Tri-County Graduate is President of S.C. Association of Veterinary Technicians

CONTACT: BILLIE WALKER, EXT. 1356

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 10/7/2002
(By Lisa Garrett)

PENDLETON --- South Carolina now has its own association dedicated to the profession of veterinary technology.

Billie Walker, of Belton, a licensed Animal Health Technician since 1982, is president of the South Carolina Association of Veterinary Technicians (SCAVT), a newly established organization that will give veterinary technicians a voice to promote and represent their profession. "We're very excited about this endeavor. It will bring unity to our profession within the state," said Mrs. Walker, who met with technician representatives across the state last July to discuss the formation of an association. She gives thanks for the encouragement and guidance from Dr. Cindy Cleland, outgoing president of South Carolina Association of Veterinarians (SCAV), and Dr. Randy Basinger, its current vice president. "SCAV continues to generously support technicians across the state," Mrs. Walker added. The association with SCAV leaders led to an SCAVT link on the SCAV website. Interested persons can access information about membership and other topics by visiting www.scav.org/scavt.html.

In addition, local veterinarian Dr. Steven Shrum of Simpsonville sponsored memberships for the Veterinary Technology students at Tri-County and for several of his staff members, also. Webster Veterinary Supply, a large pharmaceutical company, sponsored the SCAVT's first general membership meeting at the Southeastern Veterinary Conference during the summer.

"The first item on the agenda was membership," said Mrs. Walker. There are more than 90 licensed animal health technicians in South Carolina. "Our goal is to unite every technician in the state," said Mrs. Walker, who graduated from Tri-County Technical College's Veterinary Technology program in 1982 and is a part-time instructor for the department. "There is plenty of work to do," she said, "but we've accomplished much in a short period of time."

Another item the SCAVT will address will be the attrition level of the profession. "Our goal will be to pull together as a profession, and to work to better our salaries by increasing our skills levels and utilization within a given workplace," said Mrs. Walker. "We want to see the profession gain value so more males and females are interested in pursuing veterinary technology as a career."

As the trend in veterinary medicine has moved toward multi-doctor practices and high technology, a greater need for well-trained technicians has been created. Tri-County Technical College was the first technical college in the State to offer an associate degree program in Veterinary Technology.

Veterinary technicians work closely with veterinarians and other members of the veterinary team to deliver quality animal health care. Their primary responsibilities in a veterinary practice involve animal nursing, administering medications, assisting in surgery, taking radiographs, inducing and monitoring of anesthesia, hospital management, and laboratory duties. Veterinary technicians are also employed in biomedical research, the military, sales, industry and education.

A passion for animals and nursing has kept Mrs. Walker in the profession for 20 years, she said. "I love what I do, and I want to make a difference in the lives of our patients in the animal kingdom." Since 1982, she has worked for various veterinary practices in the area. Her first job was working for the late Dr. Wayne L. McGee. "I was very fortunate in that he allowed me to perform the skills I was trained to do, even though I was his first experience with a licensed animal health technician," said Mrs. Walker, who currently works part-time for Dr. Nathan Craddock at Tiger Town Animal Hospital.

"Today, veterinarians say they wouldn't dream of opening a practice on any given morning without a technician," said Mrs. Walker. "Technicians are a veterinarian's right hand. Doctors are utilizing technicians to perform the procedures in which they were trained. As an instructor, I desire to train the highest quality technicians so the profession can receive the respect it deserves. My focus now is on increasing the skills levels in our graduates."

More than 100 years after the first college of veterinary medicine was established, the first formal educational program for veterinary technicians (called animal health technicians at that time) was established in the late 1960's at Delhi College in Upstate New York.

Today there are more than 80 accredited veterinary technology programs in the United States.
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