Michigan State University’s Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Veterinary Nursing is designed to expand access to veterinary nursing education and help meet the growing need for credentialed veterinary professionals in Michigan and beyond.

Veterinary practices continue to experience a significant need for highly trained veterinary nurses, particularly in rural and underserved areas. At the same time, many individuals who are already working in veterinary practices, or who are interested in entering the profession, are unable to relocate or attend a traditional, campus-based program.

The AAS in Veterinary Nursing is designed to address both needs: preparing more highly skilled veterinary nursing professionals who are eligible to pursue professional credentialing while creating a more flexible pathway to an MSU education. This directly advances MSU’s land-grant mission and commitment to statewide service, addressing Michigan’s workforce needs while upholding the university’s standards for academic excellence and clinical competency.

The program combines online academic coursework with structured, hands-on clinical training. Students will build a strong foundation in veterinary nursing through rigorous academic coursework while completing required clinical skills through flexible, hands-on training experiences.

The curriculum includes education in areas such as: Small and large animal nursing, anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, preventive health care fand nutrition, clinical pathology, radiology, dentistry, anesthesia, surgical nursing, animal disease and management, and client communication and professional practice.

Throughout the program, students progress from foundational concepts to increasingly advanced clinical applications.

Because veterinary nursing is a hands-on profession, developing and demonstrating clinical skills is a central part of the program.

Students will have two pathways for completing the required hands-on skills portion of the curriculum:

Distributive Practicum Pathway

Students complete hands-on skills training at approved veterinary clinical sites while enrolled in practicum courses during the fall and spring semesters. This option allows students to integrate their coursework with supervised clinical experiences in an approved veterinary practice.

On-Campus Laboratory Pathway

Students complete their hands-on skills through intensive summer laboratory experiences on the MSU campus. These concentrated laboratory courses provide instruction, practice, and assessment in the same major clinical skill areas addressed through the distributive practicum pathway.

Both pathways are designed to lead to the same required veterinary nursing competencies. The difference is where and how students complete the structured hands-on portion of the curriculum.

In addition to the hands-on pathway students select, all students complete a progressive series of Veterinary Nursing Clinical Experience courses at approved veterinary clinical sites.

These experiences give students regular opportunities to apply what they are learning in authentic clinical settings. Students begin with foundational skills such as communication, restraint, physical examinations, medication administration, and infection control and progress to more advanced diagnostic, dentistry, anesthesia, and surgical nursing experiences.

This combination of academic preparation, deliberate skills training, and real-world clinical experience is intended to prepare graduates to enter veterinary practice with both knowledge and practical experience.

The distance-learning format is intended to make veterinary nursing education accessible to students who may not be able to relocate to East Lansing or attend a traditional campus-based program.

It may be particularly valuable for individuals who:

• Are currently employed in a veterinary practice but are not yet credentialed

• Live in areas without convenient access to an accredited veterinary nursing program

• Need greater flexibility because of work, family, or geographic responsibilities

• Want to enter the veterinary nursing profession without relocating for a traditional residential program

The AAS is designed as a stackable credential, allowing graduates to build on their education if they choose to continue their studies.

This means students can earn an associate degree and enter professional practice while maintaining the opportunity to continue their education and expand their skillset over time.

MSU has been educating veterinary nursing professionals for decades and is home to one of the nation’s longstanding AVMA CVTEA-accredited veterinary technology/nursing programs.

The new AAS builds on the curriculum, faculty expertise, clinical education, and high standards of MSU’s existing Veterinary Nursing Program while expanding the ways students can access that education.

MSU Veterinary Nursing graduates have demonstrated strong outcomes, including excellent performance on the Veterinary Technician National Examination (VTNE) and strong employment outcomes after graduation.

Expanding access to veterinary nursing education benefits more than individual students. Credentialed veterinary nursing professionals are essential members of veterinary health care teams and play critical roles in patient care, anesthesia, surgery, diagnostic testing, dentistry, client education, and clinical operations.

By creating an additional pathway into the profession, MSU aims to:

• Increase the number of credentialed veterinary nurses entering the workforce

• Expand educational access throughout Michigan

• Support veterinary practices experiencing workforce shortages

• Create opportunities for veterinary employees to advance professionally

• Strengthen veterinary health care teams and improve utilization of credentialed individuals

• Ultimately support high-quality patient care and access to veterinary services

The AAS in Veterinary Nursing represents an expansion of MSU’s commitment to veterinary nursing education, providing a flexible, rigorous, and clinically-focused pathway designed to meet the needs of students, veterinary practices, and the profession.