I love my job.  I work as a vet assistant at the Richmond SPCA.  I recently made the decision to further my education in the veterinary field by applying to Vet Tech School and becoming a veterinary technician.  I was and am very, very excited about this prospect.  Not long after I made this decision I came to realization: there are no programs based in Richmond for me to pursue this career choice.  I was crushed.  I wondered how there were so many Techs at so many vet hospitals and none went to school here in Richmond. 

I did some research and asked around with the technicians who work with me here at the Robins-Starr Humane Center and got some great news.  There are so many options out there that my co-workers shared with me.  Many places offer distance learning that you do over the internet in comfort of your own home. Right here in Virginia, Northern Virginia Community College offers this option.  Some big-name out-of-state schools offering distance learning programs include Penn Foster College, St. Petersburg College in Florida and even Purdue University all offer distance learning programs.  Yeah, I could be a Boilermaker if I so desired. 

As part of these programs you do a kind of work-study where you work at a vet hospital which serves as your classroom and your veterinarian as your hands-on instructor in addition to the on-line coursework.  Many vet hospitals where you can be employed during the program will even offer to pay for school…pretty neat huh?

Blue Ridge Community College in Stanton, Va. has a cool program that teams up with John Tyler Community College on Midlothian Turnpike where you attend classes at Tyler and the instructor is in Stanton.  You are connected with your teacher via satellite and can have questions answered in real-time.  Again in this program you would work at the vet hospital and gain experience and knowledge in real-life situations.

I will be applying next month to one of these schools. Now, instead of being lost with no where to go I have tons of options and need to make up my mind where to go.  Wish me luck, and I’ll keep you posted!

Today’s blog author is Barclay Fink.

you are a wonderously talented and amazing vet assistant! will you marry me?!

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