In support of the Administrative Priority to Target Outreach and Expansion the 4-H Veterinary Science Program was implemented in Brazoria County. The 4-H Veterinary Science Program is a 5-year curriculum with 100 lessons and 50 activities. The program is career-oriented and job-training so students can determine if this is a career field they would like to pursue. Students who participate in this program will work with a licensed veterinarian at their practice. By doing this hands-on training they learn the knowledge and skills that are expected of a veterinary assistant.
In preparation for implementing this program, CEA Miles and two 4-H leaders attended a 4-H Veterinary Science Project Seminar in Montgomery conducted by Floron Faries, DVM. 4-H Club Manager training and aid in promoting and forming a new 4-H Vet Science Club was provided by CEA Miles.
At the introductory meeting of the new group, 27 prospective youth members attended with their parents. In addition to all participants receiving program information and resources, older youth who will not have time to finish the 5-year standard course of study were identified for “fast-track”status to accelerate their educational opportunities. Fifteen students were identified as accelerated students.
From the earliest days of program inception, contacts by youth and adult volunteers yielded ten county veterinary clinics into cooperative status with the program. These participating clinics are located county-wide and additional contacts are being made to increase the number of cooperating veterinary clinics. A group order of scrub tops (maroon of course) were ordered and made available to students for their clinical hours.
The Brazoria County Vet Science program began in August, 2009 with only a few students interested in studying for their Veterinary Assistant certification. By November, 2009, the club had grown to 40 members: 37 Jr. High or High School aged students and 3 adult volunteers. As of November, most of the students had been placed in local veterinary clinics to work toward the program requirement of gaining approximately 2400 work hours in small animal and large animal vet clinics. All students work as volunteers, however, by November the first student had been offered full-time, permanent employment.
Upon completion of the program, students will be considered Veterinary Assistants, and after the age of 16, they may test for three levels of certification to become Certified Veterinary Assistants. Students may also then complete a Veterinary Technologist course at a local Jr. College and become a Registered Vet Tech upon successful completion of the exam, with the ultimate goal of gaining admission to a Veterinary Medicine program at the university level.
This program will continue to provide an avenue for 4-H members to learn about veterinary science and consider a career as a Veterinary Assistant or Technologist.
Content for this article was provided by Dale A. Fritz, Ph.D., District Extension Administrator-Texas AgriLife Extension Service.
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