Become a Veterinary Partner
How it Works
1. Sign Up
Complete the interest form below.
2. Placement
We鈥檒l connect you with students seeking clinical sites.
3. Training & Support
Our faculty will provide guidance on student expectations and required skills.
4. Hands-on Learning Begins!
Host students in your practice as students complete their clinical training.
Support Future Vet Techs While Growing Your Team
At 黑料网911鈥檚 Veterinary Technology program prepares students for careers as licensed veterinary technicians. To complete their training, students need hands-on experience through clinical rotations with veterinary professionals like you!
What Does Being a Veterinary Partner Mean?
Veterinary partners provide mentorship and real-world experience to our students over four semesters of clinical training. This includes:
- Offering students supervised, hands-on experience in a veterinary setting
- Helping students develop essential clinical skills
- Providing valuable insight into daily veterinary operations
Why Partner With Us?
- Shape the Future of Veterinary Medicine 鈥� Help educate and train the next generation of vet techs.
- Expand Your Team 鈥� Many of our students seek employment post-graduation. A partnership allows you to work with potential future hires.
- Contribute to Your Profession 鈥� Support high-quality education in veterinary care and strengthen the local veterinary community.
Veterinary Partner Expectations
Once accepted as an official veterinary partner, you must identity one person within your practice to serve as a听Clinical Assistant*听and serve as the supervising 鈥渋nstructor鈥� during student visits. Clinical assistants must be a licensed veterinarian or veterinary technician.
Your role as a Clinical Assistant:
- Supervising vet tech students during their time at the practice, ensuring they are gaining hands-on experience and following the necessary protocols.
- Coordinating with students to ensure they are scheduled appropriately for their time at the veterinary practice.
- Providing an orientation at your veterinary practice for all new students, introducing them to key protocols, equipment and team members specific to your practice.
- Regularly completing student feedback forms to update the program on their progress and submitting these forms to the Vet Tech program. These forms can be completed online and should only take 3-5 minutes to complete.听
- Attending approximately two online meetings per block with the course instructors, each lasting about 30 minutes, to discuss student progress, address any concerns and collaborate on improvements to the program.
- Participate in program training for clinical assistants provided through At 黑料网911.
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Important Notes:
- Students can be expected to be at your site approximately 10 to 20 hours a week.
- Supervising clinical assistants may opt in to receive a stipend of $150 per semester for helping our students. This will require Clinical Assistants to complete At 黑料网911 payroll paperwork which can be done all online for those outside of Great Falls.
- At 黑料网911 provides student professional liability insurance coverage for student projects undertaken while registered for academic credit. A certificate of insurance can be provided upon request. Professional liability insurance covers the negligent acts or omissions of student interns in clinical settings.
What is a Clinical Assistant?
Clinical Assistant: A paid employee or owner of the facility assigned by the facility to supervise and mentor student(s) at the facility who has signed a Letter of Agreement (LOA) with At 黑料网911 to supervise student’s hands-on learning at their facility. They are the point of contact for the program/student(s) at the facility and are required to regularly (once or twice a semester) submit feedback on student performance. When the student(s) is present, the CA may be treating their own patients. Their primary role is to supervise the student(s) and answer questions regarding the material learned in the courses as it applies to the tasks they are observing or completing at the facility. These CAs meet with the students on a regular basis and receive a stipend from the college to complete regular feedback regarding student performance. They may also be asked to attend regular program meetings outside of their normal work hours.听
Application Process
The application process to become a Veterinary Partner involves several steps and is currently coordinated by the Program Director. To help ensure that approval can be completed before student application deadlines in the fall, we greatly appreciate clinics completing each step of the process as promptly as possible. Please note that Veterinary Partner applications are reviewed and approved during the Fall semester, so timely submission of all required materials is important to keep the process moving smoothly.
1:听Complete the interest form.
2: An email containing a link to the Application and Site Requirements documents will be sent to the email listed in the interest form. These forms must be signed by the Owner or Practice Manager of the clinic. This email will also contain a link to a folder where the clinic representative will upload a video tour and photos of equipment for review.听
3: After the videos and photos are reviewed, the clinic representative will receive an email explaining any limitations to what skills students may perform at the clinic along with a link to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). At the end of the MOU, the clinic representative will identify an LVT or DVM to be the Clinical Assistant for the site. The Clinical Assistant will be responsible for supervising the student(s) at all times while they are learning skills and performing assessments. For further detail, see Veterinary Partner Expectations.
4: Upon receipt of the MOU, an email will be sent directly to the identified Clinical Assistant. This email will contain a link to a Letter of Agreement (LOA) document as well as a training module.
- An optional $150/semester/student stipend is available. Clinical Assistants who indicate they would like this stipend will receive an additional email from GFC HR to complete payroll paperwork
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5: Upon receipt of the LOA and training module certificate, an email will be sent to the Clinical Assistant and clinic representative notifying each of the approval and include a Certificate of Approval PDF. This Certificate of Approval should be provided by the clinic to students who are seeking to apply to the Veterinary Technician Program.
- Note: Issuing an Approval Certificate to a student does not guarantee admission to the Veterinary Technician Program, nor does it guarantee that the student will ultimately be assigned to your clinic.
