While I understand the argument of many of the veterinarians in support of allowing unlicensed staff to place IVC for emergencies, I feel this does not move forward the practice of veterinary medicine and discredits the education and training of our LVTs.  Please consider that LVTs receive the same amount of training as many RN programs, and certified nurse assistants (CNA) are not authorized to place IV catheters even with their formal training certificate, which is more than a majority of what our assistants earn. There are adequate numbers of LVTs in Virginia, and I feel the larger issue is a lack of veterinary owners and practice managers to staff them appropriately. If you do not staff an LVT, then your DVM should be the one responsible to do emergent procedures, including IV catheter placement and intubation. If this cannot be achieved then they should consider referring emergency cases directly to an emergency facility that do staff LVTs appropriately. Let’s continue to improve the direction of our career field by ensuring that our staff are educated, knowledgeable, and respected.