2023/24 Veterinary Medical Assistant Student Handbook

2023/2024

WelcometoLakelandCollege!

Congratulations on choosing a career as a Veterinary Medical Assistant.

Lakeland College wants to make this year a very exciting and fulfilling experience for you.

Be proud of what you have accomplished thus far to get admitted to the program and make every effort to maximize your experience and knowledge while you are here.

By enrolling in the VMA Program, you have agreed to the terms and conditions explained in this handbook.

Professionalism

Upon entering the Veterinary Medical Assistant program, you have become a paraprofessional member of the veterinary profession. As such, there are professional standards, which are expected both within the program and within the industry.

Professional and Academic Dishonesty

Professional and academic dishonesty, such as:

❖ Cheating or plagiarism on academic work (grade of zero)

❖ Lying to a staff member

❖ Failure to provide required kennel or nursing care to an assigned patient or falsifying medical records

will result in a written letter of reprimand. A second offence within the program duration will result in course failure, or potential suspension from the program, and the student will be required to fill out an incidence report for the Animal Care Committee.

Plagiarism is the use of unoriginal work in assignments and papers. All assignments can be run through Grammarly or Turnitin to verify originality. Anything more than 10 percent unoriginal work is considered academic dishonesty.

Classroom Conduct

An atmosphere of respect and tolerance is expected towards your peers and your instructors. Unprofessional conduct, such as texting, sleeping in class or disruptive talking, will not be permitted. Refer to https://www.lakelandcollege.ca/campus-life/rules-regulations-forms/policies-procedures/

Cells phones must be turned off and put away during class. No texting will be allowed.

Without prior notification to the instructor, lateness for class and labs will not be tolerated. A late student may not be allowed entry once the class/lab has started and the student will be recorded as “absent”.

Pictures and recording lectures will not be allowed without consent.

Exam Policy

During the writing of any exam or quiz, students will not be allowed to:

❖ No food will be allowed

❖ All backpacks/jackets must be left at the front of the room

❖ Cell phones and smart watches are not permitted

Be advised that assigned seating for exams may also be implemented.

Cell phones are to be turned OFF and left in your bag at the front of the room or with the instructor at the front of the room.

Program calculators will be provided for use during the exam.

Students are not permitted to leave the exam while it is in progress (this includes bathroom breaks).

Absences

Labs

Missed labs are often impossible to make up or reschedule and will result in a zero. The only excusable absence for a lab is notification of an illness with a doctor’s note, a funeral card or a College-sanctioned event. Students are responsible for material missed during the absence. The instructor must be notified of any labs being missed!

Exams

The only excusable absence for an exam is with notification of illness with a doctor’s note (not the College nurse), a funeral card or a College-sanctioned event. Weather is not an excused absence. Once dates and times are set, midterms and final exams will not be moved. If a student is approved by the instructor to be able to write a make-up exam, the alternate date will be determined by the instructor to write the “excused” exam.

Late Assignments

We have a consistent procedure within the program regarding the handing in of assignments or projects:

❖ Assignments/projects are due on the deadline set by the instructor

❖ Late assignments/projects will not be accepted and will receive a grade of zero (0)

❖ Students are responsible to ensure that assignments are submitted on time

Field Trips and Guest Speakers

Professional conduct (as outlined in classroom conduct) is expected from all students.

❖ Please be aware that you are representing Lakeland College, as well as the veterinary profession during these times

❖ Dress appropriately – sweats and hats (toques and ball caps) are not considered professional attire

❖ No alcohol consumption or drug use during business hours

Social Media/Online Posting of Pictures/Videos from Lakeland College

VMA Classes

The veterinary profession follows a Code of Ethics to promote professionalism and confidentiality. The posting of pictures on any websites or social media from any VMA classes at Lakeland College is considered unprofessional and will not be tolerated.

ClothingandFootwear

Proper Clothing and Footwear must be worn to participate in all labs. Failure to do so will result in the student being asked to leave the lab.

Farm Clothing

For any large animal labs, the following clothing must be available to be worn:

❖ Two pairs of coveralls

➢ Students are required to have two pairs of coveralls. All street clothes must be covered.

▪ Coveralls must be washed if visibly dirty and coveralls should be cleaned or changed between animal units; failure to do this may result in you being asked to leave the lab

❖ Boots – washable steel-toed, rubber boots must be worn when working with large animals

➢ Boots must be cleaned and disinfected after every lab

❖ For biosecurity concerns, any clothing worn during labs must be designated/restricted for Lakeland College labs only

Clinical Labs

❖ Lab coats and scrub tops – long-sleeved preferred with cuffs

➢ Must cover all shirts worn underneath

❖ All full set of scrubs (tops and pants) are required for surgery labs.

