VIN MULT211-1019: Systems C: Organ System Pathophysiology and ABVP Core Examination Review


Module 5 of the Organ Systems Pathophysiology and ABVP Core Examination Review Series

The lectures for this course will be presented in an audio format using a webinar platform.

Enrollment is closed.
Presenters: Katherine M. James, DVM, PhD, DACVIM
Ellen Behrend, VMD, PhD, DACVIM
Joe Bartges, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, DACVN
Julie R. Fischer, DVM, DACVIM (Internal Medicine)
Autumn P. Davidson, DVM, DACVIM

Course Open: October 31, 2019-January 26, 2020
Real Time Sessions (RTS): Thursdays, November 7, 14, 21, December 5, 12, and 19, 2019; January 9 and 16, 2020; 9:30-11:30 pm ET (USA)
Course RTS Times in Your Area: World Clock Converter

Level and Prerequisites: This intermediate course will be open to veterinarians actively interested in an overview of small animal reproduction, fluids/electrolytes/acid-base, urology, nephrology and endocrine information. This course is the fifth of six modules in the Organ System Pathophysiology and ABVP Core Examination review series. The MULT207-1018: Pathologic Basis of Disease and the MULT208-0219: Principles of Medicine courses are recommended prerequisites.
VIN CE Course: Open to veterinarians. This course is approved by RACE for veterinarians. (RACE 22-38673)

Course Information:
The fifth of six modules in the Organ System Pathophysiology and ABVP Core Examination review series, this course is designed to cover the pathophysiological basis of disease in small animals based on pathophysiological and discipline-specific concepts. Clinical examples will be used to illustrate these concepts.

The course can be used as a portion of the preparation for the ABVP Core examination, but it is not designed as a test-preparation course. The instructors do not have access to the questions. Also, material in this course may be more current than that examination. However it will allow those preparing for the examination to work systematically through different topics over the course of a year, accomplishing a broad review. The emphasis will be on pathophysiology, serving as a foundation for good case management.

It should be noted that these courses are not designed specifically as a preparation for test taking. The instructors do not have access to information on the question types. Furthermore, the questions used on the examination may be a few years behind the current knowledge and practice, whereas the course will strive to be more current. We recommend using the course to:
  1. keep progressing through the topics so all topics will have been studied prior to the exam and
  2. provide participants with feedback on their strongest and weakest topics to guide their individual exam specific preparations.
Week 1 (Real Time Session November 7, 2019): Fluids/Electrolytes/Acid Base
Presenter: Katherine James, DVM, PhD, DACVIM
Format: Audio
Objectives: Upon completion of this session, the participant should be able to
  • better understand the difference between sodium content and sodium concentration.
  • better understand disorders of sodium balance particularly edema.
  • better understand hypernatremia, hyponatremia and PUPD.

Week 2 (Real Time Session November 14, 2019): Canine Reproduction
Presenter: Autumn P. Davidson, DVM, DACVIM
Format: Audio
Objectives: Upon completion of this session, the participant should be able to
  • understand the basics of the canine reproduction cycle and the role of key hormones.
  • diagnose and manage common problems in canine reproduction, such as ovarian remnant syndrome, mammary hyperplasia, and dystocia.

Week 3 (Real Time Session November 21, 2019): Feline Reproduction
Presenter: Autumn P. Davidson, DVM, DACVIM
Format: Audio
Objectives: Upon completion of this session, the participant should be able to
  • understand the basics of the feline reproduction cycle and the role of key hormones.
  • diagnose and manage common problems in feline reproduction, such as ovarian remnant syndrome, mammary hyperplasia, and dystocia.

**** BREAK - November 28, 2019 ****


Weeks 4-5 (Real Time Session December 5 and 12, 2019): Endocrinology
Presenter: Ellen Behrend, VMD, PhD, DACVIM
Format: Audio
Objectives: Upon completion of this session, the participant should be able to
  • better understand calcium and adrenal gland disorders.
  • better understand thyroid gland and glucose disorders.

Week 6 (Real Time Session December 19, 2019): Urology
Presenter: Joe Bartges, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, DACVN
Format: Audio
Objectives: Upon completion of this session, the participant should be able to
  • describe the neurologic innervation to and the muscular structure of the urinary bladder and urethra.
  • compare and contrast disorders of micturition - urine retention and urine leakage - including clinical findings, physical examination findings, diagnostic testing, and management.
  • describe defense mechanisms for urinary tract infections and diagnosis and management of simple and complicated urinary tract infections including prophylactic measures.
  • describe potential mechanisms for feline idiopathic cystitis and management.
  • compare and contrast urolithiasis including struvite, calcium oxalate, urate, and cystine and management.

