What is a compliance assistant?

Has anyone taken the vet assistant program at Penn Foster and is NOW working as a vet assistant?

• I know alot of people say that most vet clinics do not like online schools due to the fact that you don't get the hands on experience that you supposedly need. But I have checked it out on the AVMA website and they have a list of all the online schools that are accredited by them. So if vet clinics do not approve of online schools then why would the AVMA approve of them? Anyway, Penn Foster is one of the schools listed on their website, but I am still unsure whether or not I should attend. I've called many vet clinics around my area and asked them if its a good idea to go to Penn Foster or just an online school in general and they all tell me the same thing "I don't know". I don't see how they can not know, but they all claim that they don't. I know you don't exactly have to have a degree to be a vet assistant, but you do need experience and no one here will give me a chance to get any experience, so I figured maybe a degree would help. So, my question is, has anyone taken the vet assistant program at Penn Foster, has gotten their degree and is now working as a vet assistant due to them receiving this degree? Or if anyone else can recommend a different or maybe better online school with that program that would also be appreciated. Oh and by the way I live in Kentucky, so they do not offer a vet assistant program here, which is why I am asking about an online one instead!!!

• Answer:

  Basically, the online degree might give you a slight heads up over your current situation, but given the choice between you and another applicant that has experience then they will probably hire the other person because they won't have to take the time to train that person in the hands on aspects of being a veterinary assistant. Might I suggest going to vet tech school instead? These degrees are better, you'll make more money and there are a lot more schools out there for that. According to the AVMA website there are two schools in Kentucky that offer veterinary technicial programs: Morehead State University and Murray State University. I also looked up Penn Foster on the AVMA website and it looks like it is a vet tech program as well. So why not just go to local one in Kentucky. It also said that Penn foster was not fully accredited with them. Keep in mind as well that if they are accredited by the AVMA then they probably have some way for you to get hands on experience while in the program which normally requires you to work or volunteer with a vet that's willing to teach you the hands on parts of the program. This is why these programs are best for people who have been working in the field for years and just want to get registered. In other words they already know the hands on parts and just need the classroom parts. They're not very good for someone who's never worked in a clinic before.