TECH176-0311: Canine and Feline Diseases Overview

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INSTRUCTOR(S): Barb Burri, MEd, MBA, CVT, LVT and Charlotte Waack, AA, AAS, BS, CVT, RVT

COURSE OPEN: March 1-April 8, 2011

REAL TIME SESSIONS: Tuesday evenings, March 8, 15, 22, and 29, 2011; 9:30pm-11:00pm ET (USA)
Course RTS Times in Your Area: World Clock Converter
Practice Sessions: In order to prepare you for a successful experience in your CE course, we request you attend a practice session prior to the first RTS. Times and dates will be listed in your course confirmation email. Expect to spend up to 1 hour at one of the 2-4 practice sessions held prior to the first RTS.

Level and Prerequisites: This basic level course will provide an overview of canine and feline diseases with an emphasis on the client education and communication veterinary support staff should know in small animal practice. There are no prerequisites and all members of the veterinary support team will be welcome to join the course and its discussions. VSPN CE Course. This course has been approved by RACE for veterinary technicians.

Course Description:
Veterinary team members should be able to recognize and describe the many diseases and conditions diagnosed in the small animal veterinary hospital. Support staff should be able to help educate clients in the process of how a veterinarian diagnoses disease, body systems involved, and follow up care after diagnosis. This course will also give an overview of diagnostic testing, symptoms of diseases, follow up protocols, dietary needs for some diseases and client education for canine and feline species.

This course will consist of four (4) ninety (90) minutes Real Time Sessions (interactive). Handouts will be provided to review prior to each Real Time Session; a weekly online quiz will be provided to test the comprehension of each session; a mandatory end-of-course exam. Successful completion (scoring 80% or better) on the end-of course-exam is required to be considered for the certificate of completion.

Upon completion of this course, the participant should be able to

• identify the body system affected by various common canine and feline diseases.
• explain the diagnostic testing used to identify these diseases in layman's terms.
• identify important signs and symptoms of which clients should be aware.
• explain side effects of commonly used treatment medications.
• explain importance of ongoing testing when using various treatment medications.

Course Materials: Course materials will be available in the course library prior to each Real Time Session.

About the Instructors: Barb Burri is an adjunct faculty member at Great Bay Community College in their veterinary technology program. In addition to this course, Barb has been a long time member of VSPN and teaches several other VSPN CE courses. Charlotte Waack has over 20 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine, is an adjunct faculty member at John Wood Community College and is also a VSPN CE instructor, moderator, and VSPN Member Services employee.

Course Outline:
Week 1 (Real Time Session March 8): Preventive Health and Gastrointestinal Diseases
Content: The first week will include diseases that we commonly vaccinate for, pancreatitis, hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, diarrhea and vomiting. Information will include testing, patient care, and client education.

Week 2 (Real Time Session March 15): Endocrine Disorders and Musculoskeletal Diseases
Content: Endocrine disorders can sometimes be difficult to explain to the client. Week 2 will cover testing, treatment and client education for diabetes, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing's disease) and hypoadrenocorticism (Addison's disease). We will also be discussing musculoskeletal diseases that are seen in dogs and cats including hip dysplasia, osteoarthritis, luxating patella and cruciate ligament rupture.

Week 3 (Real Time Session March 22): Renal and Cardiovascular Diseases
Content: Cardiovascular and renal diseases are diagnosed frequently in the veterinary clinic. While we are not able to "cure" these diseases, they can be manageable medical conditions. Week 3 will include treatment involved, dietary concerns, and management of chronic renal failure, glomerular nephritis, congestive heart failure and high blood pressure.

Week 4 (Real Time Session March 29): Respiratory Disease and Cancer
Content: Respiratory issues and cancer are becoming more prevalent in veterinary medicine. During our last week we will discuss testing, treatment, and client education of asthma, heartworm disease, lymphoma, osteosarcoma, mast cell tumors and hemangiosarcoma.

CE HOURS: 6

Tuition: $120 ($108 early bird special if enrolled by February 15, 2011).
*Students currently enrolled in and taking at least 2 classes or 5 units at an AVMA accredited or CAAHT approved Veterinary Technician Program may be eligible to receive a 50% discount off the regular rate for this course (upon verification of student status). You must include the following information in the comments section of the CE enrollment form in order to be eligible for this discount: your program director's name and contact information (email/phone) and school name.

** To ensure participants are ready and prepared for classes, enrollment will close when the maximum number of participants is reached or at 5pm ET the day of the first Real Time Session unless otherwise noted. If the first Real Time Session is on a weekend, course will close on the Friday before the first Real Time Session.

**For more on how online CE works see the VSPN Participant's Resource Center

TO ENROLL:
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1. Enrollment qualifications: VIN CE courses are open to VIN member and non-member veterinarians. Veterinarians enrolling in a VSPN CE course must be a VIN member. Veterinary support staff must be a VSPN member to enroll in a VSPN CE or a VIN CE course open to VSPN member enrollment.
2. Each enrollee must be able to receive emails from @vspn.org and @vin.com addresses. Email is our major form of communication with participants; personal emails are highly recommended rather than clinic/hospital email addresses.
3. Each person is individually responsible for his/her own registration. To ensure that all information received is secure and correct, please do not enroll for a course on behalf of another individual.
4. For further assistance call 1-800-700-INFO (4636) or email (VIN CE) CEonVIN@vin.com or (VSPN CE) VSPNCE@vspn.org). Please include the course title, your full name, and contact information in your correspondence.

Note: "This course has been approved for 6 continuing education credits in jurisdictions which recognize AAVSB RACE approval; however participants should be aware that some boards have limitations on the number of hours accepted in certain categories and/or restrictions on certain methods of delivery of continuing education." Call VSPN CE at 1-800-700-4636 for further information. (Attendees are encouraged to check with their licensing jurisdiction(s) for information regarding recognition by their board).

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COURSE WITHDRAWAL AND REFUND POLICY: Withdrawal prior to the listed start date of a course entitles the registrant to a complete refund or a credit toward a future VIN CE course, whichever is preferred. Withdrawal within 1 week after the listed start date (i.e. including no more than one real-time session) entitles the registrant to a credit toward any future VIN CE course. (Refund policy does not apply to courses with only one real-time session.) After the first real-time session, a registrant may withdraw due to special circumstances and receive prorated credit towards a future VIN course. These requests will be handled on an individual basis. The amount of the prorated credit will be determined based on 65% of the time remaining in the course at the time of withdrawal. It is not possible to withdraw retroactively.
Note: To ensure rapid handling of your request for withdrawal, we recommend that you call the VIN office at 1-800-700-INFO (4636).

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** For More Information on VSPN's upcoming CE Courses, check out http://www.VSPN.org/CE

Nanette R. Walker Smith, M.Ed., RVT, CVT, LVT
VSPN Content Director & VSPN CE Director

VSPN CE Services: VSPNCE@vspn.org
1-800-846-0028 or 1-530-756-4881 or direct line to VIN/VSPN from the United Kingdom: 01452226154
Charlotte Waack (Charlotte@vspn.org), ext 193
Chris Upchurch (Chris@vspn.org); ext 197
Darci Palmer (Darci@vspn.org); ext 179
Debbie Bess (DBess@vspn.org); ext 178
Mary Mould (Mary@vspn.org); ext 159
Nanette Walker Smith (Nanette@vspn.org); ext 187

[ CE MAIN | COURSE CATALOG | RACE/GETTING CREDITS | ONLINE CE HOW TO | SUGGEST A COURSE | VIN MAIN ]

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