Over the past few years, veterinary clinics in Central Oregon have asked the vet technician program at Central Oregon Community College to expand. In 2025, it’s finally happening.

The program will potentially double its student body by offering a cohort each academic year instead of every other year. The program’s advisory board and the accrediting body all recommended the expansion to address a nationwide veterinary technician shortage.

COCC has been adding certificates and training opportunities at its four campuses over the past few years, partly in an effort to boost the local workforce. Based on local demand, it seems the efforts will pay off.

“It’s important to me to make sure we’re serving the community and that our community’s animals have educated staff working with them,” said Beth Palmer, vet technician program director. “What’s happening is the population of animals is rising, people are getting more and more animals, veterinary care is becoming more affordable because they now offer pet insurance…There are so many veterinary clinics trying to hire certified veterinary technicians, so what we’re trying to do is to fill that gap.”

From cats to cows

The two-year program is situated in Redmond, but has its own 10,000-square-foot building located right behind BrightSide Animal Center, a high-save animal shelter. The building includes a radiology suite and classrooms, among other areas for students to work.

Students graduate with an Associate of Applied Science degree before taking a national exam and then a state exam to be licensed as a vet technician. COCC’s program offers a wide variety of classes, including anatomy and physiology, hematology, parasitology and hands-on classes to work with dogs, cats and exotic animals. The program also has a large animal nursing class so students get experience working with cows, horses, pigs, sheep, llamas and alpacas.

“Students get a well-rounded education in all animals before they graduate,” said Palmer. “(Students) are definitely needed to work on ferrets and guinea pigs and hamsters.”

In their first year, students take general classes, learn how to draw blood and give injections. The program partners with local shelters, including BrightSide Animal Center, which provides dogs and cats for students to practice on. In return, students provide medical care for the animals. In their second year, students work with doctors to come up with anesthetic plans and help put animals under anesthesia.

The program will accept 18 to 20 students per year, starting in fall 2025.

Students are also able to practice their skills in internships at three different veterinary clinics.

The program began in January 2013, and the partnership with BrightSide Animal Center began at the same time. The program also works closely with Humane Society of the Ochocos, especially for surgery work, because the Prineville shelter doesn’t have its own veterinarian.

“We have a very supportive veterinary community, and we have a shortage of veterinary technicians in the community,” Palmer said. “We were hearing a lot from our veterinary partners and veterinary community to please graduate more certified veterinary technicians. We’re servicing our community because it’s important to us and they’re asking us to.”

If not for the expansion, new students wouldn’t join the program until 2026.

Aside from hiring additional staff and creating more offices, Palmer is hoping to modify the veterinary technician laboratory to accommodate two classes at the same time. That’s in the works, she said.

“We would hire an adjunct instructor and two part-time faculty members (to start in the fall),” she said. “I’m very excited for the change, and I’m excited for the students, and I’m excited for the community as well.”

Partnering with BrightSide

Taylor Campbell, executive director of BrightSide Animal Center, said the partnership has been beneficial on both sides. The center’s animals get interaction with more people and the students get a wide range of animal experiences.

“The partnership has grown over the years. We’re right next door to each other,” said Campbell. “The students do come over after certain terms that they’ve gone through and learn kennel duties with us so they start working with our cats, and as they learn more about animal behavior, they move to working with our dogs.”

Sometimes the center’s dogs will go over to the program’s building and join the students, which Campbell considers a win-win scenario.

“What doesn’t feel better than having a dog hang out with you while you are doing a test or have downtime, and then it’s great exposure for the dog as well to be able to interact with other people, get a little break from the shelter for a moment,” said Campbell.

Campbell is always glad to see more people getting into the animal field.

“We’re seeing our community grow, we’re seeing the need for more veterinary care, for more animals, so as our community grows we need more people who are wanting to go into that field, so I think it’s an amazing opportunity for them to be able to expand it,” she said.

BrightSide has a vet tech who is a graduate of the COCC program, so the clinic hasn’t experienced the vet tech shortage. But Campbell said overall there is always a shortage in healthcare and medical care for both humans and animals.

Bailey Jallo, who graduated from the program in June 2022, said she had an excellent experience in the program. Jallo, 25, is now the shelter clinic manager for the Humane Society of Central Oregon in Bend.

“The veterinary community, not only in Central Oregon, but kind of throughout the country could really use support staff,” Jallo said. “The fact that they’re able to offer it annually is awesome and I really, really hope that it’s able to make a difference in the veterinary community.”

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