Midwest Institute

Recently our Veterinary Technician Freshman went to the shelter to practice restraint techniques. Veterinary animal restraint techniques are essential for safety and procedural accuracy, utilizing methods that balance control with animal comfort to minimize stress and prevent injury.

Going to the shelter allows students to practice on several different dogs and gives some much needed attention to the some shelter pups for the day.

Side note… shelters always need volunteers to walk dogs and help with other tasks. If you can help go to your local shelter and apply to volunteer. It all helps and it all matters

Our Surgical Technology students are looking good while practicing setting up trays in the central sterile processing department which is an important part of the skills they learn!

All of the Vet Tech students had finals this week but time has flown the past few weeks for these students because they’ve been so busy practicing skills. From the freshman to the seniors you would see students in action, gaining confidence and having fun! There was surgery, dental cleaning, bloodwork, blood draw, nail trims, intubation, and ophthalmology assessment and skills. There were several pups and kitty’s who volunteered to help and Wyatt the 8 year old tortoise was a highlight and a great volunteer😊


Surgical Tech students learn how to sterilely gown. Sounds simple but there’s many complex steps to maintain in sterility.  Surgical gowns are folded using techniques designed to maintain sterility and allow for aseptic donning—meaning the surgeon can put it on without touching the outside

It’s only the beginning for these surgical technology students as they make their way through their general education courses! They are on the way to creating their new career!

Our surgical technology students practiced using enhanced personal protective equipment during the orthopedic section of the curriculum this week. An orthopedic surgery can involve heavy blood splatter, flying bone fragments and extended radiation exposure so it’s important that they know how to use and put on this equipment. 

Surgery day in the Vet Tech lab is where all of the skills come together. A big part of this day is surgery prep.
Surgery prep is critical for patient safety, minimizing infection risks, and optimizing surgical outcomes. Key responsibilities include patient assessment, anesthetic preparation, and sterile surgical site prep (clipping and scrubbing) to reduce skin bacteria. Proper prep prevents emergencies and ensures a smooth, successful procedure.
Our Vet Tech Juniors and Seniors worked hard on these skills and had a great lab day!

It was finals week for the Vet Tech students! It has been a very busy couple of weeks on campus! From the Freshman to the seniors you saw students performing many skills as they prepared to move up in the program next week. Animal CPR, surgery and dental cleaning and radiographs are just the highlights.

In the middle of it all there was Neuterpalooza day where they neuter many cats from the STL county shelter advocating for the practice of neuter and spay.

These students study, work hard and have fun training for a career they love😊