Opposing midlevel practitioner proposals

As the collective voice and leading advocate for our nation's veterinary profession, the AVMA is working across numerous fronts to oppose proposals to create a midlevel veterinary practitioner-a role that would endanger animal safety, public health, our food supply, and client trust.

The AVMA and our members fully understand the grave danger posed by such a position. We're joined by a wide range of other national veterinary groups as well as the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association, whose state's voters will decide in November whether to authorize a midlevel veterinary position in Colorado.

Collaborating with veterinary colleges

Last week, the AVMA sent a letter to the deans of U.S. and Caribbean veterinary medical colleges, along with an overview of our concerns, asking them to join our opposition to the proposed MLP and the development of educational programs to train MLPs. Read the overview of the concerns we outlined to the deans here.

Veterinary education and veterinary colleges are integral to this debate. Colorado State University's College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is in the process of developing a master's-level program to train and graduate midlevel practitioners that, under Proposition 129, would be authorized to practice veterinary medicine.

Known as veterinary professional associates (VPAs), the proposed Colorado midlevel practitioners would be allowed to diagnose, prognose, create treatment plans, and perform surgery. However, an available draft of the Colorado State curriculum indicates the program would encompass a mere 65 credit hours: three semesters of fully online lecture with no laboratory; a fourth semester of truncated basic clinical skills training; and a short internship/practicum.

Our letter urged the deans to resist any pressure to create similar programs at their institutions.

AVMA's multipronged approach

This week's outreach letter was only the latest initiative in our work to raise awareness of the dangers of the proposed midlevel role. Among our other activities are these:

• We've created a resource page explaining the dangers of the midlevel practitioner role as well as other short-sighted proposals whose proponents claim they would alleviate workforce issues in our profession.
• We are ardent supporters of an issues committee called Keep Our Pets Safe, which is working to educate Colorado voters about the dangers posed by the ballot measure. Along with sharable social media images, the campaign has developed FAQs and videos describing the dangers of the VPA in Colorado.
• We regularly post social media about the dangers of creating a midlevel veterinary position whose duties overlap those of the veterinarian and veterinary technician.

Make your voice heard

No matter where you live, you can help raise awareness of the risk to animal safety that stems from efforts to create a midlevel veterinary practitioner position, whether in Colorado or beyond. Here are just a few ways:

• Follow Keep Our Pets Safe and the AVMA on Facebook and other social media, and reshare information to help spread awareness.
• Talk to colleagues and clients about the dangers of proposals to create a midlevel position. Point them to avma.org/Workforce for more information.
• Work with your state and local veterinary medical associations to build support for veterinary technicians and against proposals for midlevel practitioners.

By advocating for the veterinarian-led team, you'll be helping to protect animal safety, public health, our nation's food supply, client trust, and the future of veterinary medicine.

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