I think it is extremely telling that there is not a single LVT this far (that has identified themself) in support of this. So what are we saying to them if this is passed? How do you think they will feel? Do you think they will be encouraged to keep working hard? Do you think assistants will be inspired to go to tech school?

I realize there is a shortage, but we don’t solve that problem by redistributing their duties to unlicensed staff. These folks have student loans to pay off and families to raise. The reason we have a shortage is because they can’t pay off their loans. They can’t buy a house or repair their car. They can’t afford childcare. So they move to human medicine or another field entirely. They become stay at home parents. Or they avoid pursuing  school and licensure all together. If we do this, it means that LVTs become less necessary....meaning there will be fewer jobs, less pay/benefits - guess what? That will make our shortage WORSE!

We fix this problem by encouraging new folks to join the field and go to school. We fix this problem by retaining our LVTs in our hospitals and our field! We don’t fix this problem by saying that one of their skills can actually be done by anyone. We will make our problem worse if we pass this. Our LVTs are watching. We need to be paying them and respecting them like the professionals they are and NOT devaluing the time, money, dedication, and effort that went into their education.

This is a slippery slope. This is medicine. We don’t fix shortages by just delivering the tasks to less trained people. Where does it stop?