Scrub-a-dub-dub at NCTA Spa Day

Scrub-a-dub-dub at NCTA Spa Day

STVMA students who helped with the 2017 Spring NCTA Pet Spa were, from left to right, back row: Jordan Bayliss, Albert City, Iowa; Ashley Matson, Elm Creek; Kati Mannel, Gothenburg; Carli Johnson, Hastings; Brittany Koperski, St. Paul; Kelley Rosati, Maple Grove, Minnesota; and MacKenzie Walker, Arthur. Seated are, Eva Oliver, Merriman, and Payton Peterson, Bertrand.  (Courtesy Photo)
STVMA students who helped with the 2017 Spring NCTA Pet Spa were, from left to right, back row: Jordan Bayliss, Albert City, Iowa; Ashley Matson, Elm Creek; Kati Mannel, Gothenburg; Carli Johnson, Hastings; Brittany Koperski, St. Paul; Kelley Rosati, Maple Grove, Minnesota; and MacKenzie Walker, Arthur. Seated are, Eva Oliver, Merriman, and Payton Peterson, Bertrand. (Courtesy Photo)

April 20, 2017

By Mary Crawford, NCTA News

Dogs and cats were pampered and veterinary technician students chalked up practical learning experiences at a recent “Spa Day” at their college in Curtis.

The Student Technicians of Veterinary Medicine Association (STVMA) from the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis hosted their popular spring cleaning, a biannual Spa Day on April 8.

They bathed, clipped toe nails, cleaned ears and checked overall health of more than 50 dogs and one cat that Saturday at the Dr. Walter Long Veterinary Technology Teaching Clinic at the NCTA campus.

For a free-will donation to the STVMA club, pet owners took home a clean and pampered pet while students had some fun with their fundraising activity that’s become a popular tradition around town.

“As vet tech students, we get to practice the basic skills we learn in hands-on classes that we will utilize in an ordinary, career situation at a veterinary clinic,” explained STVMA President Kelley Rosati of Maple Grove, Minn.

Rosati will be starting her third year in the NCTA veterinary technician program.

“Our members appreciate the community for coming out and showing support of our club,” she said. “We have great faculty, staff and students who volunteer their time to help make this service event possible, and we always enjoy it greatly even though we were very busy!”

NCTA holds graduation on May 4, after which some graduates go into their professional careers in veterinary clinics, research centers, wildlife preserves, zoos or other aspects of the animal care industry.

Twenty three students are currently on internship, 90 percent of whom have accepted permanent positions in private practice, said Ricky Sue Barnes Wach, D.V.M, NCTA professor and faculty sponsor of the STVMA club.

Thirty-three will graduate May 4, with other veterinary technology students return to campus in June for their 8-week summer session.

Graduate Sheila Reichmuth of Leigh, Nebraska, will attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for veterinary science studies.

“We are very fortunate in the vet tech program at NCTA to utilize real animals for our labs and classes, instead of cadavers, plastic or stuffed animals,” Rosati said. “I have learned so much more, and not just about cats and dog, but also pocket pets, horses, cattle and so many other species.”

For additional information about NCTA Veterinary Technology courses, see ncta.unl.edu or call Barbara Berg, VT division chairman, at 308-367-5219.

Online article:  http://go.unl.edu/srwn

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