I am writing to oppose the changes in the following paragraph: Injections involving anesthetic or chemotherapy drugs, subgingival scaling, or the placement of intravenous catheters shall not be delegated to an assistant. An assistant shall also not be delegated the induction of sedation or anesthesia by any means. The monitoring of a sedated or anesthetized patient may be delegated to an assistant, provided the patient is no longer intubated and provided a veterinarian or licensed veterinary technician remains on premises until the patient is fully recovered.

It is unrealistic to think all veterinary practices in VA have enough LVT's on staff to have one on the premises at all times. While routine surgeries might be scheduled when a LVT is scheduled to work, emergencies arise at all possible times. Assistants need to be allowed to monitor anesthesia with a veterinarian present in the room. Ultimately the veterinarian is responsible for the anesthesia, but assistants can be adequately trained to monitor anesthesia under direct supervision. Does the board really want to prevent a veterinarian from doing a necessary procedure requiring anesthesia because a LVT is not available? This is compleltey impractical.