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In it's Academic role the Animal Care Services provides an initial two-year training program
to new employees seeking a career in Animal Care Technology. The core of this program is
structured around education and involves exposure to all aspects of the animal facility operation,
lectures by professors or designates, and major written and practical assignments at the end of the
training period.
Additionally, all technicians are encouraged to participate in various course work and obtain
certification offered by the Canadian Association for Laboratory Animal Science (CALAS)
educational system. To become eligible for certification as Registered Animal Technicians with
CALAS, all personnel graduate from an Animal Health Technology programme offered by an
approved community college or other institution which provides the equivalent training and
meets the standards of the CALAS Registry Board.
In recent years the Animal Care Services has implemented a three-year correspondence course
in animal science offered by St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ontario. The course has local
instructors (Director and Manager of Animal Care Services). The St. Lawrence Correspondence
Course is the CALAS course and the final exam leads to Registered Laboratory Animal
Technicians Certificate (RLAT). Each year of this course consists of two semesters. At the end
of each semester there is a written exam supervised by the Animal Care Services instructor. The
final exam, after completion of the three years study, is supervised by the National Board
examiners.
Since the beginning of the 1991 academic year, Animal Care Services has been involved in the
CO-OP program. The CO-OP program was established in collaboration between the Memorial
University of Newfoundland and regional high schools and provides in-house training after
school hours for students interested in animal science.
Animal Care Services also offers seminars on an annual basis to the graduate students whose
research include the use of live animals. The seminars provide information on a variety of topics
ranging from the organizational structure of the Animal Care Services, the role of the
Institutional Animal Care Committee (IACC) and Canadian Council of Animal Care (CCAC) to
ethics in animal experimentation and diseases in laboratory and marine mammals, fish and
amphibians.
The course also has workshops on animal restraint, handling and sexing animals, on some
surgical techniques in rodents, as well as demonstrations of single sampling techniques such as
blood sampling and fecal examination for parasites. The Animal Care seminar is mandatory for
those pursuing a career in research/teaching involving experimental animals. Particulars on
registration for this course may be obtained by calling 777-6620.
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