The Colorado Academy of Veterinary Technology

Date: Dec 29 2014
Major: Animal Studies (This Major's Salary over time)
I have attended another school in the field of Veterinary Technology to compare my experience at CAVT to in a neutral manner. CAVT has worked very hard at getting help from outside sources to give a student many opportunities to work with domesticated, large animals and exotics. Instructors on campus also work in the fields they teach off campus which gives a student a better understanding of animals you might not normally see in clinic setting. More and more exotic animals are being mainstreamed as household pets and knowledge can only make a student an asset in a clinic.

To date, CAVT has the only in-house working clinic run by students. Each student is able to perform every task used in a hospital, ER, clinic, mobile clinic, boarding facility. The class is called Directed Clinical Practice (DCP). It can be a scary place when trying to put classroom work into hands-on. Unfortunately, you are not going to learn "How To" unless you jump in and just try. My instructors did an amazing job at pushing me to meet my potential. You only have a small window of opportunity to make things happen with live patients and most don't wait for you to hesitate and second guess yourself. If your willing to try you will be successful at DCP.

There are a lot of opportunities to volunteer for in and outside of school activities that help you network with DVMs, Vet Techs and Vet Asst which all play a critical role in the animal field.

During my time as a student I had a difficult time with fellow students who used classroom time as a time to socialize. Age was not a factor, it was more like school was just something to do. At times students would get the instructor off topic in-which some students would act offended when asked to stay on topic or hold questions to the end of class. When it came time for hands-on some students felt more comfortable trying task which your going to find where ever you go but hip checking played a major role of these students practicing more than others. I had trouble understanding some subjects but was able to ask and receive help from the instructors until I felt comfortable with the subject. Fellow students in my class would also offer help. When we worked together it boosted moral and fostered a team building atmosphere.

Every subject taught in the 10wks for a semester was narrowed down for us to what was most important. The meat and potatoes of a subject. The subjects are challenging and not easy to master every time. There is a lot of information to learn in a short time. Just studying what will be on a test is not good enough to pass the VTNE, which should be everyone's goal after 2 years in school.

The "fair" and "not fair" card is played by many students. Some students have other commitments and do not have the time to help or volunteer with school projects. When students have extra time and are able to help out with projects in school or outside of school students start crying about things being unfair or a student being the teachers pet. What you can put into school you will get out of school. I made time to be available for extra activities and thought it was ridiculous when a student pointed it out as favoritism. It was my time to do what I wanted to do with it. End of story. It doesn't take someone to "kiss a$$" to do things.

I had student instructors and in my opinion, they helped me get passed some of the issues I was dealing with when I could not master a subject. They made me feel like someone on my level could help better explain a subject. I felt intimated by the DVMs at times because they had been in the field so long and had mastered so much but after talking to each one about my feelings it made class time with them much better. I was not in class to become a DVM but their right hand as a Vet Tech.

I found the location of the school scary at times because there are many "homeless" males in the area. A high school is located behind the school and the high school students travel through our school area to go to McDonalds. The students fight, cuss and act-up which I feel is not safe.

This is not a field to go into if you think that petting puppies and kitties all day is what a Vet Tech does.