When Aurora Flanagan graduated with her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of California, Davis, she envisioned a career providing care and comfort to dogs, cats, and a variety of other animals.
And while working at a busy Sacramento veterinary practice, that鈥檚 exactly what she did.
But these days, Flanagan interacts primarily with people 鈥� sharing her knowledge and expertise with students enrolled in the 黑料不打烊 Veterinary Technology program in Sacramento.
Why she loves teaching
鈥淚 love teaching because I know I鈥檓 preparing students for a specialized profession where what they do matters every day,鈥� says Flanagan. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something very gratifying about helping students develop the skills to provide quality care to animals 鈥� and to the people who love them鈥�.
Flanagan says she especially enjoys the opportunity to interact with such a wide variety of students.
鈥淥ur program attracts an interesting mix of people,鈥� says Flanagan. 鈥淪ome students enroll directly out of high school. Others hold two- or four-year degrees in other fields and are looking to transition into a second or even third career. We also have students who鈥檝e been working as veterinary assistants and are ready to take a career step that offers more responsibility and income. The one thing all of our students have in common is a love of animals and a desire to help them.鈥�
Flanagan says she knows that pursuing a college degree while working or raising a family can be a balancing act.
鈥淢ost of my students live very full, very busy lives, and they鈥檙e doing their best to do it all,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 know how tough that can be. That鈥檚 one of the reasons I find the efficiency of our program so appealing. Students can graduate with their Associate of Science [degree] in Veterinary Technology in [as few as] 22 months. They can then sit for their board exams to become Registered Veterinary Technicians. Within two years, they can be working in a high-demand field, doing work they love.鈥�
The veterinary profession, says Flanagan, tends to attract people who have a clear vision of what they want to do. She freely admits that when she enrolled in college, she wasn鈥檛 one of them.
鈥淪o many of my colleagues wanted to be vets since they were four years old,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 knew I wanted to work with animals in some capacity, and I went to UC Davis because it had a robust Animal Science program. But it really wasn鈥檛 until I did a rotation at a veterinary hospital that I decided I wanted to become a vet.鈥�
After completing her B.S. degree in Animal Science, Flanagan worked at a Silicon Valley animal shelter for two years. In 2012, she returned to UC Davis, America鈥檚 largest and top-ranked veterinary school, to earn her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree.
鈥淲hen I graduated from veterinary school, I don鈥檛 think it ever occurred to me that I鈥檇 end up back in the classroom as a teacher,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut for someone who cares about animals and loves teaching, it really offers the best of both worlds.鈥�
In addition to lectures, Flanagan conducts surgical labs where students, under the supervision of instructors, assist her as she performs medical examinations, teeth cleanings, spaying and neutering, and other non-emergency veterinary procedures.
鈥淚 think I might get bored if I exclusively taught in a classroom,鈥� Flanagan says. 鈥淭he surgical labs allow me to teach while also providing a service and doing what I was trained to do.鈥�
How helping animals injured by the Camp Fire impacted her teaching
That鈥檚 why Flanagan also donates her time and talents beyond the classroom. In addition to spaying and neutering feral cats at area shelters, she has volunteered with the California Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps, providing critical services to victims of the deadly 2018 Camp Fire.
鈥淲hen my sister-in-law lost her home in the Camp Fire, I was reminded how completely lost and powerless people can feel in the midst of a disaster,鈥� Flanagan says. 鈥淥ne of the greatest stressors people deal with in such a crisis is caring for their animals. When I heard there was a need for veterinarians, I was grateful to be able to offer whatever help and support I could.鈥�
As a California Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps volunteer veterinarian, she was assigned to a makeshift animal shelter at Chico Airport.
鈥淚t was organized chaos,鈥� Flanagan recalls. 鈥淲hen I arrived, a volunteer medical team had already been on site for two days. It was a huge room filled with rows of cages containing scared, stressed dogs who had been separated from their families. Some had suffered burns and other injuries, but most were primarily experiencing vomiting and diarrhea as a result of stress. They were there because they were either lost or their owners had nowhere to take them.鈥�
Flanagan also volunteered at a Chico animal shelter run by a former classmate who needed help in providing emergency care to 15 seriously burned and injured cats.
鈥淎s I was tending to the cats 鈥� sedating them, removing bandages and dead skin from their paws, treating their wounds and applying antibiotics 鈥� I worked alongside some incredible veterinary technicians and assistants whose skills and temperament totally impressed me,鈥� says Flanagan. 鈥淚f I can help teach my students to provide that quality of care, with that level of compassion, I鈥檒l know that the work I鈥檓 doing in the classroom is making a difference.鈥�
Are you interested in training to become a veterinary technician? Check out information on 黑料不打烊’s Veterinary Technology program:
