Animal Welfare Professionals

Would the animal welfare community get behind or even spearhead a push to allow registered Veterinary Technicians to perform castrations alongside a veterinarian? I picture the technician standing at one table handling the males while the veterinarian handles the spays. This would increase the number of pets that can sterilized each day nationwide as we deal with a shortage of veterinarians. What are your thoughts on pluses and minuses? Which organization is best situated to negotiate with the AVMA? Etc.

I'm a vet and I see nothing wrong with veterinary technicians performing cat neuters.  As you probably know it is a simple procedure that is quickly taught/learned.  I personally see no downside to allowing this but a good portion of the veterinary community is strongly opposed for several reasons.  One of the is the "what if...." scenario in which some complication occurs, such as failing to properly tie off the spermatic cord and its attendant blood vessels.  This is an extremely rare complication....and I mean extremely.  99% of ligation failures are easily corrected and every surgeon, no matter how qualified, is going to encounter complications.  Then there is the "slippery slope" or "camel's nose under the tent" argument, in which there is some unfounded fear that a technician that performs cat neuters will go rogue and take it upon themselves to start performing unnecessary hip replacements (I exaggerate, of course) but that sort of worry is out there.  The real concern is that corporations will start using technologists for more and more basic procedures leaving vets with fewer sources of income.  To this I say its about time the vet schools started teaching more involved procedures to lessen our growing tendency to over-refer to expensive specialty facilities.  For some reason, the veterinary community, well, a good portion of it anyway, does not look at it in the same fashion as shelters and rescue groups.  If a client wants their cat's surgery managed by a vet, all they have to do it request it.  Obviously, high-volume surgeries for shelters/rescues are quite different.  As for the supposed "shortage", I could go on about that at some length, but we can leave that for another time.

Would the animal welfare community get behind or even spearhead a push to allow registered Veterinary Technicians to perform castrations alongside a veterinarian? I picture the technician standing at one table handling the males while the veterinarian handles the spays. This would increase the number of pets that can sterilized each day nationwide as we deal with a shortage of veterinarians. What are your thoughts on pluses and minuses? Which organization is best situated to negotiate with the AVMA? Etc.

Thanks so much for your response.  I would hope that vets would want to make better use of their time, rather than do the castrations. They could do procedures that cost more. And I whole heartedly agree about the burgeoning specialty practices, so often being run by corporations that wildly inflate costs.

I'm a vet and I see nothing wrong with veterinary technicians performing cat neuters.  As you probably know it is a simple procedure that is quickly taught/learned.  I personally see no downside to allowing this but a good portion of the veterinary community is strongly opposed for several reasons.  One of the is the "what if...." scenario in which some complication occurs, such as failing to properly tie off the spermatic cord and its attendant blood vessels.  This is an extremely rare complication....and I mean extremely.  99% of ligation failures are easily corrected and every surgeon, no matter how qualified, is going to encounter complications.  Then there is the "slippery slope" or "camel's nose under the tent" argument, in which there is some unfounded fear that a technician that performs cat neuters will go rogue and take it upon themselves to start performing unnecessary hip replacements (I exaggerate, of course) but that sort of worry is out there.  The real concern is that corporations will start using technologists for more and more basic procedures leaving vets with fewer sources of income.  To this I say its about time the vet schools started teaching more involved procedures to lessen our growing tendency to over-refer to expensive specialty facilities.  For some reason, the veterinary community, well, a good portion of it anyway, does not look at it in the same fashion as shelters and rescue groups.  If a client wants their cat's surgery managed by a vet, all they have to do it request it.  Obviously, high-volume surgeries for shelters/rescues are quite different.  As for the supposed "shortage", I could go on about that at some length, but we can leave that for another time.

Would the animal welfare community get behind or even spearhead a push to allow registered Veterinary Technicians to perform castrations alongside a veterinarian? I picture the technician standing at one table handling the males while the veterinarian handles the spays. This would increase the number of pets that can sterilized each day nationwide as we deal with a shortage of veterinarians. What are your thoughts on pluses and minuses? Which organization is best situated to negotiate with the AVMA? Etc.

I run a HQHV spay and neuter clinic in Mexico. Where I live the entire camel has run off with the tent.  For example, both the state government and the municipal government have employees performing spay surgeries who never studied veterinary medicine. 

Our context is completely different of course, as we suffer from a general lack of regulation whereas in the USA you are tightly regulated to the point where a veterinarian's licence stops at the state line.

But in our context we have resisted allowing anyone who does not have a licence to practice medicine or who has a valid student licence to perform cat castrations.  Personally I would see nothing wrong with a tech working under the supervision of a vet but in our world it's too slippery a slope.

Thanks so much for your response.  I would hope that vets would want to make better use of their time, rather than do the castrations. They could do procedures that cost more. And I whole heartedly agree about the burgeoning specialty practices, so often being run by corporations that wildly inflate costs.

I'm a vet and I see nothing wrong with veterinary technicians performing cat neuters.  As you probably know it is a simple procedure that is quickly taught/learned.  I personally see no downside to allowing this but a good portion of the veterinary community is strongly opposed for several reasons.  One of the is the "what if...." scenario in which some complication occurs, such as failing to properly tie off the spermatic cord and its attendant blood vessels.  This is an extremely rare complication....and I mean extremely.  99% of ligation failures are easily corrected and every surgeon, no matter how qualified, is going to encounter complications.  Then there is the "slippery slope" or "camel's nose under the tent" argument, in which there is some unfounded fear that a technician that performs cat neuters will go rogue and take it upon themselves to start performing unnecessary hip replacements (I exaggerate, of course) but that sort of worry is out there.  The real concern is that corporations will start using technologists for more and more basic procedures leaving vets with fewer sources of income.  To this I say its about time the vet schools started teaching more involved procedures to lessen our growing tendency to over-refer to expensive specialty facilities.  For some reason, the veterinary community, well, a good portion of it anyway, does not look at it in the same fashion as shelters and rescue groups.  If a client wants their cat's surgery managed by a vet, all they have to do it request it.  Obviously, high-volume surgeries for shelters/rescues are quite different.  As for the supposed "shortage", I could go on about that at some length, but we can leave that for another time.

Would the animal welfare community get behind or even spearhead a push to allow registered Veterinary Technicians to perform castrations alongside a veterinarian? I picture the technician standing at one table handling the males while the veterinarian handles the spays. This would increase the number of pets that can sterilized each day nationwide as we deal with a shortage of veterinarians. What are your thoughts on pluses and minuses? Which organization is best situated to negotiate with the AVMA? Etc.