Veterinary Technology

Some allied health careers involve caring for animals rather than people. Veterinary technicians learn a variety of skills also found in other allied health professions, including nursing, anesthetic, radiologic, dentistry, emergency, and surgical skills. Examples of employment primarily include veterinary practices serving dog, cat, horse, and farm animals, but also zoos, wildlife rehabilitation centers, bimedical reserach, public health/food safety, clinical diagnostic laboratories, and such industries as pharmaceutical, pet food, and pet insurance.

General Information: Yuba College offers an Associate of Science (A.S.) Degree in Veterinary Technology. Yuba College also offers a Certificate of Achievement in Veterinary Assisting and Animal Care. Details about each degree can be found below. Interested individuals can also obtain information by visint our website: https://yc.yccd.edu/vettech/. Individuals may also want to visit the Yuba College Veterinary Technology Facebook page.

For additional questions, please call the Program at (530) 740-1732 or (530) 740-1740, or by emailing akuykend@yccd.edu or kmathis@yccd. edu. Additionally, please consider visiting the Veterinary Technology Program in the 1700 Building, across from the Veteran's Resource Center, on the Marysville campus of Yuba College.

Costs: In addition to the expenses of regularly enrolled students (e.g., living cots, activity fees, books, enrollment fees), Veterinary Technology Program students have the additional requirements of uniforms, drug and background screening, stethoscope, name badge, and radiation monitoring equipment. Veterinary Technology Program students are eligible for financial aid available to any Yuba College student meeting expected criteria. An estimated breakdown of hte costs associated with the A.S. degree can be found on the Program website: https://yc.yccd.edu/vettech/.

Drug Policy: All students enrolled in the Veterinary Technology Program are subject to the drug policy which is a part of the Student Code of Conduct. Violation of this policy may result in denial of admission or dismissal from the Program. The policy is outlined in the Student Handbook as well as in the Veterinary Technology Program Policy Handbook found on the Program’s website: https://yc.yccd.edu/vettech/.

Additionally, in accordance with the California Veterinary Medical Board, a person convicted of certain offenses may not qualify to be licensed as a registered veterinary technician. Prospective veterinary technology students are strongly urged to consider this stipulation prior to investing substantial time and money if it appears that past convictions could jeopardize an applicant's future eligibility for licensure. Please reach out to the the Program if you need help looking into this: at (530) 741-6962 or vettech@yccd.edu, or visit the Veterinary Technology Program in the 1700 Building, across from the Veteran's Resource Center.

Associate of Science (A.S.) Degree in Veterinary Technology:

For the A.S. degree, the Yuba College Veterinary Technology Program (referred to here as the Program) is a full-time course of study that can be completed in two years or extended by completing the General Education, Science and other graduation requirements prior to admission into the veterinary technology sequence. The latter format is highly recommended.

The Program is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association. Upon program completion, graduates (unless otherwise disqualified by the licensing board) are eligible to take the national licensing examination (the VTNE) to become a Registered Veterinary Technician in the State of California.

Prerequisite Course Requirements: Three prerequisite courses are required. These three courses must be completed with a combined grade point average of 2.5 or better. Prerequisite courses can be completed prior to application to the program, or in the same Spring semester as the application. Prerequisites cannot be taken or repeated the summer immediately before the fall semester of the A.S. degree.

Three prerequisites are required:

• VETT 91 (Veterinary Assisting). This is an online course that provides an overview of the profession. Please note that an assignment in the course does require eight hours of job-shadowing at a veterinary clinic.
• A life science course. Any of the following courses will satisfy this requirement: BIOL 1 (Principles of Biology), BIOL 4 (Human Anatomy), BIOL 10L (General Biology), BIOL 15 (Bioscience), or BIOL 24L (Human Biology with Laboratory).
• A chemistry course. Any of the following courses will satisfy this prerequisite: CHEM 10 (Concepts of Chemistry), CHEM 2A (Introductory Chemistry), or CHEM 1A (General Chemistry).

Due to the demanding nature of the Program, it is recommended that the prospective student meet with a counselor and create an education plan. This will allow the student to complete as many general education courses required for the Associate in Science Degree PRIOR to admission to the Veterinary Technology Program.

Students in the veterinary technology program are exempt from the Health/Physical Education and Multicultural Graduation Requirements.

Please note that several of the A.S. courses may be taken before formally entering the Program, if the student wishes to do so. These courses include:

• VETT 7 Veterinary Business Management
• VETT 8 Large Animal Care and Nursing
• VETT 9 Laboratory Animal Medicine
• VETT 10 Exotics and Wildlife Medicine
• VETT 12 Introduction to Veterinary Medical Math
• VETT 55 Veterinary Medical Terminology

Please note that these courses can also be used to obtain the Veterinary Assisting and Animal Care Certificate. See below for more details on the Veterinary Assisting and Animal Care Certificate.

Admissions: Selection of candidates for entry into the Program occurs each spring. A completed Program application and official college transcripts must be received by the Veterinary Technology Program administrator prior to March 15th in order to be eligible for entrance in the subsequent fall semester. The Program starts a new class cohort each fall semester.

The Program application may be accessed from the Program’s website under the “Apply” tab: https://yc.yccd.edu/vettech/. Because the number of qualified applicants may exceed the number of available enrollment spaces, meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee admission.

Qualified applicants will be notified of their preliminary acceptance into the Program by April 1st.

Attendance and participation in the Veterinary Technology Program Orientation is a mandatory requirement before final acceptance of a candidate. This Orientation, held on a Thursday in April, is a half day exploration into the teaching formats, academic and physical demands, and dexterity requirements that the Veterinary Technology Program student can expect to encounter.

Travel and Trainings: Students in the Veterinary Technology Program are required to complete various off site training internships to gain experience and satisfy learning objectives. These training hours are mandatory and additional to required individual course hours and farm care. Travel will be required of all students.

In addition, students in the Program will be required to spend 2 - 6 hours every 1-2 weeks during assigned dates and times caring for the Yuba College Veterinary Technology farm and clinic animals. Time will include weekends and holidays as well as semester breaks, including summer break.

Rabies Prophylaxis: Yuba College Veterinary Technology students must be vaccinated against the rabies virus by the beginning of spring semester of their first year. Spring semester is when students begin the first of their internships as well as their Medical Nursing course.

Rabies is a serious viral disease. Veterinary students and staff may come in contact with animals that have not been vaccinated against rabies or that have unknown vaccination histories.

There are different ways for you to receive the vaccine, including from your own health care provider. Details can be found at the Program website: https://yc.yccd.edu/vettech/

Students who complete this program should be able to:

1. Apply principles of biomedical sciences to help in disease prevention, treatment, and control in both veterinary and human medicine.
2. Demonstrate entry-level mastery of the hands-on and professional skills relevant to the various problems encountered in veterinary medicine.
3. Research, explain, and formulate preliminary solutions to real-world problems in the form of case studies, a toxicology research paper, and a Capstone project.

Required courses

Students earning an AA/AS degree must complete a minimum of 21 units of General Education requirements and the health graduation requirement, in addition to the program units listed here. Students must complete a total of 60 degree applicable units to earn an AA or AS. Veterinary Technology majors are waived the health graduation requirement. Please see your counselor for additional information.