TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Veterinary technicians have been hard to come by for several years now in Arizona and across the country.
A new senate bill could make changes to the existing language of state law that requires prospective technicians to take 2 years of curriculum before being eligible to take the test to become a certified vet technician.
Jackie Wolfe teaches veterinary assistance at Andrada Polytechnic High School in the Vail School District. But before that, she was a veterinary technician.
And she had two separate thoughts about the bill.
"My gut reaction was, no. Why are we going back to that? That was my first kind of reaction to it," says Wolfe, "and then I kind of stopped and thought about it a little bit, and the technicians that I've worked with over the years and realized that there are a lot of very good technicians that I have worked with that didn't go the traditional go to school route".
The change SB1658 would make is changing the law to include the word, "either," and add a section allowing for 2 years of curriculum or 2 years of on-the-job training.
Jennifer Sterling is the president of the Arizona Vet Tech Association, and she says this would not be a solution for the shortage of techs.
"There's the argument that by allowing on-the-job trained people to become credentialed, it's going to fix the shortage of veterinary technicians. But that's not actually the case. The problem is, I equate it to you've kind of got this hole in the bucket…….The hole in the bucket is, we're not keeping them there," says Sterling.
The bill is in its early stages, still in committee at the state capitol in Phoenix.
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Blake Phillips is a reporter for KGUN 9. Originally from St. Louis, Mo., Blake grew up in Sierra Vista. During his college tenure at the Missouri School of Journalism, Blake worked for the NBC affiliate KOMU-TV in Columbia. He is excited to return to a place he calls home and give back to the community in which he grew up. Share your story ideas and important issues with Blake by emailing blake.phillips@kgun9.com.
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