Ed Carlson is a Certified Veterinary Technician and holds a Veterinary Technician Specialty (VTS) in nutrition. Ed is the Director of Veterinary Nursing Education at Vet Bloom and serves as the current president of both NAVTA (National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America) and the MVTA (Massachusetts Veterinary Technician Association). On this episode, Ed shares his journey as a veterinary technician and we discuss how the role of the veterinary technician or nurse has changed over time and the path to becoming a credentialed veterinary technician.

Topics discussed in this episode

00:00- Introduction

1:45 – Veterinary Technician vs Veterinary Nurse vs Veterinary Assistant

7:50- The role of the Veterinary Technician/Nurse and how it’s changed over time.

15:45- Ed shares his journey as a veterinary technician

21:50 – The path to becoming a credentialed veterinary technician or nurse

23:58- Veterinary Technician credentialing terminology by state and the veterinary health care team.

29:54- Veterinary Technician Specialties

40:57- Ed’s current role as Director of Veterinary Nursing education at VetBloom

47:33 – Ed describes the mission of NAVTA (National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America) and discusses the Veterinary Nurse Initiative.

Resources mentioned in this episode

AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association)

• Main site - https://www.avma.org/
• AVMA CVTEA Accredited Veterinary Technology Programs

AAVSB (American Association of Veterinary State Boards)

• Main Website - https://www.aavsb.org/
• VTNE (Veterinary Technician National Exam)

NAVTA (National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America)

• Main Website - https://www.navta.net/
• NAVTA Veterinary Technician Specialties
• Veterinary Nurse Initiative

Ethos Veterinary Health

• Main Website- https://www.ethosvet.com/

VetBloom – Online Veterinary Courses/Continuing Education

• Website - https://vetbloom.com/

Subscribe to The Academic Veterinarian by visiting our website here or wherever you get your podcasts (Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Podbean and others)

Contact The Academic Veterinarian with your comments, questions, and suggestions by emailing theacademicvet@gmail.com