The UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) announced the creation of a Technician Trainer position, and named Jody Nugent-Deal, RVT, VTS (Anesthesia/Analgesia; Clinical Practice – Exotic Companion Animal) to begin the new role October 1. Nugent-Deal has been with the VMTH for 24 years, most recently serving as supervisor of the Anesthesia Service.

One of Nugent-Deal’s initial priorities in the position will be the creation of VMTH-sponsored, Registry of Approved Continuing Education (RACE)-approved continuation education (CE) courses available to all VMTH animal health technician teams, ultimately building a library of high-quality CE opportunities throughout the VMTH. Other responsibilities of the new role include: contributing to the development and guidance of hospital technicians by creating a system specific orientation for new hires; working with individual specialty services on skill assessment and training; and helping to guide technicians who may be interested in developing their own CE presentation skills.

“The creation of this technician trainer position is an exciting opportunity for the hospital,” said Harmony Lindberg, VMTH clinical operations administrator. “Jody brings her extensive veterinary experience, as well as her passion for teaching and life-long learning into this new position. That will play a significant role in ensuring that our technical teams remain at the top of their profession, and that new hires are acclimated to caring for some of the most complicated cases in veterinary medicine.”

Nugent-Deal regularly provides lectures for the Veterinary Support Personnel Network and VetMedTeam, teaching courses in anesthesia, analgesia, and exotic animal medicine. She has also lectured on anesthesia and various exotic animal topics throughout North America since 2000. Additionally, Nugent-Deal has published numerous articles and book chapters on canine/feline, exotic animal, and anesthesia topics.  

Nugent-Deal is a founding member of the Academy of Veterinary Technicians in Clinical Practice and currently serves as the group’s executive secretary and appeals committee chair. She is also an active member of the Academy of Veterinary Technicians in Anesthesia and Analgesia (AVTAA), having served on the nominations, credentials, and appeals committees. Currently, Nugent-Deal serves as AVTAA president and appeals committee chair.

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