Alphabet Soup

 I’m always amazed by all the initials and abbreviations pertaining to veterinary medicine. AVMA, AAHA, AAFP, VMB, DVM, CVA, RVT, and so on and so on….
If you have ever wondered what these abbreviations stand for, today’s your lucky day; you’re about to find out. AVMA is the American Veterinary Medical Association, which most American veterinarians belong to. It provides various benefits to members and more importantly, acts as our voice regarding public health and policy issues involving animal welfare and health. I’m proud to have been a member for 32 years.
AAHA stands for American Animal Hospital Association. This organization conducts comprehensive premise inspections of small animal hospitals who wish to become or remain AAHA accredited. Over 900 standards are Involved; only about 15 percent of US small animal hospitals are currently accredited. The Cat Doctor & Friends is proud to be accredited by this prestigious organization. Standards cover everything from team training to hospital equipment, sterilization of instruments, anesthesia protocols and much more. The Cat Doctor & Friends is currently preparing for our next accreditation inspection November 14th, the day after our annual Open House, Sunday November 13th. We surely will be busy!
AAFP is American Association of Feline Practitioners, which represents veterinarians with a special interest in feline (cat) medicine. Not all AAFP members are cat exclusive veterinarians like The Cat Doctor & Friends, but we all share a common goal of providing excellent care to our cat patients.
AAFP has a certification program to encourage animal hospitals to be more cat friendly. There are multiple levels of certification and we are proud to have achieved the highest level, gold certification. Among many standards, we provide intraoral dental radiographs for every dental patient. This is especially important in cats, as many of their dental problems are not obvious on visual examination.
The VMB is the veterinary medical board; every state has one. The VMB is responsible for licensing veterinarians and veterinary hospitals, which involves surprise premise inspections, and testing veterinarians before they are licensed, to make sure they have enough knowledge to practice competently.
Just about everybody knows DVM stands for Doctor of Veterinary Medicine(eight to nine years of college), but did you know that CVA means Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist? I’m proud to be one of very few CVA’s in feline – exclusive practice.  It took me two years of study and practice to achieve this status. After 11 years, I’m still just as excited about what acupuncture can do for some of my kitty patients, especially older, arthritic cats and those with acute nerve injuries.
Last, but not least, RVT stands for registered veterinary technician. A  RVT combines the duties of nurse, dental hygenist and nurse anesthetist, for our beloved pets. I would not want to practice without my two RVTs. RVTs usually complete an associate or bachelors degree program and pass rigorous licensing tests. They are required to complete continuing education courses to maintain their licenses, just as veterinarians do. The VMB oversees RVT examinations and licensing.
I hope this will make it a little easier for pet owners to understand these terms when seen in an ad or on a business card.
If you have questions or need to schedule an appointment, please call 661-259-5288 or go to our website, www.catdoctor.com for a virtual tour and the ability to request an appointment online. We are located at 26055 Bouquet Canyon Road between Magic Mountain Parkway and Cinema Drive.