance of nutrition for veterinary surgical patients, with our future academy members and the entire veterinary community.

We anticipate working with Hill’s Pet Nutrition in the years to come as we ambitiously prepare to administer the first AVST certifying examination at the ACVS Veterinary Symposium in November 2012. Please go to www.avst-vts.org to learn more about this new veterinary technician specialty.

Heidi Reuss-Lamky, LVT, VTS (Anesthesia)
President, Academy of Veterinary Surgical Technicians

AVST Application Packet is now available! 

On behalf of the entire Academy of Veterinary Surgical Technicians Organizing Committee, I am pleased to announce that the AVST Application Packet is now available at www.avst-vts.org. The application packet is very comprehensive and thoroughly explains the requirements for pursuing a veterinary technician specialty in surgery.  The AVST currently plans on administering the first certifying exam to qualifying candidates at the 2012 ACVS Symposium in Washington DC.

Heidi Reuss-Lamky, LVT, VTS (Anesthesia)
President of the Academy of Veterinary Surgical Technicians

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.

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.