There are 94 core competencies that define what a credentialed veterinary technician (CrVT) is prepared to do. Most practices leverage a fraction of them.

That's the context behind a new workforce-informed framework published in the January issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA). Developed by Dr. Julie Noyes and colleagues at Ethos Veterinary Health, the ASCEND framework (Advancing Skills, Competencies, and Education in Veterinary Nursing Development) is designed to establish a shared, profession-wide reference for what CrVTs are actually qualified to do. According to AVMA News, the framework emerged because that reference didn't previously exist.

"Without that shared reference, educators, employers, and clinical teams may interpret technician capabilities differently, contributing to the very role ambiguity that underlies underutilization," Dr. Noyes told AVMA News.

The Problem Isn't Skills. It's Role Clarity.

The ASCEND team built the framework in three phases, including a national survey of 302 practitioners. What they found wasn't a skills gap. It was a conceptual one: most respondents conflated competencies with tasks.

The distinction matters more than it sounds. "Performs dental radiographs" is a task specific to one clinical context. "Performs imaging diagnostics" is a competency that transfers across settings. When practices think in tasks, they hire and deploy CrVTs for specific procedures. When they think in competencies, they unlock the full scope of what those team members are prepared to contribute.

The ASCEND framework spans both technical and professional domains. On the technical side, CrVT competencies include executing safe anesthesia induction protocols, triaging patients, conducting point-of-care diagnostics, and monitoring sedation for nonsurgical procedures. On the professional side, they include adapting care plans, facilitating euthanasia discussions, identifying emergent situations, advising clients on husbandry, and supervising veterinary assistants.

That's not a job description for a supporting role. It's a description of a clinical partner.

What Underutilization Actually Costs

The underutilization of credentialed vet techs is a documented, persistent problem. Organizations from the AVMA to AAHA have released utilization guidelines in recent years, all making the same basic argument: practices that don't deploy CrVTs at the top of their scope are leaving efficiency, patient care quality, and staff satisfaction on the table.

The retention angle is especially direct. A prior study in JAVMA found a link between underutilization and CrVT attrition. When skilled professionals spend their days on tasks below their training, they leave. And right now, vet med can't afford to keep losing the technicians it already has.

Tami Lind, a veterinary technician specialist in emergency and critical care and a member of the AVMA Committee on Advancing Veterinary Technicians and Technologists, put it plainly: "Veterinary technicians are an essential member of the veterinary care team and when integrated fully into the clinical setting, our patients, clients, and the practices benefit greatly."

What Practice Leaders Should Take from This

The ASCEND framework gives practices a concrete starting point that didn't exist before: a documented, research-based map of what a CrVT should be able to do across practice settings.

What this means for practice leaders:

  • Audit how you're currently deploying your CrVTs. Compare their actual daily tasks against the ASCEND competency domains. The gaps are where you're leaving capacity unrealized.
  • Rewrite job descriptions and onboarding expectations around competencies, not just tasks. This attracts candidates who understand their own scope and creates clarity for existing team members.
  • Use the framework in performance and development conversations. CrVTs who see a defined growth path tied to their clinical scope are more likely to stay and invest in the practice.
  • Address role ambiguity directly with your team. The survey found consistent confusion about what technicians are expected to do. Naming it and resolving it is a leadership function, not an HR formality.

The full competency list and AVMA resources on CrVT engagement and career development are available through AVMA's practice management resources.

The Floor Is Higher Than Most Practices Treat It

The profession has spent years arguing for better vet tech utilization. The ASCEND framework is the most rigorous articulation yet of what that actually looks like. Practices that use it as a reference point for how they hire, deploy, and develop their credentialed technicians will be ahead of the ones still figuring it out on their own.

Rally by Hound helps veterinary practices build the team culture and development structures that keep skilled technicians engaged and growing.