Designed with job readiness in mind and aligned with AVMA-CVTEA standards, the online Veterinary Technician Associate Degree Program prepares workers to become certified technicians. Through interactive animations and diagrams, as well as required externships, your employees will be able to apply what they learned to real-world situations while preparing to sit for the VTNE.
Associate Degree
Accredited
Estimated completion time per semester:
The estimated completion times per semester are based on completion times for consumer learners enrolled in this program from November 2020 - October 2021, excluding withdrawals. Enterprise Solution rates may be higher but are highly dependent upon implementation choices.
(1 CREDIT)
Veterinary technicians work closely with animals and alongside other veterinary professionals, such as the veterinarian and the veterinary assistant. It’s important to know the value of being a part of a veterinary team and enhance your professional skills.
In this course, you’ll review the types of content and resources you can expect to see throughout your program. This course also includes an introduction to animal science. You’ll learn about theories related to specific behavior characteristics between species and how to handle various animal behaviors. In addition, this course discusses applicable laws and ethical codes
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to do the following:
(1 CREDIT)
This course introduces the essential skills and competencies required for veterinary technicians to provide high-quality patient care and support in the animal healthcare field. Learners will develop their ability to gather patient information accurately, apply humane restraint techniques, and deliver routine care to various animal species. The course will also strengthen their understanding of veterinary medical terminology, enhancing their ability to communicate effectively with clients and veterinary professionals. Additionally, learners will gain insight into client education strategies to ensure clear and accurate communication in both oral and written forms.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to do the following:
In this course, you’ll study the importance of developing an accurate and effective research question. Your study material provides instructions on how to determine credible sources, and how to refine your searches to ensure that you’re gathering relevant information. You’ll also study proper citation guidelines that will help you avoid plagiarism.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
This is an introductory course that explains the origin of life and the relationships between all living things. It describes how a significant number of organisms are structured and how they work. It’s a course that builds a foundation for future veterinary courses by making connections to veterinary medicine, to enable students to discuss intelligently the various forms of life and their processes.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
Anatomy is the study of the structure of living things. Physiology is the study of the way body parts function, or what they do and how they work. The study material in this course is part of the essential framework of what you’ll need to know to become a veterinary technician. Knowing the anatomy and physiology of the animals in your care will help you care for the animals. It will also help you to communicate with veterinarians and other team members effectively. In addition, the knowledge you gain will help you enhance your own skills and help you complete your expected responsibilities professionally and adequately.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to do the following:
In this course, you’ll continue your study of animal anatomy and physiology. You’ll begin with immunity and defense, then you’ll examine the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, and genitourinary systems in mammals. Finally, you’ll explore avian, amphibian, and reptilian physiology.
By the end of this course, you'll be able to do the following:
In today’s evolving world, reading and writing skills are still considered the cornerstone of critical thinking, communication, and learning. Reading and writing occur every day. For example, written communication with family and friends, or written communication in the workplace. Your study material discusses the fundamentals of reading and writing.
In your studies, you’ll also explore different types of writing such as formal writing, informal writing, and technical writing. Communication in many forms is a part of everyday life, but professional communication is an essential skill for any career. Your study material discusses types of communication related to the workplace and delves in to on the job communication including communication skills that are beneficial when working in the veterinary field.
By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
A veterinary practice has various support staff roles. In this course, you’ll read about these positions. You’ll find out how a veterinary practice operates. You’ll explore ways to bring in clients. You’ll study the methods of facility care and maintenance and recordkeeping and filing. You’ll also study good communication practices that the staff use while talking to clients. These involve improving speech, managing telephone calls, making appointments, and greeting clients. This course also has information about personal growth. It discusses the importance of continuing education, managing time and money, and coping with stress.
By the end of this course, you'll be able to do the following:
This course will provide your learners with a foundation in basic mathematical operations. Topics covered include percentages, discounts, interest, present worth, sinking funds, installment buying, pricing, depreciation, investments, insurance, use of symbols and their applications, equations and formulas, and the importance of statistics.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
Medical nursing in veterinary medicine involves a set of essential skills and knowledge that are important for the care and treatment of both small and large animals. In this course, you’ll continue your study of medical nursing. You’ll begin with sample collection and treatment techniques, then you’ll examine general nursing care, veterinary emergency care, first aid, and wound and bandage management. Finally, you’ll explore veterinary dentistry.
