Become a Vet Tech | Vet Tech Schools Janesville WI

How to Select a Veterinary Technician Program near Janesville Wisconsin

Janesville WI vet tech diagnosing puppy Realizing your lifelong dream of working with and helping animals by enrolling in a vet tech college near Janesville WI may at first feel like a challenging endeavor. After all, you must search for and enroll in a school that will furnish the necessary training to ensure that you can be successful as a veterinary technician. But just how do you go about evaluating and contrasting colleges so that you can make the best choice? Many future students launch their due diligence process by looking for schools that are close to their residences. When they have located some local colleges, they determine which ones have the cheapest tuition and hone in on those. Although location and cost are significant factors when comparing vet technician schools, they are not the only significant ones when making your comparisons. Qualifiers such as internship programs and accreditation need to be looked into also. The point is that there are questions you need to be asking the vet technician programs you are considering before you make a final decision. We have provided several in this article in order to help get you started, but before we review them we’ll discuss the various responsibilities of vet techs and the training options offered.

The Responsibilities of a Veterinary Technician in Janesville WI

cat with cone after surgery in Janesville WI Among the initial decisions that you will need to make is if you plan to train as a veterinary assistant, technician or technologist. Part of your preference might be based on the amount of time and money that you have to devote to your education, but the primary factor will probably be which specialty interests you the most. What technicians and assistants share in common is that they all work under the direct direction of a licensed and practicing veterinarian. And even though there are a number of functions that they can carry out within the Janesville WI veterinary practice or hospital, they can’t prescribe drugs, diagnose health issues, or conduct surgeries. In those areas they can only provide assistance to a licensed vet. There are technologists and technicians that work away from the typical veterinarian practice, for example for zoos, animal shelters or police departments. Let’s take a look at the job functions and training requirements for each position.

Vet Assistants in the majority of instances will have gone through a structured training program, either as an apprentice or intern in a vet clinic or hospital, or by completing a certificate program at a community college or trade school. As the name implies, their job function is to assist the vets and vet technicians in the completion of their duties. Generally they are not associated with more complex tasks, for example assisting with surgical procedures. A few of their regular duties may include working at the front desk, preparing and cleaning exam rooms and equipment, or controlling animals during exams.
Vet Technicians undergo more advanced training compared with assistants and typically acquire a two year Associate Degree, preferably from an American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) accredited program. They are in a sense the vet equivalent of medical nurses, since their basic job function is to assist vets with diagnosing and treating animal patients. Where they differ from vet assistants is that they are engaged in more involved functions, for example assisting with surgical procedures or administering medication. All states currently require vet technicians pass a credentialing examination for either certification, registration or licensing.
Vet Technologists are similar to veterinary technicians and basically carry out the same work functions. They are mandated to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in veterinary technology, which usually takes four years to complete. Therefore the main difference between a vet technologist and a technician is the technologist’s more advanced level of education. But with an advanced degree comes more career opportunities, higher salaries and potential management positions. They are additionally mandated to pass a credentialing examination for either certification, registration or licensing.

Vet technicians and technologists can specialize in areas such as internal medicine, anesthesia or emergency care. A number may acquire certification from the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) to work in Janesville WI labs or research facilities also.

Online Veterinary Technician Schools Offered in Janesville

student attending online vet tech school in Janesville WI An option that might make sense for those with a hectic schedule or who are working full-time while attending veterinarian college is to enroll in an online training program. Because the classes are offered by means of the internet, students can study on their own timetable wherever a computer is accessible. The educational program is taught using several venues, including slide shows, videos and live streaming webinars. And since most vet technician and technologist degrees require practical training, that part can usually be carried out as an internship or work study program at a local Janesville WI veterinary practice or hospital. Distance learning, as it is also called, may in some instances reduce the cost of your education. Tuition and supplementary expenses, for instance for commuting and study supplies, can be more affordable compared to more conventional classroom courses. Just confirm that the program that you select is accredited, either by the AVMA or another nationally recognized accrediting agency. With the online courses and the practical training, everything is furnished for a complete education. So if you are disciplined enough to learn in this more independent mode, an online vet tech school may be the ideal choice for you.

Things to Ask Janesville WI Veterinary Technician Colleges

Questions to ask Janesville WI vet tech schools At this point you should have determined which veterinarian credential that you wish to obtain, and if you intend to study online or attend a school on campus. Since there are a large number of vet community colleges, technical and vocational schools in the Janesville WI area and across the Country, you should ask some important questions to help narrow down your list of alternatives. As we mentioned in our opening, many potential students start by focusing on location and tuition expense. But we have previously touched on other essential qualifiers, for instance internship programs and accreditation. And obviously you want to select a school that offers the specialty and degree that you want to earn. These and other factors are addressed in the list of questions that you should ask the veterinary technician programs that you are reviewing.

Is the Veterinary College Accredited? It’s imperative that you make sure that the vet tech school you enroll in is accredited by a regional or national accrediting agency. As earlier mentioned, among the most highly regarded is the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). Trade schools and colleges that are accredited by the AVMA have gone through a demanding screening process that confirms you will get a quality education. Also, accreditation is necessary if you are applying for a student loan or financial aid, since numerous programs are not offered for non-accredited colleges. And finally, having a degree or certificate from an accredited program is often a requirement for employment for many Janesville WI area vet clinics and hospitals.

