Veterinary Technician A.A.S. (VET)
Attention
This is an overview of the program. The course sequencing is meant to serve as a guideline for your semester planning. Please note that the scheduling of courses, program sequencing and curriculum are subject to change.
The Veterinary Technician Associate Degree program is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (AVMA CVTEA).
Lehigh Carbon and Northampton Community Colleges’
Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE) Results:
| Three-year average pass rate |
Total July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2022 |
| Number of first-time candidates that have taken the VTNE |
69 |
| Three-Year Pass Percentage on VTNE |
83% |
Veterinary Technician Mission Statement: Lehigh Carbon and Northampton Community Colleges Veterinary Technician Program provides excellent, comprehensive learning experiences to prepare students with the knowledge and critical skills to develop into competent veterinary nurses. The program instills in its students a commitment to be a lifelong learner, a competent communicator, and provide excellent patient care and compassion for animals.
Veterinary technicians are professionals knowledgeable in the care and handling of animals, basic principles of normal and abnormal life processes, routine laboratory and clinical procedures, and in veterinary medical and surgical nursing. Certified veterinary technicians are employed in veterinary clinics serving large, small, and exotic species. In addition, graduates are employed as veterinary assistants in pharmaceutical settings, research laboratories, animal feed companies, wildlife and zoo centers, and animal shelters. The job market for formally trained veterinary technicians has been growing, and this trend is expected to continue.
Lehigh Carbon Community College, working jointly with Northampton Community College, has developed a two-year associate of applied science degree program in this field.
Coursework will provide students with a foundation in the basic principles of animal medicine and disease, anatomy and physiology, diagnostic laboratory work, surgical assisting, anesthesia, diagnostic radiology, pharmacology, veterinary medical nursing, laboratory and exotic animal medicine, and veterinary practice management. Students will be given the opportunity to develop technical skills through multiple clinical experiences with live animals.
Graduates of this program are prepared to sit for the veterinary technician national board examination. Students that pass the exam may obtain certification. This program has received full accreditation from the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Program features: LCCC provides academic and practical experience through a combination of veterinary technology and general education core courses. One third of veterinary technology courses include laboratory experience including exposure to small, large and exotic animal species. The culminating experience of the program is a summer externship experience during which students can practice their clinical skills at veterinary hospitals. Classes are held on Northampton Community College (NCC) and LCCC campuses. There is a clinical science laboratory on NCC’s campus and a veterinary teaching facility adjacent to LCCC’s campus provided exclusively for the veterinary technician students. Classes are offered during the day and the program takes 2 full years (Fall, Spring and Summer to complete).
Upon successful completion of this program, graduates will be able to:
- Demonstrate competence in performing and engaging in office and hospital procedures, client relations and communication.
- Demonstrate proficiency working in the pharmacy and understand and utilize pharmacologic concepts.
- Safely and competently engage in medical nursing.
- Safely and competently engage in surgical nursing.
- Safely and competently engage in anesthetic nursing.
- Competently perform laboratory procedures.
- Safely and competently perform diagnostic imaging.
- Competently perform laboratory animal and exotic patient husbandry and nursing.
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Special Admission Program Requirements
Before Admission:
• High school diploma or GED and successful completion of appropriate high school or post-secondary courses.
• Completion of high school laboratory Biology with a “B” or better, and high school Algebra 1 and 2 with grades of a “C” or better. Fundamentals of Biology (BIO 105) is highly recommended if a college-level biology course has not been previously completed.
• Submission of high school transcript or copy of GED and transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended.
• Acceptable scores on the LCCC assessment test (English, Math and Biology). Any remediation must be completed before starting the program.
• A minimum GPA of 2.5.
• Knowledge of field gained through experience with animals strongly recommended.
• Selected students will participate in a personal interview with the program director. The college will contact the student to schedule an interview.
• At the time of the interview, the student must have completed a minimum of 20 hours of observation in a veterinary facility. The career exploration form can be printed by going to LCCC’s homepage; clicking on Academics: Veterinary Technician.
• The deadline for submission of the application is March 15 for the fall semester.
• Admission into the Veterinary Technician program is competitive. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission into the program. Only the most qualified applicants are interviewed; the college will contact students to schedule interviews when appropriate.
After Admission:
• Medical forms: physical examination
• Proof of current health insurance
• Rabies pre-exposure vaccine.