What You Get:

  • Access to the best online veterinary training platform
  • Mobile-friendly access for anytime, anywhere learning
  • Access to dedicated and award-winning faculty
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Thrive Pet Healthcare has partnered with Penn Foster, the nation's leading online career training and upskilling education institution, to help support Thrive employees with their professional career development by offering a unique sponsorship program to selected team members.

Offered online, Penn Foster's programs allow you to train at home or on the go and receive support from a dedicated Veterinary Academy faculty of practitioners, technicians, and industry experts for the duration of the program.

Veterinary Academy Programs

Veterinary Technician Associate Degree

Penn Foster College's Veterinary Technician Associate Degree is AVMA-CVTEA accredited and can help with the skills you need on your journey to becoming a licensed veterinary technician. You'll study a wide range of topics and gain real-world veterinary technician experience during the clinical externship portions of the program. Graduates of the veterinary technician program will be eligible to take the Veterinary Technician National Examination (VTNE) to be credentialed as a licensed veterinary technician. To initiate the enrollment process for the next semester, click on the “apply here” icon! Once submitted, the Thrive Penn Foster Support Team will authorize your enrollment for your next semester and you will be one step closer to program completion!

Course Details
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Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

  • Possess effective written and interpersonal communication skills
  • Demonstrate effective quantitative skills
  • Display computer and information literacy skills
  • Exhibit an understanding of the liberal arts, natural sciences, and social sciences
Office and Hospital Procedures, Client Relations, and Communication
  • Facility management strategies including utilizing traditional and electronic media and appropriate medical terminology
  • Written, oral, non-verbal, and electronic communication methods
  • Veterinary practice legal requirements and the veterinary technology profession's ethical code
Pharmacy and Pharmacology
  • Prescription drug administration and explanation methods
Nursing
  • Patient assessment techniques 
  • Various animal species husbandry, nutrition, therapeutic, and dentistry tactics 
Anesthesia
  • Safe anesthesia delivery and management strategies
  • Anesthesia instruments and equipment monitoring techniques
Surgical Nursing
  • Common surgical procedure management tactics
  • Surgical instrument, supplies, and environment strategies to maintain asepsis
Laboratory Procedures
  • Laboratory packaging, handling, and storing methods
  • Laboratory specimen analysis procedures
Imaging
  • Diagnostic radiographic and non-radiographic image production methods
Laboratory Animal Procedures
  • Effective laboratory animal handling procedures
Avian, Exotic, Small Mammals, and Fish Procedures
  • Safe bird, reptile, amphibian, guinea pig, hamster, gerbil, and ferret care approaches

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What is Penn Foster?

Penn Foster is a leader in online education, offering career training solutions for in-demand careers. These programs are offered online and can completed at a pace that's comfortable for you. As a Penn Foster learner, you also receive 24/7 access to a supportive online community of students and faculty.

 

Is Penn Foster College accredited?

Penn Foster College's Veterinary Techician Associate Degree program is fully accredited by the Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA) of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) as a program for educating veterinary technicians. This accreditation "represents the highest standard of achievement for veterinary medical education in the United States. Institutions that earn accreditation confirm their commitment to quality and continuous improvement through a rigorous and comprehensive peer review."

Additionally, Penn Foster College is nationally accredited. This form of accreditation means that Penn Foster has met the high standards required by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) in Washington, D.C. The DEAC is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency.

 

Can you tell me more about the Penn Foster Veterinary Technician Program?

The Penn Foster Veterinary Technician Program is both exciting and challenging. It is a lot of hard work and also a lot of fun, as you learn the fundamentals of becoming a great veterinary technician. The program is four semesters long and graduates can sit for the Veterinary Technician National Examination (VTNE). Both semesters two and four include a clinical externship during which the student gains hands-on experience applying what they’ve learned in a veterinary hospital under the supervision of a veterinarian.

 

How do Penn Foster Graduates do on the VTNE?

Penn Foster Graduates had over a 80% pass rate on the Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE) in August 2019.

 

How does the online program work?

After enrollment you will receive an email with instructions to create your login credentials to access your account. This will give you access to all your online materials.  Assessments are taken through the student portal and other information is available there. If you need to contact your instructors for academic help or have other questions, use the “Contact Us” feature from the student portal.

 

How do I access the courses?

All course content will be delivered through Penn Foster's Student Portal. All students will have access to their course content upon login into the Portal for the first time. Once logged in, click on “Program and Courses” in the left navigation bar to see the courses in your program. You can also get started directly from your dashboard by clicking “Start” on your home dashboard.

 

Will there be instructors to help me, and how do I contact them?

Yes, instructors are available over the phone (1-888-427-1000) Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 6:00pm, Eastern Time. They are also available through email by clicking on the “Contact Us” button in the Student Portal and typically respond within 24 hours.