By the end of this course, you'll be able to do the following:
This course is designed to assist your learners with their study of the various topics in this course. The textbooks for this course are Medical Dosage Calculations and Essential Calculations for Veterinary Nurses and Technicians. This course will refer primarily to those resources. This course contains additional information and sample problems that pertain to the topics in their lessons, as well as highlights of important points from their textbooks.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
Veterinary refers to the science and art of treating and preventing animal diseases. Pharmacology is the science of drugs. Your learners will learn how to understand both. The material they will learn in this course will form the essential framework of understanding needed to work with veterinary pharmacology. Building any sort of framework is hard work, but the effort it takes to build a strong framework will pay off later. Understanding the veterinary pharmacology needs of the animals in their care will help them care for them better and enable them to communicate with veterinarians and other veterinary technicians more effectively.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
The main purpose of the clinical externship is to provide your learners with an opportunity to avail the skills and knowledge necessary to pursue a successful career of a veterinary technician. They're required to practice the skills under a licensed veterinary technician or a professional. The externship in the context covers a minimum of 150 hours adhering to a full-fledged clinical experience. The externship requires them to be a part of the working veterinary team and practice the skills and knowledge acquired from the prior courses.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
The knowledge that your learners will obtain from this course will serve them well in a career in veterinary medicine. They may find some of the material in this course difficult. This study guide is intended to help them through the material so that they understand it. Their course, which is based on the textbook Laboratory Procedures for Veterinary Technicians, Sixth Edition, is divided into four lessons. Each lesson includes several assignments that cover a specific area of clinical pathology.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
This course is designed to assist your learners with the various veterinary technician topics related to clinical laboratory procedures and equipment. They should review your anatomy and physiology course material on the cardiovascular, lymphatic, and urinary systems before they proceed further. In this course, your students will learn the fundamentals of clinical laboratory procedures and equipment for hematology and hemostasis, clinical chemistry, and immunology. Principles and procedures related to hematology and hemostasis, clinical chemistry, and immunology representing the important function of the veterinary technician to provide accurate and reliable clinical laboratory test results to the veterinarian will be stressed. It’s vital that they understand the theories behind the various tests they'll be performing, as well as methods to ensure accuracy of results. Throughout this course, the importance of properly performing diagnostic procedures will be stressed. They will also become familiar with the equipment and techniques for performing associated diagnostic tests.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
* Your learners will chose one of the following options.
Art Appreciation
In this course, your learners will gain an understanding of artistic media, historical periods and artistic movements, the roles of the artist and the viewer, and the principles of art criticism.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
Music Appreciation
In this course, your learners will understand how to appreciate music and learn about the roles of the composer and the listener, the principles of music theory and instrumentation, musically significant historical periods, and varying styles of music.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
This course is based on the textbook, Anesthesia and Analgesia for Veterinary Technicians, Fifth Edition, by John Thomas and Phillip Lerche. It’s divided into four lessons; each lesson includes several assignments that cover a specific area of anesthesia.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
Of the various responsibilities veterinary technicians have, assisting with surgery may be the most exciting and challenging. Competence as a surgical assistant requires a thorough understanding of medical principles, an eye for detail, and the ability to stay focused. Learners will use much of their acquired physiological, anatomic, and medical knowledge as they assist the veterinarian with a variety of procedures.
As a veterinary technician, they will need to understand the importance of asepsis and sterility in preparing the surgical environment and equipment. Additionally, they will need to know how to prepare patients for surgery, monitor them while they’re under anesthesia, and recover them from surgery. Their understanding of accurate record-keeping methods as they apply to patient medical records, controlled-substance use, anesthetic monitoring, and patient aftercare will be equally important. Their skills and knowledge of surgical nursing will be an integral part of their future as a veterinary technician.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
Knowledge of veterinary parasitology is a basic requirement for anyone in the veterinary medical field. Management of parasites is important, not only for pet health, but is also financially important both for veterinary practices and for producers of livestock. In addition, parasitology is of public health importance as many parasites can be transferred from animal to human. This course will provide an introduction to the language of parasitology, laboratory methods used to test for parasites, and common parasites of domestic animals and their life cycles. The goal is to enable your learners to become familiar with scientific names, families of parasites and their importance in veterinary medicine. As they work in the field of veterinary medicine they'll use many of these lab techniques to diagnose parasites and then use their parasitology knowledge to educate pet and livestock owners on management and potential health hazards associated with these parasites.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
X-ray radiation can be a useful tool in veterinary medicine for the diagnosis of injury and disease. Radiation can also be dangerous if students are not properly trained in its use. This course is designed to familiarize them with the properties of radiation and the dangers it can pose if not handled properly, and to help train them to use radiation as an effective diagnostic tool in veterinary medicine.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
Small and large animal medicine includes important tasks like keeping animals safe and ensuring their health through preventive care programs. In this course, you'll study basic disease processes as they relate to various body systems. You'll also study transmission diagnosis, treatment, and the prevention of diseases that affect domestic animals. Finally, you'll read about healing processes, immunological responses, vaccination types and techniques, zoonosis, and preventive measures.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
This course covers biology and behavior, consciousness, memory, thought and language, intelligence, personality and gender, stress, and community influences.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
This course introduces the science of nutrition and its application to feeding practices of domestic, farm, and companion animals; basic nutrients and nutritional requirements of individual species, approximate food analysis, interpretation of food and feed labels, and types of animal foods; physiology of reproduction, aging, and genetics.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
This course is based on the textbook Laboratory Animal and Exotic Pet Medicine: Principles and Procedures, Second Edition. It’s divided into three lessons; each lesson includes several sections that cover a specific area of laboratory animal science. Laboratory animal medicine is a diverse field that requires a broad knowledge of a large number of species. Your learners will learn about many of the laboratory and exotic animal species in this course.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
This course provides a comprehensive review to assist your learners in preparation for state and national certifying examinations for the veterinary technician. Your learners will review basic science, clinical practices, diagnostics, and ethical concerns. The course covers birds, reptiles, laboratory animals, and large and small animal species.
By the end of this course, your learners will be able to do the following:
Fill out the form below to receive additional information from Penn Foster
Fill out the form below to receive additional information from Penn Foster
Fill out the form below to receive additional information from Penn Foster