It benefits everyone when we invest in developing technicians as educators. I hope that we can continue to develop this programming in the future.
Cummings School Holds its First Veterinary Technician Continuing Education Conference
Event strives to deepen involvement of vet techs in curriculum and teaching students
Veterinary technicians from across the country gathered in person and virtually in early August to attend a one-day continuing education conference hosted by Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. The conference, titled “Exploring the Role of Veterinary Technician Educators in the Veterinary Medicine Curriculum,” delved into topics ranging from teaching clinical skills to simulation-based training methods to the theory of teaching.
The event came together through a collaboration of Cummings School faculty, veterinary technicians, and various departments across campus, led by the efforts of Dr. Clare Timothy (she/her), assistant clinical professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences. Dr. Timothy works in the Emergency and Critical Care service at the Henry and Lois Foster Hospital for Small Animals at Cummings School, teaching students in a clinical role on the floor. She also gives lectures in preclinical D.V.M. classes.
The idea for the conference arose from a chance conversation with her colleague, Dr. Elizabeth Rozanski, associate professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences.
“We were both interested in looking at different ways we can support technicians in their career development. Being in a teaching hospital, one of the ways they’re underutilized is in the teaching of veterinary students,” says Dr. Timothy.
Drs. Timothy and Rozanski applied for a grant from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) to sponsor a continuing education conference focused on vet techs in the D.V.M. curriculum. With Dr. Rozanski’s support, Dr. Timothy developed the grant proposal, and once awarded the grant, she took over planning and organizing the conference.
Chair of the Department of Clinical Sciences at Cummings School, Dr. Leslie Sharkey is a strong proponent of the program and Dr. Timothy’s efforts to involve vet techs in educating students. “Veterinary technicians are a critical part of the clinical care team, and they are important contributors to our educational mission. They have key technical competencies to share with students, and they collaborate closely with veterinarians to assess patients and work with clients.”
Dr. Timothy pulled in faculty and veterinary technicians from Cummings School, and vet techs from other academic institutions to participate in the conference.
To reach the widest audience of vet techs, both local to New England and nationally, the event was offered in a hybrid format, with options to join in-person or over Zoom. More than 60 vet techs attended the conference, approximately a third in person, coming from nearby vet tech colleges, private practices in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and clinics like Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston. Another 40 vet techs joined online, many from academic institutions, including The Ohio State University, University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell University.
Cummings School faculty and veterinary technicians presented at the event, as did two guest speakers, Leslie Wereszczak, a veterinary technician and director of Emergency and Critical Care (ECC) for small animals at the University of Tennessee, and Bea Biddinger, veterinary technician and manager of the Clinical Skills Department at Michigan State University.
After Dr. Timothy’s opening remarks, Wereszczak kicked off the presentations with her talk “Times are Changing: Where have we come from and where are we going?” She later returned to the podium to present “Unique Perspectives—Technician Contributions to D.V.M. Education,” based on her experiences over more than three decades working as a vet tech at the University of Tennessee.
One of Dr. Timothy’s goals for the conference was to inform vet techs on veterinary medicine curriculum framework and teaching theory. For these talks, she turned to Dr. Ariana Hinckley-Boltax, assistant teaching professor in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology at Cummings School. She delivered two presentations, “Pedagogical Basics” and “Introduction to the CBVE (Competency-Based Veterinary Education) Framework.”
Dr. Timothy also wanted to provide techs with tips and guidance on delivering feedback and approaching difficult students. Biddinger stepped up to the plate on these topics with her presentation on “Providing Students with Feedback,” drawn from her experiences at Michigan State University.
“The third arm of the conference was to try to highlight speakers who have advanced their own tech careers through education and teaching and to show the possibilities within the academic world for techs,” says Dr. Timothy. She recruited two veterinary technician colleagues from Cummings School.
Jill Franko, large animal clinical skills laboratory manager in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology, delivered a presentation on “Teaching Clinical Skills.” Mike Santasieri, manager of the Joseph Kelley, D.V.M. Simulation Laboratory in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology and experienced ICU (Intensive Care Unit) and dialysis veterinary technician, presented on the topic of “Simulation-based Teaching.”
“Mike gave a really interesting talk on the huge variety of tools in simulation teaching, including those used in human medicine,” says Dr. Timothy. “Meanwhile, Jill showcased some of the innovative large animal models that she has designed to help the students at Tufts practice their equine and farm animal clinical skills.”
Throughout the day, Dr. Timothy was especially inspired by the audience’s reaction to the presentations, in person and online. “It’s a softer skill topic, teaching communication with students, giving feedback. Attendance surpassed what I expected, but more than that was the engagement from the attendees. At the end of every speaker’s lecture, so many questions were coming up on Zoom that we didn’t have enough time to answer them all. It’s exciting that technicians are passionate about this and wanting to connect with other like-minded people.”
The event wrapped up with a panel discussion and Q&A, hosted by Wereszczak, Santasieri, Biddinger, Dr. Rozanski, and Carolyn Tai, a veterinary technician who oversees the dialysis center at Foster Hospital for Small Animals. The Academy of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Technicians and Nurses (AVECCTN) awarded Tai the AVECCTN Specialty Technician of the Year in 2023.
“There’s so much students can learn from techs. They can give a different perspective, so that was fun to invite Carolyn too,” says Dr. Timothy.
In her closing remarks, Dr. Timothy emphasized the importance of these events to bring the community together. She saw networking happening throughout the day and encouraged the crowd to keep the conversations going.
Dr. Timothy plans to continue to host the event at Cummings School. She would like to invite nurses from human medicine practice to collaborate on future conferences, as nurses are utilized much more in the teaching of medical students. She notes the current curriculum redesign at Cummings School and hopes to involve vet techs more in teaching students going forward.
“It benefits everyone when we invest in developing technicians as educators,” adds Dr. Sharkey. “I hope that we can continue to develop this programming in the future.”
A member of the audience who had worked at a teaching hospital and switched to private practice shared that she missed teaching students. Dr. Timothy comments, “I thought if something like this can inspire even just one or two techs to come back into academia, that’s a start. I feel like we met our goal in trying to reach people.”