In order to provide quality pet care, the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine (MU CVM) utilizes the skills of highly-trained registered veterinary technicians (RVTs). These RVTs play a vital role in increasing the efficiency and quality of veterinary care offered in MU’s Veterinary Health Center and other veterinary practices across the nation. Like nurses who care for human patients, these hardworking RVTs require education and training to become licensed in their profession. However, until now, RVTs have had few options to further their education and advance their career while maintaining their employment.
Here at Mizzou, we took an innovative approach to overcome obstacles preventing veterinary technicians’ access to quality advanced education. The MU CVM has developed an online bachelor of science in veterinary technology degree plan for licensed RVTs. This bachelor’s completion program will meet the demand of currently practicing veterinary technicians by providing online, asynchronous distance learning, making advanced education available while they continue to work within the profession. An advanced veterinary technology degree can improve patient outcomes, client satisfaction, hospital productivity, and overall career satisfaction and wellness of the veterinary medical team.
The MU CVM is accepting the inaugural cohort to the BSVT program in the fall of 2021. As a new degree program, we will need to raise funds to offer specific scholarships for our students within this niche of undergraduate programs. Ensuring a diverse, equitable, and inclusive veterinary profession is essential to the MU CVM. Therefore, we would like to target underrepresented minority students directly by offering a $5,000 scholarship each year. An additional $5,000 scholarship would fund a second part-time student through one year of BSVT coursework and establishes $10,000 as our initial fundraising goal for the BSVT scholarship program.
Veterinary technicians are the backbone of many veterinary practices and the primary patient caretaker for sick and injured pets. These hardworking individuals deserve this opportunity to advance their careers and broaden their knowledge base in their chosen vocation. Thank you for your support of MU CVM, the bachelor of science in veterinary technology program, and the profession of veterinary technology!