TECH199-1011: Intestinal Parasitology of the Canine and Feline Patient

INSTRUCTOR(S): Christine Hodgkins, AS, BS, CVT

COURSE OPEN: October 10-November 17, 2011

REAL TIME SESSIONS (RTS): Mondays, October 17, 24, 31, and November 7, 2011; 12:00pm-1:30pm ET (USA)
*please note the session times
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 Real Time Session. 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 Real Time Session.

* The instructor for this course will be using audio which will require you to have a headset or speakers to listen. If you have any concerns regarding your computer's audio capabilities, please be sure to attend a Practice Session.

Level and Prerequisites: This intermediate course will help familiarize those interested in improving knowledge and identification of intestinal parasites of the canine and feline.
VSPN CE Course. This course has been submitted for RACE approval for veterinarians and veterinary technicians.

Course Description:
This course is designed to review the basic concepts of diagnostic parasitology and enhance the veterinary professional's skill-set by providing information enabling the veterinary technician and veterinary team to identify intestinal parasite ova in canine and feline species utilizing various criteria including measurement and visual characteristics. A CD-ROM containing photographs of the various parasite ova and artifacts covered in this course in included in the enrollment fee for $25.

This course will consist of four (4) Real Time Sessions of ninety (90) minutes each, supplemental library materials, interactive message board discussions, a mandatory end-of-course test, and may include online multiple choice quizzes (after each Real Time Session). Successful completion (scoring 80% or better) on the end-of-course test is required to be considered for a course certificate of completion.
** The lecture portion of this course will combine both text and audio presentation. Please be prepared to listen.

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

• recognize and apply the basic concepts of diagnostic parasitology.
• discuss and distinguish working knowledge of the methods and equipment used in diagnostic parasitology.
• identify various canine and feline intestinal parasite ova and cysts utilizing various criteria.
• detect and minimize identification errors by being able to distinguish important parasite ova and cysts from various types of artifacts.

Course Materials: Course materials will be available in the course library prior to each Real Time Session.
Required Texbook(s): There is no required textbook for this course.
Recommended Textbooks:

• Foreyt, W. J. (2001). Veterinary Parasitology Reference Manual, 5th ed. Wiley & Sons Publishers. VIN Store: https://store.vin.com/custom/edit.asp?p=82524
• Zajac, A. and Conboy, G. (2006). Veterinary Clinical Parasitology, 7th ed. Blackwell Publishing. VIN Store: https://store.vin.com/custom/edit.asp?p=99687

About the Instructor: Christine Hodgkins is currently the team lead in parasitology for IDEXX Veterinary Services and has a long background in education teaching both clinical pathology teams including veterinarians as well as veterinary technician students at both Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and Becker College.

Course Outline:
Week 1 (Real Time Session October 17): Introduction
Content: We will begin this course by covering the basics required to collect and process diagnostic parasitology samples. This will include tools of the trade, specimen handling, and processing methods.

Week 2 (Real Time Session October 24): Taxonomy, Ova, and Canine Nematodes and Cestodes
Content: Taxonomy or classification of intestinal parasites will start this week's content. As the most often confused portion of diagnostics we will consider how to differential the various parasites as we proceed to ova identification. We well also begin canine nematode and cestode diagnostics this week.

Week 3 (Real Time Session October 31): Canine Trematodes and Protozoa; Feline Intestinal Parasites
Content: We will finish our canine intestinal parasite identification with trematodes and protozoa in Week 3. Feline intestinal parasite identification and study will be completed in this week covering the following parasites: nematodes, cestodes, trematodes, and protozoa.

Week 4 (Real Time Session November 7): Artifacts and Anomalies
Content: Our final week we will address the artifacts and spurious parasites that cause the most problems for diagnostic and effective testing. We will continue to identify and discuss parasites that cause false positive results and how to revise protocols to minimize errors.

CE HOURS: 6

Tuition: $120 plus $25 CD Rom fee ($108 early bird special plus $25 CD Rom fee (no discount on lab fee) if registered by September 19, 2011) Lab fee is required for all enrollees. Enrollment for this course closes October 3, 2011 to allow for course materials to be mailed and received by enrollees. Please make sure your mailing address is current in your MyVIN or MyVSPN account.
*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).
** 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 Participant Resource Center

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 submitted for approval 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: A complete refund of the paid course price will be issued when your withdrawal request is received prior to the listed start date of the course. If you wish to withdraw after the start date please contact the VIN/VSPN office 1-800-700-INFO (4636) to discuss eligibility for a pro-rated refund.
**Note: To ensure rapid handling of your request for withdrawal, we recommend that you call the VIN/VSPN office at 1-800-700-INFO (4636).

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** For More Information on VSPN's upcoming CE Courses, check out https://www.vin.com/CE/VSPN/VSPN_M02231.htm

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
Jennifer Withrow (Jennifer@vspn.org); ext 159
Nanette Walker Smith (Nanette@vspn.org); ext 187

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