Admission to the program is competitive, and applicants are ranked using an established scoring system. Clinical placements are then assigned based on those rankings, with students being placed at their highest-preferred approved clinic whenever possible.
Clinics may issue more Approval Certificates than they have available student positions. The admissions committee will not assign more students to a clinic than the number of placement positions the clinic has indicated are available.
Facility Requirements
To be approved as a veterinary partner, veterinary facilities must meet certain minimum standards regarding hospital, staff, equipment and practice quality. Each veterinary partner site must agree to follow these standards to be approved. These minimum standards must be met to ensure students receive adequate exposure to quality veterinary medical practices and equipment.
List of Equipment for Vet Partners
Don鈥檛 meet all of the requirements? Don鈥檛 worry!听If you don鈥檛 meet all the criteria for all of the required equipment, you can still get approved for some of our courses, and students may need to participate with multiple vet partners to practice all of their skills.
Video Footage Requirements: As part of successfully submitting your application, you will be asked to provide videos of specific aspects of your veterinary practice to ensure you meet all facility requirements.
If you need assistance with taking and/or submitting the videos, we are glad to help.听Any videos submitted as part of the Veterinary Partner approval process will be used solely for the purpose of verifying compliance with the minimum facility standards required by the AVMA CVTEA (American Veterinary Medical Association Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities). Access to these materials will be restricted to authorized personnel within the Veterinary Technician Program and CVTEA and will not be shared with, distributed to, or made accessible by individuals outside of those entities except as required by law or accreditation review processes
Most newer iPhones (or android equivalent) provide video of sufficient quality, however, CVTEA recommends (1) using a ‘gimble’ stabilizer to allow for the smoothest video possible, (2) recording and uploading in the highest quality possible, and (3) making multiple, short videos. In each of your video tours, the site team will want to see (as applicable);
- Facilities/ Building Tour
- Animal housing and animal holding areas
- Safety labelling and signage (Radiology, biohazardous waste, refrigerators, eyewash stations, etc.)
- Secondary labelling (OSHA compliance)
- SDS binder(s) or description of electronic access
- Controlled substances storage, and controlled substances log
- Radiology safety equipment (PPE, dosimetry badge storage)
- Radiology equipment (fixed, portable, and dental radiology equipment)
- Anesthetic monitoring equipment
- Anesthesia machines
- Surgical suite (s)
- Clinical pathology equipment (blood analyzer machines, centrifuges)
- Microbiology incubator
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If applicable or only for large animal vet partners:
- Required large animal equipment items
- Cattle chute (with images of all four sites)
FAQ
What is required to become a veterinary partner?
Veterinary partners must provide a safe and educational environment where students can practice their clinical skills under direct supervision. While having all required equipment is ideal, clinics that don鈥檛 meet every requirement may still qualify for some courses. Students may work with multiple clinics to gain a full range of skills.
Do I have to commit to all four semesters?
If your clinic is providing small animal clinical training, then yes, clinics are expected to support students throughout all four semesters of the Veterinary Technician Program to provide continuity in the student’s clinical education and skill development.
Clinics that are participating solely to provide large animal or exotic and lab animal, or specialty clinical experiences听are generally only needed for the semester in which those specific skills are taught.
However, the Veterinary Partner Agreement is renewed annually each fall and is not an irrevocable commitment. Either the clinic or the College may terminate the partnership agreement at anytime by providing written notice. In the event of termination, any student currently assigned to the clinic will be permitted to remain at the site for up to 90 days following receipt of the written notice by the other party. This transition period allows the College sufficient time to identify and secure an alternative clinical placement for the student while minimizing disruption to the student’s educational progress.
Do I need to hire the student after they complete their program?
No, there is no expectation to hire students once they finish their coursework. However, if you enjoy working with students, you are welcome to continue providing a training space for future cohorts.
Can I be a veterinary partner for my current employee?
Yes. Clinics may serve as a Veterinary Partner for a current employee who is enrolled in the Veterinary Technician Program. However, by participating as a Veterinary Partner, the clinic agrees to prioritize the student’s educational experience and clinical skill development over their employment responsibilities.
This includes allowing the student to practice required skills as opportunities are available and involving them in procedures and cases as necessary to achieve proficiency. When infrequent procedures, unique learning opportunities, or experiences that align with required program competencies arise, the student should be permitted to step away from their regular work duties, in order to observe, assist with, or perform the skill under appropriate supervision.
The goal of the Veterinary Partner relationship is to ensure that the student has meaningful opportunities to develop and demonstrate the competencies required for successful completion of the Veterinary Technician Program.
Can I take on a student who isn鈥檛 my employee?
Absolutely! We work with students across different locations and can match you with one in your area who needs a clinical site.
Do I have to pay the student?
No. Veterinary partners are not required to pay students. This is an educational opportunity where students practice their knowledge under professional supervision.
What if my clinic specializes in a particular field of veterinary medicine?
We welcome specialty clinics! If you offer specialty services (holistic care, orthopedics, behavior, dentistry, equine medicine, exotics, emergency care, etc.) please reach out to us. We may have students interested in gaining experience in your specialty.