How to Use VIN
-- free course starts Wednesday!
Want to learn how to utilize VIN more effectively? We've got three great ways!

• Use the How To Use VIN tutorial. (VIN's Front Page > VINdex)
• Click the FAQ button on VIN's main nav bar.
• Sign up (email Nate@VIN.com) for the three-part How To use VIN course. It's FREE!

IVECCS 2003 Proceedings are available on VIN.
Click here to view last year's IVECCS proceedings.
Do you plan to attend IVECCS 2004 in San Diego? Stop by the VIN Cyber Cafe to check your email and say "Hi!"

Newly-Added to the VIN Library:

• Calculi in the bladder movie – Dr. Blevins

New student center pages:

• Anatomy of the Horse
• Disease/Agent Study Chart

New on VeterinaryPartner.com:

• Don't Live in Denial about your Dog's Aggressive Behavior
• Housetraining Accidents: Causes and Solutions
• Total Ear Canal Ablation and Ventral Bulla Osteotomy: The TECA Procedure
• Revision: CDC Fact Sheet on West Nile

Congenital Ectopic Ureters in a Continent Male Dog and Cat
Congenital ectopic ureters should be considered a differential diagnosis in animals with hydronephrosis even if there is no urinary incontinence.

Comparison of Normal Urine Samples Collected by Cystocentesis With and Without Prior Skin Disinfection
Results of this study suggest that contamination of urine samples collected by cystocentesis does not occur in the absence of clipping of hair and disinfection of skin in apparently healthy cats.

Nutty Clients And Boarding Complaints
You can not ever ever ever make every whack job out there happy.

Favorite Suture Types For Spays/Castrations
I am really interested in what kind of suture other vets use for their OVH/castrations ...

Basic Receptionist/Front Office Skills
The first person your clients see is your front desk receptionist. That impression can make or break your clientele and their feelings about your hospital regardless of what type of medicine you practice. Professionalism doesn't start in the back with the medicine; it starts with your receptionist. In light of that fact, VSPN CE announces a wonderfully inclusive Receptionist/Front Office Skills course designed to help your staff with one of the most important jobs in the clinic.

The Basic Receptionist/Front Office Skills course is open to all VSPNers and we encourage anyone in the staff who has to deal with clients and/or run the front desk or discharge to participate.

Instructor:
Phyllis Webster, AA, OM

Dates:
September 8 - October 14, 2004
Real Time Sessions: Monday Evenings from 9:30pm - 11:00pm ET (USA)

Course Description:
This course will consist of four (4) 90 minute real time sessions; library materials supplementing the chapters in the required text; multiple choice quizzes (after each real time session) designed to enhance course effectiveness and material retention; a cumulative final online; and interactive message board discussions.

This course is designed for all receptionists, front office staff and also those assistants and technicians who fill in at the front desk. All veterinary staff involved in or wishing to learn more about the importance of providing exceptional customer care or training of future front office personnel are encouraged to register. This course covers the essential skills needed for the first several weeks on your job.

Textbook: Required Text is: The Veterinary Receptionist's Handbook. By M.T. McClister, DVM and Amy Midgley. Veterinary Medicine Publishing Group. This book can be purchased from the VIN bookstore by clicking on this link: http://store.vin.com/custom/edit.asp?p=82472
Recommended Text is: Client Satisfaction Pays by Carin A. Smith, DVM. AAHA. This book can be purchased from the VIN bookstore by clicking on this link: http://store.vin.com/custom/edit.asp?p=82131

CE Hours: 6

Note: "This course has been approved for 6 hours of continuing education credits in jurisdictions which recognize AAVSB's 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 VIN/VSPN for further information." (Attendees are encouraged to check with their licensing jurisdiction(s) for information regarding recognition by their board.) This course has also been submitted for approval of continual education units toward CVPM requirements by the VHMA.

Tuition:
$96.00 ($86.00 early bird special if registered before August 30, 2004).
Full time students of an AVMA accredited Veterinary Technician Program will receive a reduced rate for this course of $48 (upon verification of student status)

Learn more: Basic Receptionist/Front Office Skills.

