The Douglas College Newsletter ml New Westminster Campus, David Lam Campus

 

January 2006

IN

Douglas College

New Veterinarian Office Assistant and Animal Care
Certificate Program “most comprehensive"

Ziggy the dog’s near-death
experience has given life to a

whole new animal care program.

In fact, you might call the
Veterinarian Office Assistant and
Animal Care Certificate Program
Brenda Welock’s pet project.

“T saw a need that had to

be filled,” said Welock,

a Continuing Education
Coordinator for Douglas
College. “I knew we could fill
that need.”

Welock found out what was
lacking after Ziggy got hit by

a car. She rushed her pet to

the nearest animal clinic and
while Ziggy got lots of love, she
“didn’t get all the essentials” of
good animal care. She emerged
from the clinic completely

dehydrated.

Concerned that not all
veterinarian staff had the skills
needed to take care of both
animals and office work, Welock
started making inquiries, She
kept getting the same message:
more animal-handling training
was needed. She discovered

there wasn't a single public

post-secondary institution in BC
offering a full-time veterinarian
assisting program. So Welock
decided to fill this crucial

educational gap.

The result is the Veterinarian
Office Assistant and Animal
Care Certificate (VOAAC)
Program, Starting in April,
2006, students will receive
the comprehensive, hands-on
training they need to handle
both paperwork and pets.

“It’s priced extremely reasonably
and builds on the Douglas
College foundation of excellent
instructors and small class sizes,”
says Welock. “Our goal is to
make it the best program in the
province.”

During the 20-week program,
students will learn from
professionals about domestic
animal handling, physiology
and pre- and post-operative
care. The office skills will be
taught by instructors from the
College’s Office Administration
Department.

Offered at the New Westminster
campus from April to September,

the 25-hour-a-week program will
also feature a three-week practicum

plus a debriefing session.

Welock says the VOAAC Program
not only fills a need in the
community, it will help open doors

to new careers for students.

“There are lots of job opportunities
in this field,” says Welock. “As well
as veterinarian clinics, you can
work in animal rescue shelters and
elsewhere.”

The program has been designed
with the help of animal care
professionals like veterinarian
Pauline Chow, who says it covers

all the bases.

“The VOAAC Program being
offered by Douglas College is now
the most comprehensive
Veterinary Assistant Program
available in the Lower Mainland,”
says Chow.

Information sessions for the
program are set for January 17,
February 15 and March 9, 2006.
For more information, please
contact Welock at 604-527-5446
welockb@douglas.bc.ca) or check

out (www.douglas.bc.ca/ce/cba).

Douglas College, Luoyang University sign agreement

Douglas College President Susan Witter shakes hands with Zhao Jinzhao, President of Luoyang

University (LYU), China, during a December signing ceremony. The two institutions reached an

agreement to exchange professional development, as well as starting a scholarly exchange program to

promote teaching and research excellence. LYU will send about 10 ESL faculty members each year to

Douglas College for summer immersion programs. Both LYU and the College will exchange one or

two faculty members starting in June 2006 for professional development. There is also provision for
some exchange of student learning in the three-year agreement. Guangwei Ouyang, DC Director of
International Projects (left), and Vice President Don Chang-sho (right), were also present for

the signing.

 

 

Ziggy and Brenda Welock: Dog's misfortune led to a whole new

animal care program.

Students First! A New Vision to
Support Learning and Services

After almost a year of
development, the Learning
Support Services Plan has been
finalized and is now tabled

with the Douglas College Board
for approval, The plan is called
“Students First! A New Vision
to Support Learning and
Services.” It calls for attitudinal
and cultural shifts which
present an opportunity for a
brighter future for students and
employees alike.

The plan supports the
implementation of the Academic
Plan and informs the future
academic and strategic planning
of the College. Included in the
plan is the proposal to establish
the Office for New Students
which will be part of our
2006/07 budget proposal.

“The Students First! plan signals
a new direction for employees
and students alike,” says

Blaine Jensen, Vice President,
Educational Services. “The
changes that are proposed will
cause us to think differently,
plan more strategically and then
critically evaluate our work,
Once approved by the College
Board, we will engage the whole
College community in creating
a more student-friendly and
welcoming environment.”

The Academic Plan, approved
by the Board in January 2005,
and the Learning Support
Services Plan will be the primary
documents as we move forward
to finalize our new Strategic Plan
that we will table with the Board
in 2006, Jensen says.

 

Quote of the Month

The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should

have a new soul,

~G.K. Chesterton