First Veterinary Technician Program in Montana
By Jan Winderl | July 2018
I am thrilled to have the opportunity to reach out to the high school counselors of Montana, whose very important mission is to facilitate students’ future career choices.
Pima Medical Institute has 18 campuses throughout the western U.S. that have educated more than 100,000 graduates in the past 48 years. When I was handed the task of bringing a veterinary technician program to the campus of the University of Montana Western, PMI was the answer. Having invested over a half of a million dollars into our faculty, facility and equipment, we now offer Montana’s its first and only American Veterinary Medical Association-accredited vet tech program. We are also accredited by ABHES, a human health education accrediting body. Located on the campus of the University of Montana Western, the program is a vibrant and unique public/private collaboration of two university systems. Pima students can use the dorms and library, attend university functions and enjoying a true university atmosphere. The collaboration has worked well, with Pima’s financial aid, faculty and curriculum separate from UMW.
Our faculty includes both small animal and large animal veterinarians and two veterinary technicians certified by the Montana Veterinary Medical Association (MVMA). Both the MVMA and the Big Sky Veterinary Technician Association are thrilled to have the program in Montana – previously, many students who wished to study veterinary nursing had to leave the state to do just that. We also have some out-of-state students and there is no difference in our tuition rates.
Our students do a 1 +1 educational format of veterinary assistant (VA) followed by veterinary technician (VT). We have a clinic area where students practice and master skills such as radiology, blood and laboratory work, anesthesia monitoring, surgical assisting and bandaging. Ample small animal resources are available to us from local shelters and rescue groups. Field trips to ranches allow hands-on training in beef, dairy, porcine and equine procedures and acquiring restraint skills such as running a hydrolytic cattle chute or assisting in an equine dentistry.
But nothing truly reflects an effective program like statistics and survey results, which I share below:
Student Population
- Current
- 26 active students (13 Vet Tech/13 Vet Assist)
- 2 Vet Techs graduating this week
- August Veterinary Assistant start: 26
Graduates
- 13 VT graduates
- 10 have passed the VTNE
(Veterinary Technician National Exam)
- All but one have jobs
Retention: VA 90%, VT 87%
Job Placement: VA 100%, VT 100%
Student Satisfaction Survey
- VA
- Participation 100%
- Satisfaction Level: 4.49/5
- VT
- Participation 100%
- Satisfaction Level: 4.25/5
Clinical Externship VA/VT Site Satisfaction Survey
- Participation 100%
- Satisfaction Level: 100%
Employer Satisfaction Survey reflecting hired VT graduates
- Participation 85%
- Satisfaction Level: 100%
My hope is to reach high school counselors about our program, especially those at schools that already have a veterinary assistant program. Pima is willing to give free college credit courses online to high school students who might wish to matriculate over to our Vet Tech Program. Should you have any questions or would like to come and tour our campus at UMW in Dillon, please email me at jwinderl@pmi.edu or call 406-988-0888.
Jan Winderl, DVM, is the Veterinary Technician Program director and campus director of Pima Medical Institute in Dillon, Montana. www.pmi.edu
Pima Medical Institute has 18 campuses throughout the western U.S. that have educated more than 100,000 graduates in the past 48 years. When I was handed the task of bringing a veterinary technician program to the campus of the University of Montana Western, PMI was the answer. Having invested over a half of a million dollars into our faculty, facility and equipment, we now offer Montana’s its first and only American Veterinary Medical Association-accredited vet tech program. We are also accredited by ABHES, a human health education accrediting body. Located on the campus of the University of Montana Western, the program is a vibrant and unique public/private collaboration of two university systems. Pima students can use the dorms and library, attend university functions and enjoying a true university atmosphere. The collaboration has worked well, with Pima’s financial aid, faculty and curriculum separate from UMW.Our faculty includes both small animal and large animal veterinarians and two veterinary technicians certified by the Montana Veterinary Medical Association (MVMA). Both the MVMA and the Big Sky Veterinary Technician Association are thrilled to have the program in Montana – previously, many students who wished to study veterinary nursing had to leave the state to do just that. We also have some out-of-state students and there is no difference in our tuition rates.Our students do a 1 +1 educational format of veterinary assistant (VA) followed by veterinary technician (VT). We have a clinic area where students practice and master skills such as radiology, blood and laboratory work, anesthesia monitoring, surgical assisting and bandaging. Ample small animal resources are available to us from local shelters and rescue groups. Field trips to ranches allow hands-on training in beef, dairy, porcine and equine procedures and acquiring restraint skills such as running a hydrolytic cattle chute or assisting in an equine dentistry.
But nothing truly reflects an effective program like statistics and survey results, which I share below:Student Population
- Current
- 26 active students (13 Vet Tech/13 Vet Assist)
- 2 Vet Techs graduating this week
- August Veterinary Assistant start: 26
Graduates
- 13 VT graduates
- 10 have passed the VTNE
(Veterinary Technician National Exam)
- All but one have jobs
Retention: VA 90%, VT 87%
Job Placement: VA 100%, VT 100%
Student Satisfaction Survey
- VA
- Participation 100%
- Satisfaction Level: 4.49/5
- VT
- Participation 100%
- Satisfaction Level: 4.25/5
Clinical Externship VA/VT Site Satisfaction Survey
- Participation 100%
- Satisfaction Level: 100%
Employer Satisfaction Survey reflecting hired VT graduates
- Participation 85%
- Satisfaction Level: 100%
My hope is to reach high school counselors about our program, especially those at schools that already have a veterinary assistant program. Pima is willing to give free college credit courses online to high school students who might wish to matriculate over to our Vet Tech Program. Should you have any questions or would like to come and tour our campus at UMW in Dillon, please email me at jwinderl@pmi.edu or call 406-988-0888.
Jan Winderl, DVM, is the Veterinary Technician Program director and campus director of Pima Medical Institute in Dillon, Montana. www.pmi.edu