More CE For Your Staff!
Upcoming VSPN CE Classes:

• Dentistry for Veterinary Technicians
• Effective Teaching & Training Work
• Shelter Medicine
• Practice Management - Team Building

VSPN's CE is the perfect solution. It's convenient, inexpensive, and fits everyone's schedule.

How To Course: Part 1
Wednesday, August 4, 9:30 pm ET -
Learn how to use your computer and VIN. Email Nate@VIN.com for more information about this free, three-part course.
Rounds Room

Sunday AAFP/VIN Rounds
Sunday, August 8, 10 pm ET -
Join Don DeForge, VMD, FAVD, FWAR, Affil. AGD for Feline Stomatitis Syndrome. All VINners are welcome to attend this AAFP/VIN joint Rounds!
AAFP Rounds (click "classroom" to join the rounds discussion)

Virtual Coffeehouse
Tuesday, August 10, 9:30 pm ET -
Had any interesting cases lately? Stop by and share! (BTW, we're playing in the *new* Unity Room, so come by to see what this new chatroom can do!)
Rounds Room - use the special Coffeehouse link to join the discussion

How To Course: Part 2
Wednesday, August 11, 9:30 pm ET -
Learn how to use VIN's Message Boards. Email Nate@VIN.com for more information about this free, three-part course.
Rounds Room

ACVSc/VIN Rounds
Saturday, August 14, 10 pm ET -
Join Graham Swinney BVSc, FACVSc for Part 2: Pleural Space Disease. All VINners are welcome to attend this ACVSc/VIN joint Rounds.
ACVSc Rounds (click "classroom" to join the rounds discussion)

Abstract Of The Week:
Cyclosporin A in Canine Dermatology

What's Your Diagnosis?
Foreign Animal Disease: Case 5

Website Of The Week:
Endocrinology Notes and more ...

Book Review:
Veterinary Neurology (The Practical Veterinarian Series)
This resource is available in the VINstore.

eVetsites Tip of the Week:
Web Site Servers at eVetsite Systems

Upcoming Conferences
Looking to attend -- or contribute a paper to -- a veterinary conference? Check out the On The Road With VIN folder, or the Press Releases folder, to see what conferences are coming up and to visit their web sites! Links to information about upcoming conferences include: NEVC, AAV, CVC, IVECCS, ECVIM, SWVS

Going to NEVC?
Stop by VIN's booth (#1035) or our 8 station Cyber-Cafe in the Exhibit Hall and say hello! We'd love to meet you in person.

Recent Rounds:

• Canine Ehrlichiosis
• Feral Cat: Trap, Neuter, and Release (AFFP)
• Associate Buy-Ins
• Pleural Space Disease (ACVSc)
• Veterinary Compounding Issues: Creative Medications Strategies
• Diagnostic Testing for Hyperthyroidism and Hypothyroidism

From the Boards:
* Ultrasonography Of The Urinary Bladder
* Frontline Not Working?
* Substitute For Adriamycin
* Cefazolin Dose For Horses

Organ System and Core Review Module C
Planning to take the ABVP General Examination?

Looking for a comprehensive review of what's new in the pathophysiology and treatment of disease in dogs and cats?
The Organ System and Core Review is the course for you! Don't worry if you missed Modules A and B, we still have lots of great topics to cover in Module C!

Dates:
September 1 - October 27, 2004
Interactive sessions: Wednesdays during this period, 9:30 - 11:30 PM ET

Course Description:
Module C includes the following topics:
Cardiology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Respiratory and Hematology/Chemistry.

Within these topics, you will learn the important pathophysiologic mechanisms that underlie the diagnosis and treatment of disease in dogs and cats.

Instructor:
Course Coordinator: Katherine M. James, DVM, PhD

CE Hours: 16

Tuition:
Member/$230,Non-Member/$323 before August 18th,2004;
Member/$256, Non-Member/$359 after August 18th, 2004.

To Register: Visit Organ System and Core Review on the main CE page (www.vin.com/CE) and click on the Enroll now link.

Interested in other online VIN CE?

Scheduled courses include:

• Effective Teaching & Training Work
• Topics in Nephrology
• Shelter Medicine
• Equine Hindlimb Lameness
• Herbal Medicine
• Ferret Medicine

Use the CE button on VIN's main nav bar to learn more about these courses -- and to enroll!