Click here for 2008 to 2010 CE guidelines

 

CE Guidelines

July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2012

Click here for these guidelines in PDF format

 

Note: the guidelines have changed so please read carefully. 

Introduction

     Your career can be enhanced by your desire to learn and grow. Just being able to do your day-to-day tasks is no longer enough. You must reach higher in order to stand out. 

     The goal of the Certification Committee is to enhance the veterinary technician profession and the professional image of individuals by elevating the continuing education requirements. A variety of fields are taken into account where veterinary technicians work. However, the base is still medicine. Thus it is important to maintain the medical foundation no matter what the employment field (medical or not).

     Take ownership of your profession and responsibility of your learning. Taking CE should elevate you, not just allow you to complete your standard job. If you feel the class you attend does not enhance your knowledge or better your career, maybe it should not be turned in for credit.

     These new guidelines continue to elevate ourselves as professionals and also align with other states. Many licensed technician states don't accept any online credits at all or a limited amount.

    Another reason was to make simpler the current process. There have been many questions about what falls into technical versus supportive categories, especially for those who don’t work in traditional veterinary clinics.

     Also, many clinics provide money for CE education. If yours doesn't, maybe this is a great opportunity to negotiate this situation by showing the benefit of what you can bring back to the clinic. 

 

Guidelines

• The total required minimal CE hours are defined in the chart below.
• Generally speaking: the type of CE accepted is anything directly relating to the veterinary field or education that will directly assist in job performance. Accepted CE contains a specific structured format that can be placed in an outline form with a designated instructor or author.
• All CE must be taken between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2012 regardless of when you joined CACVT.
• For individuals taking the VTNE, any CE taken on or after the testing date can be considered (even if you haven't received results yet).
• There is no carryover of hours from one certification period to another.
• If there is a delinquent amount of CE from a previous certification period, those hours must be completed prior to obtaining current certification hours.
• CACVT's Certification Committee has the right to approve or disallow any submitted credits. This will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
• There is no limit to the amount of CE that can be obtained from clinic-sponsored CE programs (technical guidelines do apply).
• To submit your CE hours, please fill out and return the CE Submittal Form (either electronically, fax, or physical mail).
• Please submit all CE at one time if possible. Submit it as soon as possible rather than waiting until the last minute. You will have faster results this way.
• No certificates are required at this time (do retain all certificates in case you are "audited").

 

If you. . .	Then the minimum number of CE hours taken no later than June 30, 2012
Renewed for July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2012	16
Passed VTNE August 2010	16
Transferred into CO from another state prior to June 30, 2011	16
Passed VTNE December 2010, March 2011, August 2011, or December 2011	8
Transferred into CO from another state after June 30, 2011	8
Passed VTNE March 2012 (all must be technical)	4

 

KEY: Credits = hours = CE hours = 1 physical hour
One hour of CE credit is granted for: 1 hour of lecture OR 2 hours of wet lab classes

 

The Technical Category CE classes:

• These must constitute at least ½ of the hours (for a standard two-year term, this is 8 hours or more).
• The other 1/2 of the hours can be EITHER from this technical category OR from the Other CE category (see below)
• Requirements: * topics are medically-orientated (technical in nature and directly applicable to the veterinary field), at the technician or veterinarian level, are provided by a person suitable to lecture on the material, and in person.

 

Guidelines for accepted CE: all must be medically-orientated  Continuing education (CE) may include, but is not necessarily limited to, the following courses:

• State Association lectures offered by CACVT, CVMA, DAVMS, and State VMA's, and any courses already approved by the Colorado State Board of Veterinary Medicine.
• National Association lectures offered by associations listed in the AVMA directory, examples include NAVTA, AAHA, AALAS, AVMA, ACVIM, etc.
• Corporate Product lectures – often representatives will provide in-clinic training. For Example, nutrition lectures that have a medical base, vaccine updates, new product information which is medically based results,  etc.
• Courses offered by AVMA-recognized schools
• College Courses (animal related only) lectures that are 300 level or above for classes covered in technician school, or any unique animal-orientated classes not previously offered. Courses are granted credits equal to the number that the college gives (e.g., a 3 credit course = 3 CE credits).
• Visiting the State Board of Veterinary Medicine meetings now offers up to 4 technical CE hours (in one certification period). Before, these meetings were only supportive in nature. This is free to attend.  Visit www.cacvt.com/governance for details.

 

Remaining CE:  Other Category – if desired  (previously known as "supportive")
No CE has to come from these types of classes. However, if obtained, they will count towards your overall CE hours after ½ have been obtained from the technical category.

Note: some of these classes were referred to as "supportive"

• Any Internet classes. Documentation must be available by the group offering the program.
  
  • Note: some of these may have been "technical" in the past. They are still accepted CE courses, just not for the new technical category.
• Non-Veterinary Association lectures. For example, Association of Animal Control Officers (AACO), Association of Operating Room Nurses (AORN), Colorado Association of Continuing Medical Laboratory Education (COCMLE), Humane Societies, etc.
• Correspondence courses and journal articles. For example Veterinary Technician, The NAVTA Journal, or Compendium journals where tests are completed and sent back to the journal. The journal will then send a certificate of CE hours obtained, which can be proof of completion. (Generally speaking, each journal article is worth 1/2 credit).
• Practice Management lectures by established management groups that are directly applied to the veterinary field.
• Emergency-Disaster Preparedness lectures
• Behavior lectures, unless medical-orientation can be noted
• Language classes

 

Out-of-state CE.

• CACVT accepts out-of-state CE.

 

RACE-approved CE

• CACVT accepts RACE-approved CE. Credits are calculated on a one-to-one basis (i.e., one RACE credit equals one CE credit for CACVT). RACE (Registry of Approved Continuing Education) is a CE-approval system through the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB).

 

No CE Credit will be given for the following:

 

• Attending exhibit halls or spending time monitoring a booth.
• Reading any kind of educational material with no designed testing process from another entity that accompanies it
• Any computer skills classes (such as Excel) or any college courses that are not directly related to veterinary medicine. We recognize that you need these for your job, but they are job development not veterinary CE.
• Speaking/lecturing engagements. This is something you have chosen to pursue. While we recognize you may learn while preparing, this is part of the process and not direct veterinary CE.
• Any training for new or upgrading of equipment (such as the IDEXX Chemistry Analyzer, more about the Analyzer, and the Vet lab Station).
• AAHA Practice evaluation of clinic.
• Any testing review classes.

 

Verification

     Once CE has been submitted, it will be reviewed by the Certification Committee. Notification will be provided via email or physical mail within 2-4 weeks. If submitted in May or June of 2012, this may be up to 6 weeks.

     Once you receive your verification, if there are any discrepancies with your hours, please contact the CACVT office. If you end up being short on hours, you'll have an opportunity to obtain more.

 

If you are providing a CE class and would like CE approval by CACVT, click here for a form to fill out and send to CACVT. However, CACVT does not endorse any CE unless specifically stated.

For information about proof of attendance, click here.

 

Disclaimer: CACVT will provide certification status to any inquiring party. This will be limited to date joined, current status, and number of CE hours obtained. Personal information will not be given out.