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Felicia Hill is a full-time instructor for the Veterinary Paramedic Program. She teaches Zoo and Wild Animal Classes including large and small mammals, avians and reptiles, an online WebCT-based Pharmacology Class, Zoo Veterinary Technician Classes and Surgical Assistance Classes.
After completing her Veterinary Paramedic Program training with Houston Community College, Felicia was employed as a technician in a private practice treating exotic animals. She then worked at the Houston Zoo Hospital, where she assisted the vets with the medical and surgical care of the extensive collection, and performed the hospital's lab work, including the interpretation of avian and reptile hematology, a rare skill in the field.
In 1994, Felicia was asked to become a full-time instructor for the Veterinary Paramedic Program, and to fully develop the zoo portion of the program. She expanded the curriculum for training zookeepers (one of just a few such courses in the U.S.) and zoo veterinary technicians (the only one of its kind in the country). During this time, Felicia was invited to Costa Rica by the senior veterinarian at the zoo in San Jose, where she taught a class for 30 technicians and veterinarians. She created a veterinary technician-training manual that was translated into Spanish, and is now being used in many Latin-American zoos.
As a full-time instructor for the program, Felicia has been in the forefront utilizing computer technology. She uses Microsoft PowerPoint presentations for all of her classes, with extensive graphics to illustrate the different species, as well as photographs of the restraint and medical procedures employed in a zoo facility. Her classes include the latest developments in the zoo field, including the enrichment of animal enclosures, and behavior modification for medical treatment without sedations.