To the author of the post:
I received my associate’s in Veterinary Technology and sat for a licensing exam. Therefore, I am a Licensed Veterinary Technician. A Veterinary Technologist, Certified Veterinary Technician and Licensed Veterinary Technician are all interchangeable. What determines your official title depends on where you live in the country. I finished my associate’s and bachelor’s in Biology in 4 years (from the same college). I went back and forth between the two degrees instead of finishing my associate’s (2 years) and then bachelors (2 years)- I wouldn’t suggest doing this! If I would have gotten my tech degree out of the way first, it would have saved me scheduling grief and I would have been able to be a tech for an additional two years (while finishing my bachelors). I’m not sure about the online vet tech programs- if they do not prepare you to sit for a licensing or certification exam then I would say it is not worth it. One responder said that they did many of the things I stated without being a tech. People can absolutely be vet techs without being certified or licensed (in NYS you are not considered a tech if you do not have your license- someone in that position would be an assistant).
However, as a licensed tech, my schooling and path to get my degree/licensure is more valuable than just hands on experience and relying on your co-workers to teach you. At the current clinic I work at, my doctors rely on their technicians immensely. So while prescribing medication, performing surgery, diagnosing and giving a prognosis are out of my realm that I can practice with my license, that leaves a heck of a lot more for me to do, then not. While I cannot legally do the aforementioned things, I am always a big part of them. I calculate and count out DVM prescribed meds, put patients under anesthesia (which an assistant should never be the one monitoring) and since I get to monitor, I also get to see and appreciate different techniques for surgery. As far as diagnosis/prognosis goes, I don’t get to tell the client what is ailing their animal but I sure do deal with the aftermath of it, which would be the realm of client education. With my tech education, I am more equipped to explain what the client should expect after a diagnosis. Many doctors I know are book smart but lack the experience of client communication. So while the first three years of vet school may be dedicated to having your nose in a book, the last year, your clinical year, is the one where you learn how to apply all of the things you learned (for me this will include things from tech school) into real life scenarios that always include client education and communication.
As far as how I believe my tech degree helped me prepare to apply to vet school: Someone said that many classes from your tech degree wouldn’t cover your pre-req’s for vet school. While this is for the most part true, some classes do overlap, which is helpful. For me, this included, Gen Chem 1, Pre- Calc, Micro, Anatomy and Phys 1&2 and both degrees required humanity courses.
Now to go over what classes I did take for my tech degree. Besides the above vet school pre-req’s I also took Farm Animal Science, Lab Animal Science, Exotics, Gross and Clinical Pathology, Parasitology, Introduction to Animal Rehabilitation, Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging, Small Animal Disease and Nutrition (which is a pre-req for some vet schools), Surgical Nursing, Pharmacology and Veterinary Practice Management to name a few. Many of these classes required hands on lab experience which helped me accumulate ~300 hours of experience that I could put on my vet school application. This was definitely a plus for me as it was diverse experience too (farm animal, exotics, lab animal, etc). Besides the required labs, we were required to do two internships. From those internships, I gained another 250 hours of diverse experience (I did emergency for one and a shelter for the other).
It has been three years since I obtained my license. I have accumulated thousands of hours in experience since then. I currently work for a Board Certified Veterinary Dentist who does pro bono work for our local zoo. I actually got to see a root canal done on a Capuchin, an otter and a lioness. Now could you gain these same experiences without being a tech? Sure. However, it would take more time out of your life to be a volunteer then have it incorporated into your education or job.
For me personally, going this route has made a clear path for my future as a vet. Never did I say that I will do stellar in vet school but it’s really hard for me to believe that after tech school, I won’t be in better shape compared to most applicants.