**** BREAK - December 26, 2019 and January 2, 2020 ****


Week 7 (Real Time Session January 9, 2020): Urology - continued
Presenter: Joe Bartges, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, DACVN
Format: Audio
Objectives: Upon completion of this session, the participant should be able to
  • describe the neurologic innervation to and the muscular structure of the urinary bladder and urethra.
  • compare and contrast disorders of micturition - urine retention and urine leakage - including clinical findings, physical examination findings, diagnostic testing, and management.
  • describe defense mechanisms for urinary tract infections and diagnosis and management of simple and complicated urinary tract infections including prophylactic measures.
  • describe potential mechanisms for feline idiopathic cystitis and management.
  • compare and contrast urolithiasis including struvite, calcium oxalate, urate, and cystine and management.

Week 8 (Real Time Session January 16, 2020): Nephrology
Presenter: Julie R. Fischer, DVM, DACVIM (Internal Medicine)
Format: Audio
Objectives: Upon completion of this session, the participant should be able to
  • understand chronic kidney disease.
  • understand glomerular disease.

Successful completion (scoring 80% or better) on the end-of-course test is required to earn a certificate of completion for the course. To learn more about the requirements for earning a CE certificate, please refer to Receiving Your CE Credit and Course Completion Certificate.

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

About the Presenters:
Katherine James is a VIN consultant (Urology and Nephrology) and has a PhD in veterinary medicine with a focus on nutrition in chronic kidney disease from the University of Minnesota. She is a self-proclaimed sleep and nutrition geek. Her special interests are in the application of functional medicine principles to veterinary medicine and the study of clinical reasoning/cognitive errors in medical practice. She has personal experience with polysomnographic sleep studies, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, and oral appliance and CPAP therapies for obstructive sleep apnea. Her ongoing interests in nutrition include nutrigenomics, the examination of nutritional wisdom and myths with science, and the development of personalized nutrition to let "food be thy medicine."

Ellen Behrend received her VMD from University of Pennsylvania in 1988 and a MS in Biomedical Sciences from Colorado State University in 1994. She also received a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Auburn University. She is currently an Assistant Professor in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at Auburn University and a Consultant at Endocrine Diagnostic Service. She is also a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine subspecialty of Internal Medicine.

Joseph Bartges is a board certified internist and nutritionist with over close to 30 years of post-veterinary school experience including publishing over 400 peer-reviewed articles, review articles, abstracts, and book chapters. He is also editor of Nephrology and Urology of Small Animals and serves on editorial boards of 5 journals including the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. He has formulated and balanced homemade raw diets and has performed and published research in this area. He has lectured at conferences, including international, on nutrition and on homemade and raw food diets specifically.

Julie Fischer received her DVM in 1996 from the University of Tennessee and her ACVIM (SAIM) diplomate status in 2000. She did a residency in Small Animal Internal Medicine in 1999 from Kansas State University and a Post residency training in Hemodialysis/Nephrology from University of California, Davis in 2002. She is currently a staff internist at Veterinary Specialty Hospital.

Autumn P. Davidson received her DVM in 1985 from University of California, Davis. She did an internship at Texas A&M University and a residency at University of California, Davis in internal medicine. and an MS in Theriogenology from VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 2002. She is currently a staff veterinarian at University of California, Davis.

Total CE Credit: 16

Tuition: Member $368 ($331 early bird special if enrolled by October 17, 2019)
Non-Member $519 ($467 early bird special if enrolled by October 17, 2019)
Prices are listed in US dollars.

*To ensure participants are ready and prepared for classes, enrollment will close on November 7, 2019 at 5 pm ET (USA) or when the maximum number of participants is reached.

*For more information on how online CE works, see the Participant Resource Center.

To Enroll:
  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 800-846-0028 ext. 797 or email . Please include the course title, your full name, and contact information in your correspondence.
Enrollment is closed.

"This program (22-38673) is approved by the AAVSB RACE to offer a total of 16 CE Credits, with a maximum of 16 CE Credits being available to any individual veterinarian. This RACE approval is for the subject matter categories of: Medical, using the delivery method of Interactive-Distance: (Web-based, Teleconference or Audio-Conference). This approval is valid in jurisdictions which recognize AAVSB RACE; however, participants are responsible for ascertaining each board's CE requirements."

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 office 800-846-0028 ext. 797 to discuss eligibility for a pro-rated refund.

*For more information on VIN's upcoming CE courses, check the VIN Course Catalog.

Katherine James, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (SAIM)
VIN Education Director

VIN CE Services:
800-846-0028 or 530-756-4881; ext. 797
or direct line to VIN/VSPN from the United Kingdom: 01 45 222 6154
or direct line to VIN/VSPN from Australia: 02 6145 2357