❖ Clean clinic footwear

➢ No open toes (crocs, sandals or boots)

StudentRabiesImmunization

Rabies is a disease that can be transmitted from unvaccinated animals to humans. There is no effective treatment for rabies. The VMA program at Lakeland College uses cats and dogs from humane societies and rescue organizations in teaching labs that may not be vaccinated against rabies or that have an unknown vaccine status. It is a requirement of the program that all students be vaccinated against rabies at the beginning of their academic year to insure protection against rabies.

Arrangements to have this done will be set up by the VMA program and you will be notified in early September of the dates and times. Rabies immunization consists of a series of three vaccine injections. The first two are one week apart with the third vaccine being two weeks after the second one. Vaccinations will be administered by a Public Health nurse at Lakeland College. You will then be required to have a rabies titre done three weeks after the last vaccine to confirm protection against rabies. There is no cost to the student for any of this.

Students that have been previously immunized against rabies will need to have antibody titres done or provide a copy of their last antibody titre to ensure they still have protective levels of antibodies.

AnimalCareExpectations

We expect animals, which are under our care at Lakeland College, to receive the highest quality of care and attention. See Kennel Care booklet.

Failure to provide required kennel or nursing care to an assigned patient or falsifying medical records will result in a written letter of reprimand. This letter will remain on file until graduation. A second offence within the program duration will result in course failure, or potential suspension from the program, and the student will be required to fill out an incidence report for the Animal Care Committee.

❖ Animals should only be handled by students within the program and who are assigned to that particular animal

❖ Dogs are to be double leashed when on walks

❖ No animals are permitted to "free roam" in the kennel rooms

❖ Play Pen: Can be used for interactive play time for a minimum of 10 minutes, only 1 dog at a time

❖ Cats can be taken to the playroom for student interaction but only 1 cat at a time

On weekends:

❖ Dogs will be left kenneled for no longer than 12 hours at a time (overnight)

❖ At minimum, dogs will be walked three times daily and put in the outside runs as much as possible (weather permitting)

❖ Kennel care on dogs and cats must be performed at least twice daily, kennel care includes cleanliness, as well as food and water

BoardingofPrivately-OwnedAnimals

The Animal Health Clinic facility is here for the use of the VMA, as well as the AHT program, for teaching purposes

❖ Permission must be obtained from an AHT/VMA staff member prior to bringing the animal

❖ Must be an VMA student’s animal

➢ And is an SPCA adoption OR an animal that is used in a lab

➢ Space must be available

➢ Time limit – 7 days maximum

❖ No other boarding of animals will be allowed

ClinicAdoptions

❖ Animals adopted by students in the program can be boarded (space permitting) if their use in labs is needed.

VeterinaryCareforStudentAnimals

Drugs and Supplies

We cannot sell any veterinary drugs or supplies.

Professional Veterinary Service

Due to the large number of students in the program, and in the interest of fairness, we cannot provide any professional veterinary services for student-owned animals, unless requested by instructor for use in a lab. Must be student’s own animal.

VMACourseRequirementsforGraduation

Requirement for Successful Course Completion

All courses require a minimum of 50% (D) in lecture and in lab.

Practicum will be four weeks in length. Refer to the VE 177 course outline for practicum guidelines Students MUST have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 to go on practicum. Students with a GPA lower than 2.0 require written permission from the Chair to attend practicum.

* Students are required to obtain a GPA of 2.0 to graduate from the program.

Course Failure

If a student does not achieve the minimum passing grade, they have one of two options:

Rewrite

A rewrite may be granted if the student is within 2 percent of the minimum passing mark for that class or lab. A rewrite shall replace the student’s final exam. The student is still expected to reach the minimum pass for the class or lab after the completion of the rewrite. Students must not only pass the exam, but pass the course.

Special Project

A special project may be granted if the student has failed the class or lab by more than 2 percent, but no more than 5 percent. A special project is a supplemental project that replaces the course. The student is expected to reach the minimum pass for the class or lab after completing the special project. The criteria and expectations of the special project will be determined by the instructor.

**Students are allowed only ONE rewrite OR special project per year, and upon successful completion, the maximum mark that can be achieved for the course is a passing grade (D).

In the event that a student does not meet this requirement, they will be suspended from the program for one semester.

Students will be responsible to pay for the rewrite or special project prior to it being administered.

Failure to complete all required courses will result in the student having to return to complete those courses within a five-year timeframe.

A student must successfully complete ALL Semester 1 courses prior to registering for ANY Semester 2 courses.

Practicum

Students must pass (or be eligible for a rewrite/special project) all of their courses to go on their practicum.

Failure to complete the entire practicum will result in the student not being eligible to graduate. Another practicum may be arranged with a course fee attached. There is a maximum of two attempts at a practicum.

AppendixA