becoming a vet tech on-line

[Maureen Las]

I was thinking about going back into Nursing to make some$$.. but I really really really don't want to. There are no schools in this area that offer associate degrees for vet techs (only bass fishing etc )...has anyone on this forum become a vet tech through an on-line school. Please let me know and if you did did youyou feel that you received a really good education. Thanks

 

[flemishr2cool]

Hey Angie, I'm currently attending a school for Vet tech and I can't believe you would receive a very good education with an online class because you wouldn't get any hands on experience. Vet Techs do a lot of restraining and injections and administering medicine on fully armed and ready animals, lol You can tell people to hold still but you just can't reason with a cat that had its nap disrupted shoved into a carrier, dragged into the vet clinic, rudely felt up by a vet and then deposited to you for shots or nail trim :devil

At a school you spend a majority of your time handling animals, Of course if you took the online classes you could get all the technical stuff out of the way, take your boards and then sort of apprentice at a clinic to learn the hands on stuff. Which would work but its nice to learn injections and blood draws on animals under anesthesia rather than on someones pet while they are near by.

I may be thinking of someone else but are you in LaCrosse WI angie? I'm going to school in Madison but I know there is a brand new program at Rochester MN, I think this is their second year running and there is one in Dubuque IA.

 

[aurora369]

I think you may be able to do this sort of thing as an apprenticeship.

I believe my hair dresser's son is becoming a vet tech by apprenticeship.

Maybe look into that?

--Dawn

 

[Maureen Las]

I was looking for hours at the different schools today and you are right ..there is a new school in Rochester which is about 77 miles from here. The problem is that I am unsure as to whether vets look at the schools before they hire. I don't know if the Rochester school is a good one. I totally agree about missing the hands on approach.The on-line schools encourage you to ally yourself with a vet during the on-line teaching.. work for a vet and get what you can for your practical. Actually I think that I could do that as i know quite a few vets here who may be helpful, I could travel back and forth to Rochester but don't know if that would be better than on-line and working for a vet here in a lower capacity, Keep giving me some direction with this as I am really unsure. I couldn't live in Rochester.

 

[BACI]

I know people who have gotten Respiratory therapy degrees online and a Dr has to sign their application to overlook when they took their tests to make sure they did not cheat and basicly say they did indeed complete their check offs professionally. they still had to take the state given test but I would have to say with a dedicated individual you could do it. Especially if you have a good vet as your supervisor. You could work in their office as you said to get the clinical experience and do the book work on line, keeping in mind it is a lot of written papers because it is online rather than in a classroom. Investigate the site, check the better business bureau, download the application and see what it entails. I did part of a sleep study class online and I could take the test in a room alone it just had to be in the hospital where the DR was. The call him/her the proctor for the tests so he would have those tests mailed to him. He would give them to you and mail them back to them. All the power to you. Best wishes!!

PS Robert did an online course and you could go on a forum type classroom and read other peoples papers, bios, He liked it for the most part -you just need to be discplined.

 

[Maureen Las]

I'm going to look into this carefully. The vet I'm thinking of is a board of director at the humane society and I know most of the vet assistants and techs at at least one office. (superficially). The vet assistants are on the job training (don't like that idea because it is too narrow). This is just something I am going to try to think out and explore. If I was vet tech I could work at the humane society because believe it or not they do not have a vet assistant,tech or veterinarian on staff there. They send the sick animals out to who ever is on call. Waste of time ..they need a vet there!!

 

[flemishr2cool]

The down side to apprenticing under one vet or at one clinic is you only learn how to do things one way, I know at school they teach us one task and either show us other ways to do it or tell us about other ways to do it. So if you ever need to leave the clinic you are employed at you could easily transition to another clinic. However if you only trained at one clinic it can be difficult to learn how to do everything different. I know a lot of techs that started working as a receptionists at a clinic and worked their way up to tech, its very difficult to take your boards and pass though if you have never had any schooling so I would suggest at least taking an online class too.

In the small city or town and country clinics being certified isn't really too important but many clinics now only hire certified or registered techs (same thing, different title, depends on what state you take your boards in) So that is one thing to consider too, I know they are also trying to pass laws that only let you take the boards if you have attended a program for vet tech, I'm not sure if online school count? I thinkthey wanted to start it nationally by 2010 but many states have already started it. So my suggestion is to take an online class and work at a vet's office and try to become certified by 2010, rather than just start out at a clinic without any kind of schooling. I think it would be so much easier to at least have some sort of technical class and hands on training. Instead of starting out at the bottom of the totem pole at a clinic and working your way up.

 

[flemishr2cool]

One of my friend's sister is attending the program in Rochester but she lives closer to Rochester so it works out for her, I live just up the road from you in Caledonia but I'm living in Madison while going to school. The Rochester program is very nice, they have nice new facilities but it is a new program so they are still working out the kinks. Madison's program is Very old, I believe over 20's years which is pretty old considering that CVT's are a pretty new job position. So its very well established. I don't know that much about Iowa's program though. If you plan on attending a school it pretty much becomes a full time thing. You are expected to attend classes that can run 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and you usually have to help care for animals or do outside of class activities with the animals and some classes are on weekends so you have to be very flexible. I'm living with my sister so fortunatly I do not have to work full time but many of my classmates work full time, school full time, and take care of kids, hubby, and pets and they can pull through it so I know it is possible. I didn't say they stay pretty sane though, lol.

 

[Maureen Las]

Hey..you live in Caledonia..really close. I will have to look into this more as I have a lot of responsibility here and can't pick up and live in Rochester. I don't want to become an assistant from one vet's office. They are all different and some of them don't have rabbit knowledge (DUH..like we all don't know that. )How far is Caledonia from La Crosse? I think I've been there with my Jin on his harley. Maybe we could meet some day