Training the next generation of vet technicians, one step at a time

The dog arrived unable to walk, its spine failing. Week after week, the owners drove 30 miles each way from Roanoke for treatment. Drew Dunn watched for progress that the clinical data suggested might never come.   
 
"We knew it was possible. But the chances were low," Dunn said.  

The neurology team has a term for patients like this one: land sharks. Through no fault of their own — fearful, uncomfortable, often in significant pain — these are the animals that can at times bite. Hard.  

Then came the appointment that rewrote the prognosis. The dog walked in on its own legs.  
 
While Dunn sat on the neurology mat, it wandered over and climbed into his lap. "I was honestly terrified to pet it," Dunn said, laughing. "I was like, I'm trapped now." But the land shark wanted contact. It was healing.  

Moments like this one confirm what Dunn, a veterinary assistant at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, had already started to believe: He belongs in veterinary medicine.  

"We did not think it would improve as much as it did," he said.  

It is moments like this that keep him going.   

An unexpected path  

Dunn grew up in Blacksburg. After high school, he enrolled in biological systems engineering at Virginia Tech. An internship at the veterinary college changed that trajectory.  

"Working in those internships showed me that I like the animal patient care side a bit more than the engineering math," he said.  

He stepped back from school, worked entry-level jobs, then landed a position in central sterile services at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital — the team that prepares surgical instruments and maintains sterile supplies. 

There, he learned that licensed veterinary technicians (LVTs) exist. He applied to Blue Ridge Community College's distance program and moved to the neurology department.  

Dunn said there wasn’t necessarily a particular moment that led him to become a licensed veterinary technicians. "It was more just, this feels right." 

Learning while working  

What few people realize is that the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine trains more than veterinary students. Alongside students, residents, and interns, the teaching hospital also develops licensed veterinary technicians — the professionals who handle anesthesia, run lab work, place catheters, and keep clinical operations moving.  

The need is significant. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, veterinary practices nationwide require approximately 14,300 new technicians annually — more than four times the projected openings for veterinarians. Virginia currently has 2,859 licensed veterinary technicians serving alongside 5,272 veterinarians.  

Blue Ridge Community College, located in Weyers Cave in the Shenandoah Valley, is one of the educational programs helping address this gap. The distance option takes three years and is designed for people who can't leave full-time work.  

"I don't think from a strictly financial standpoint I could step away from full-time work to do full-time school," Dunn said.  

Three mentors supervise his training: Missy Stillinger, a licensed veterinary technician specializing in anesthesia; Deanna McCrudden, the small-animal specialty clinic supervisor; and Micha Simons, a collegiate associate professor in small-animal surgery. All serve as adjunct faculty at Blue Ridge.  

McCrudden has been developing licensed veterinary technicians at the teaching hospital for years. "We can teach the knowledge part, and we can teach the skills," she said. "It's the personality. It's being a team member."  

For Dunn, the teaching hospital environment has multiplied his learning. "I feel like every one of my coworkers is a mentor," he said.   

A different kind of classroom  

Training at a teaching hospital comes with unique advantages — and unexpected gaps. Dunn works alongside board-certified neurologists on cases referred by general practices. But specialization creates blind spots.  

"There have been some moments that have almost felt like I've been disadvantaged working at a specialty teaching hospital," Dunn said. "There are skills that I never have to do here in my day-to-day work. I never have to worry about looking at fecal or urine samples. Here at the vet school, we can just send that to the lab."  

To fill those gaps, McCrudden coordinates rotations through other departments. Dunn has spent time in community practice and worked a week in anesthesia, where textbook concepts finally clicked.  

"It was like a light bulb went off," he said. "I was like, wow, this is exactly how the textbook said it would be."  

Making it possible  

The teaching hospital is testing a new model with Dunn. He pays tuition upfront each semester, and if he passes all classes, the hospital reimburses him. In exchange, he commits to three years of work after graduating.  

"I was told I'm kind of the guinea pig to see if this method would work," he said.  

Virginia's G3 workforce grant supports students in high-demand fields, such as veterinary technician training, and covers additional costs. "If anyone else is interested in LVT school and financial things are a limiting factor, I would definitely look into that," he said. "It has made it very easy, from a financial standpoint, to go through school."  

More than technicians  

"One of the first things they teach us in LVT school is that, strictly speaking, there are only four things in veterinary medicine that an LVT cannot do," Dunn said. "Surgery, diagnose, prognose, and prescribe."  

Everything else falls within their scope. Blood draws. Radiographs. Catheter placement. Anesthetic monitoring. Emergency care.  

"Being an anesthetist blew my mind when I started learning about LVTs," he said, "because I feel like in human medicine, that's a 12-year, super specialized MD [medical doctor] training. And LVTs are doing everything from small hamsters to large horses."  

McCrudden sees this misconception regularly. "The technicians really do it all," she said.  "We're the ones taking the blood, we're the ones putting in catheters."  

It's why the profession is pushing for a title change. "When you say ‘technician, people don't quite understand,” McCrudden said. “That's why we're trying to get the title of veterinary nurse."  

What comes next  

Dunn is halfway through the program. He balances full-time work with online classes and periodic trips to the Shenandoah Valley for labs. His fiancée, Katie, is doing the same, working full-time while attending school full-time.  

"I think living with someone else who's doing the same thing does help," he said. "We both just sit down and do our study time. Hit the books."  

When someone asks what advice he'd give to veterinary assistants considering the licensed veterinary technician path, his answer is simple.  

"Most of my professors graduated here at Virginia Tech as either DVMs [veterinarians] or worked here at some point as LVTs," he said. "And so, it's a great program. I would just tell them not to be afraid to reach out to those people. Nobody here is big and scary. They're all down to earth."  

He paused, then added: "And reach out to me if they want to know how to apply and stuff. I can help walk people through it."