Penn Foster College

The Penn Foster College Veterinary Technician Program provides the necessary education and training to meet the demand for trained veterinary technicians to manage a veterinary practice, operate and maintain a veterinary pharmacy, provide post-operative nursing care and therapeutic support, assist a veterinarian in surgical procedures, administer anesthesia and monitor anesthetized animals, perform laboratory analysis, and properly handle and restrain laboratory animals.

Students must complete 78 credits in this four-semester associate degree program offered via distance education. The students learn animal anatomy and physiology, office management, computer skills, diagnostic imaging, pharmacology, clinical pathology, animal care and management, surgical procedures, anesthesiology, animal parasitology, animal diseases, laboratory animal science, and animal nutrition. The students are also provided with a review course for the veterinary technician examination. Students gain valuable job experience by completing two required nine-week practicums in small and large animal care guided by a veterinarian at an approved veterinary clinic. Qualified hospital personnel, termed clinical site supervisors, oversee completion of the required skills. As students perform each task, the supervisor will initial each listed task to indicate its completion with the required level of proficiency. Students complete Clinical Practicum 1 after the second semester and Clinical Practicum 2 after the fourth semester. Each practicum encompasses a minimum of 225 hours of clinical experience.

Students must participate in online discussions with faculty at specific times during the program. These required discussions are faculty led and provide students with valuable interaction with other students.

Penn Foster College is accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). Penn Foster College is licensed by the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education and is authorized to award Associate of Science Degrees.  The Veterinary Technician Program is also accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) as a program for educating veterinary technicians.

Employees of CVMA members receive a 25% discount on tuition.

Penn Foster College
Veterinary Technician Distance Education Program
http://www.pennfoster.edu/programs-and-degrees/veterinary-studies/veterinary-technician-associate-degree.aspx