MATC VETERINARY TECHNICIAN INSTRUCTOR BEGINS TERM AS NAVTA PRESIDENT
Teri Raffel, CVT, a veterinary technician instructional assistant at Madison Area Technical College and Madison resident, began her term as president of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) in January. She was elected to a three-year commitment in 2006, serving last year as president-elect. NAVTA represents more than 4,000 veterinary technicians across the country. She says as president she will continue the work of NAVTA in educating the public on the role and responsibilities of veterinary technicians, educating the veterinary community on the utilization of credentialed technicians and promoting quality nursing care for all animals.
“One of the main focuses of the organization is to educate the public on what veterinary technicians do and how to access their services,” says Raffel. “There is a misconception that when people take their pets to a veterinary office, the veterinarians does everything. Veterinary technicians perform physical exams on patients, collect samples for diagnostic tests, take x-rays, perform teeth cleaning, monitor patients under anesthesia, perform post operative nursing care and educate owners on the many ways to provide preventative health care for their pets. In fact, veterinary technicians provide 95 percent of the patient’s nursing care.”
In Wisconsin, she says, veterinary technicians do not have to be graduates of a program to be able to take the Veterinary Technician National Exam. NAVTA encourages states to require graduation from a veterinary technician program because their members find proper training is vital to the health and well-being of their patients and for advancement and professionalism in their careers. Educated veterinary technicians are better prepared to work with new technology and understand the needs of a wider variety of species.
Raffel earned her veterinary technician degree from MATC in 1981. After working in the private sector, she joined the Small Animal Surgery Department at Purdue University. She returned to Wisconsin to work at the University of Wisconsin in the School of Veterinary Medicine before joining the staff at Madison Area Technical College as an instructional assistant in the college’s Veterinary Technician Program in 1991.
Known for her work to support veterinary medicine at the legislative level, she received the Wisconsin Veterinary Technician of the Year Award in 1998 and a Service Award in 2003 from the Wisconsin Veterinary Technician Association. In 2002, she received the Friend of Veterinary Medicine Award from the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association, the first time such award has been given to a veterinary technician.
MATC is one of the largest of the Wisconsin Technical College System’s 16 colleges. It provides “real world smart” education through a comprehensive curriculum of technical, liberal arts and science, adult basic education and life enrichment studies and activities, as well as customized employee training. MATC offers associate degrees, vocational diplomas and certificates, and non-degree courses in more than 140 programs of study. The college serves all or parts of 12 counties located in south-central Wisconsin and offers instruction through five campuses and numerous community locations throughout the district.
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February 20, 2007
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