(Estherville)– A veterinary Technician program proposed for Iowa Lakes Community College has received approval from the Iowa Department of Education.
College officials say they’re now moving rapidly to prepare for classes starting this fall for the two-year Associate in Applied Science program.
Trudy Kattner and Jeanne Wunder first came up with the idea for the program in the 2009-2010 college year. Wunder is the Allied Health Professor for Iowa Lakes at the Algona schools. Kattner retired in 2010 as supervisor of the Algona campus.
In addition, veterinarians in the Algona area met in the spring of 2010 and a gathering of vets in the Spencer area was held in August of 2010. The advisory group met just before the holiday break in 2010 to provide further guidance. During those discussions it was determined the best site to offer the program would be the Emmetsburg campus.
Students in the program will take both a small animal and a large animal clinic observation class in their first year. In addition, some of the other courses include Vet Tech Animal Anatomy and Physiology courses, Pathology, Veterinary Law and Ethics and Office Procedures.
College officials are currently working to re-design space for the students and lab courses.
The college is taking the next steps to secure accreditation through the Committee on Vet-Tech Education and Activities and preparing its facilities to comply with USDA regulations.