What is the School’s Reputation? The veterinary vocational school or college and program you select should have an excellent reputation within the veterinary community. You can initiate your due diligence by asking the schools you are looking at for endorsements from the employers in their job assistance network. Other suggestions include looking on online school rating websites and contacting the school’s accrediting agencies as well. You can ask the Wisconsin school licensing department if there have been any grievances or infractions relating to your specific schools. As a final suggestion, phone some Janesville WI vet clinics that you might wish to work for after you receive your training. Find out what they think of your school choices. They might even recommend one or more programs not on your list.

Are there Internship Programs? The best approach to obtain clinical hands on experience as a vet tech is to work in a clinical setting. Find out if the programs you are reviewing have internship programs established with Janesville WI veterinarians, vet clinics or hospitals. Almost all veterinary medicine programs require practical training and a large number provide it by way of internships. Not only will the experience be invaluable relative to the practical training, but an internship can also help develop relationships in the local veterinarian community and aid in the search for a job after graduation.

Is there a Job Placement Program? Searching for a job after graduating from a vet tech college may be challenging without the help of a job placement program. To begin with, ask what the graduation rates are for the schools you are reviewing. A lower rate could mean that the instructors were unqualified to teach the course of study or that some students were unhappy with the program and quit. Next, confirm that the schools have a job assistance program and find out what their placement rates are. A high placement rate may signify that the program has an excellent reputation within the Janesville WI vet community and has a considerable network of contacts for student placements. A low rate may indicate that the training is not highly regarded by employers or that the job assistance program is a failure at placing students.

How Large are the Classes? If the classes are larger sized, you may get little or no individualized instruction from the teachers. Request from the Janesville WI programs you are considering what their class student to teacher ratios are. You may also decide to sit in on some classes (if practical) to monitor the interaction between teachers and students. Ask for evaluations from students concerning the quality of instruction. Also, speak with the teachers and find out what their qualifications are as well as their methods of teaching.

Where is the College Located? Okay, we previously discussed location, but there are several more points to make on the topic. If you are going to drive to your vet tech classes from your Janesville WI home, you must make sure that the commuting time is compatible with your schedule. For instance, driving during the weekend to check out the route won’t be the same as the drive during rush hour traffic, especially if the school is located in or near a larger city. Also, if you do choose to attend a school in another state or even outside of your County of residence, there may be increased tuition charges particularly for state and community colleges. On the other hand, taking classes online could be an alternative that will provide you with more flexibility and minimize the necessity for travel.

Is the Class Schedule Flexible? And finally, it’s essential that you find out if the veterinarian programs you are considering offer class times flexible enough to accommodate your schedule. For example, many students continue to work full time and can only go to classes on the weekends or at night near Janesville WI. Some may only be able to attend class in the morning or in the afternoon. Confirm that the class times you require are available prior to enrolling. Also, find out if you can make-up classes that you might miss because of work, illness or family responsibilities. You may discover that an online college is the ideal solution to fit your veterinary training into your hectic life.

Enrolling in a Vet Tech School near Janesville WI?

If you have decided to attend a Veterinary Technician Program in the Janesville Wisconsin area, then you may find the following information about the location of your school campus interesting and informing.

Janesville, Wisconsin

Janesville is a city in southern Wisconsin, United States.[4] It is the county seat and largest city of Rock County,[4] and the principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 63,575.[5]

The Janesville area was home to many Native American tribes before the settlement of people from the East. With the Indian Removal Act of 1830, many Native American peoples were uprooted and forced out of their homelands to make room for the new settlers, with many Native peoples, including the Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi, being forced onto reservations.[6]

American settlers John Inman, George Follmer, Joshua Holmes, and William Holmes, Jr. built a crude log cabin in the region in 1835.[7] Later that year, one key settler named Henry Janes, a native of Virginia who was a self-proclaimed woodsman and early city planner, arrived in what is now Rock County. Janes came to the area in the early 1830s, and initially wanted to name the budding village “Blackhawk," after the famous Sauk leader, Chief Black Hawk, but was turned down by Post Office officials. After some discussion, it was settled that the town would be named after Janes himself and thus, in 1835, Janesville was founded.[8] Despite being named after a Virginian, Janesville was founded by immigrants from New England. These were old stock Yankee immigrants, descended from the English Puritans who settled New England in the 1600s. The completion of the Erie Canal caused a surge in New England immigration to what was then the Northwest Territory. Some of them were from upstate New York, and had parents who had moved to that region from New England shortly after the Revolutionary War. New Englanders, and New England transplants from upstate New York, were the vast majority of Janesville's inhabitants during the first several decades of its history.[9][10][11][12] Land surveys encouraged pioneers to settle in the area among the abundance of fertile farmland and woodlands. Many of these early settlers established farms and began cultivating wheat and other grains.

Enroll in the Right Vet Tech Program near Janesville WI

Janesville WI vet tech holding dog Enrolling in the ideal vet tech school is an important first step to starting a rewarding career providing care and treatment for animals. Students looking into veterinary technician colleges need to make their determination based on multiple key factors. Veterinary technicians and technologists work in vet clinics, animal hospitals and animal shelters. They typically handle administrative responsibilities and support the veterinarian with the animal patients when needed. As we have discussed, it’s very important that you select a veterinary medicine program that is both accredited and has an excellent reputation within the field. This goes for vet tech online programs as well. By asking the questions included in our checklist for reviewing schools, you will be able to narrow down your choices so that you can make your final selection. And by selecting the right college, you can reach your goal of becoming a vet tech in Janesville WI.