A new competency framework published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association this January is giving practices something they have never really had: a shared, evidence-based map of what a credentialed veterinary technician is actually trained to do.
The ASCEND competency framework, developed by Dr. Julie Noyes of Ethos Veterinary Health with input from a national survey of 302 veterinary professionals, identifies 94 core competencies for credentialed veterinary technicians (CrVTs). It arrives at a moment when the broader conversation about technician turnover, including recent commentary from Megan Chadwick, CVT and academic director at Penn Foster, keeps landing on the same root causes: pay inequity and underutilization. ASCEND does not fix pay. But it gives practices a concrete tool for fixing the other half of the problem.
What Underutilization Actually Looks Like
In many practices, veterinary technicians handle tasks that could be done by unlicensed support staff, freeing up capacity that never gets used. At the same time, complex clinical work that falls within a technician's credentials goes undelegated because workflows were not designed with those credentials in mind.
The root cause here is structural: practices that lack a clear map of what their credentialed techs are trained to do can't fully deploy them, even when they want to. Practices that do not have a clear map of what their credentialed techs are trained and licensed to do cannot fully deploy them, even when the intention is there. Chadwick's point about pay inequity and underutilization being connected holds here: when a credentialed technician spends most of a shift on tasks that do not require their training, the dissatisfaction is not just about money. It is about professional identity.
The ASCEND Framework: A Shared Reference Point
The framework draws a distinction that matters in practice: competencies are broad, transferable skills, while tasks are context-specific actions. A technician competent in anesthesia monitoring brings that skill to any clinical environment. The tasks they perform will vary. Confusing the two is part of what creates role ambiguity in the first place.
As Dr. Noyes describes it, without a shared reference point, educators, employers, and clinical teams interpret technician capabilities differently, and that inconsistency contributes directly to underutilization. ASCEND gives practices a common language to close that gap.
What This Means for Your Practice
For practice managers and owners, ASCEND is a practical tool, not just a policy document. It can inform onboarding, guide role development conversations, and help structure workflows so that credentialed technicians are doing the work they trained for.
This matters for retention in a concrete way. Technicians who feel professionally engaged and appropriately utilized are less likely to leave. And practices that invest in that engagement, through clear role structures, continuing education support, and meaningful clinical work, are building the kind of culture that keeps good people. Pay still matters as a baseline, but a competitive wage alone will not solve a turnover problem rooted in how techs are deployed day to day. Practices that address both together see the strongest retention results.
Building a Culture That Keeps Credentialed Techs
Retention is not a single initiative. It is the cumulative effect of how a practice is structured, how decisions get made, and whether team members feel their expertise is recognized and used.
A few things practices can do now:
Audit how technician roles are defined against the 94 ASCEND competencies. Where are the gaps between what your credentialed techs are trained to do and what they actually spend their time on? That gap is where turnover risk lives.
Build continuing education into the employment relationship. Supporting credential maintenance and advancement signals that the practice is invested in the technician's career, not just their current shift.
Create pathways for clinical growth. Technicians who see a future at a practice, including opportunities to take on more complex work, mentor newer staff, or develop specializations, are more likely to stay.
The veterinary profession is asking a lot of its technicians right now. Demand for veterinary care remains high, staffing is tight, and workloads are not getting lighter. ASCEND gives practices a real framework for meeting technicians halfway. Paired with competitive compensation and genuine investment in professional development, it is the kind of approach that changes the retention math.
Your team is your practice. The tools to support them better are here.