BCVTA President’s Message:
I am excited to take on the role of President this year, fully realizing the size of the shoes I will need to fill. I would like to thank Lindsay Ramage for her lengthy time on the Board of Officers. She has been a role model for her fresh thinking, diplomacy and drive to get “stuff” done. Thank you, also to our other outgoing Board members, Donna Lasser and Jonessa Brown, as well as our new recruit Erica Gray, who will now be in the Treasurer role. Thank you all for your time.
(L-R) Eric Gray, Christine Watson, Tina Douglas, Heather Shannon, Kirsten Wilson, Gayle Paquette, Jennifer Simmons
It was great to see everyone at this year’s BCVTA Spring Conference, at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops! The theme this year was Occupational Health and Safety, so we were treated to presentations from fellow technicians, Tara Evans and Tanya Robertson, about X-Ray Safety and Workplace Safety in Surgery (Anesthesia), respectively, as part of our Meet the Tech series. We had a review of our affiliation with the Registered Veterinary Technicians and Technologists of Canada, including our new health, disability, and life insurance program. Dr. Marie Holowaychuck, a specialist in emergency and critical care, spoke about caring for the emergency patient, and introduced her retreat that will focus on Wellness for the Veterinary Technician, in Kananaskis this summer. Dr. Amy Breton provided presentations on cat and dog Kidney function assessment, Urinary Catheterization, and troubleshooting difficult Venipuncture. She then switched gears for the afternoon session, and focused on lessons learned from coping with natural disasters, and learning from them to establish a workplace disaster plan for the future. Dr. Mike Higgins, from Canada West Veterinary Specialists, spoke about common Neurological cases in practice, and Sean Smith rounded out the conference with a discussion on the use Social Media, which can be directly applied to promote our practices and our Association.
At the ever popular tradeshow, among the vendors promoting pet health insurance; novel pharmaceuticals, and diets; even pet wheelchairs (!), St. John’s Ambulance promoted First Aid training, and brought their therapy dogs. For draw prize eligibility, participants were encouraged to complete a “Passport”, answering a series of questions from each booth. Thank you to all of the vendors who contributed this event, and Congratulations to those who received prizes!!
Looking ahead, our Association goals continue to be advancing our discussions with the College of Veterinarians of BC, promoting the Veterinary Technologist profession to the public, making our membership to the Registered Veterinary Technicians and Technologists of Canada more transparent, and working towards goals that you, our Members, suggest.
I welcome all input from our Members, and am looking forward to continuing working with you.
Gayle Paquette