Jump To: Liability | Teaching and Treatment Teaching of Animals | Clinical Warnings
All students will actively participate in the care and management of the program animals during their enrollment in the program. This responsibility will consist of care for the lab animals, as well as for any other animals temporarily housed throughout the semesters for teaching purposes. These rotations will include feeding, exercising, cleaning, medicating (as directed: see liability statement below), and routine vital sign collection (when appropriate). The rotations will be assigned by the course instructors of VET 1051/1052/2720 during the appropriate semesters. It is the responsibility of the student to make sure that his/her care rotation is covered, keeping in mind that the instructor of the course must be notified regarding any changes in the animal care rotation schedules as written in the course syllabus. Animal care rotations will be scored and graded. Please keep in mind that these rotations will usually take place outside of the scheduled class time including weekends; thus, during the semesters which require these rotations, you will need to be on campus for more than just your scheduled labs or lectures.
Appropriate dress (minimum lab coat) is required for rotations; lack of appropriate dress may prevent a student from completing rotation and will affect their grade. (See section on Appropriate Attire).
Liability
According to the Vermont Veterinary Practice Act, it is illegal for veterinary technicians to diagnose, perform surgery, prescribe medication, or perform routine treatment without the authorization of a veterinarian. All nursing procedures that are done in the program require veterinary supervision or approval. Supervision may be direct or indirect, as determined by the faculty and staff.
Teaching Animals and Treatment of Teaching Animals, Clinical Warnings
If you have a concern that is about the health of any teaching animal, you need to contact the Program Director and/or the attending veterinarian. Dr. Stephanie Dorosko is the Program Director and her extension at the college is 71578, her phone number is 802.728.1578, and her office is in Morrill Hall 104B.
If you have a concern, in the regard to the use of teaching animals in your class, please also feel free to contact one of the following:
- Course Instructor
- Attending Veterinarian
- Chair of the Dept of Nursing and Health Sciences
- IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) Member
- President of Vermont State University
If you do not know the names of individuals or how to reach them, any of the Veterinary Technology faculty or staff can direct you.
The humane treatment and care of all animals here on campus is the responsibility of students and staff. If any student is found inhumanely treating animals here on campus, it may result in receiving a failing grade and/or being dropped from the Program. All Vet Tech students participating in Vet Tech classes or labs with live teaching animals, as well as students participating in their externships, are subject to the program’s clinical warning system (see Appendix 10).
Should an incident occur where a student is not caring for an animal safely (ie. letting an animal jumps off an exam table), or otherwise acting unprofessionally in a manner that may negatively impact an animal’s health or well being, or that of another student, staff or faculty member in the same workspace, is subject to a clinical warning. Clinical warning forms include a section to be filled out by the program technician, faculty member, or externship supervisor detailing the incident that they witnessed. Clinical warning forms also include sections to be filled out by the program director or program technician detailing the discussion with the student as well as disciplinary action to be taken.
The program director or program technician may also issue clinical warnings for any of the above issues.
Clinical Warnings
There are 3 clinical warning levels. The first incident will result in a clinical warning level 1, second incident clinical warning 2, and third incident clinical warning 3. After 3 clinical warnings, students may be removed from the lab or externship site and are subject to removal from the program. A clinical warning of Level II or Level III can be assigned at any time based on the severity of the incident by the program director or program technician.
Performance issues of a grave nature including, but are not limited to: serious safety violations; actions inconsistent with scope of practice; or unlawful or unethical acts may result in immediate removal from the lab, the externship site, or the program.
Most program animals are available for adoption; please see the Technicians to discuss the adoption of a program animal.
Veterinary services and veterinary supplies are not available to any animals other than program animals. While we would love to assist students in the care of their pets, we are simply not funded or provided with sufficient supplies to do so. If you feel you have VTSU Randolph Veterinary Technology Program Handbook Updated 6/3/24 11 a pet that has a particular need appropriate to a course topic, please discuss this with the course instructor.
