VIN PHAR303-0420: Responsible Antimicrobial Use in Small Animal Veterinary Medicine

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

Enrollment is closed.
Presenters: Peter Foley, MSc, DVM, DACVIM SAIM
Sandra McConkey, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVP
Course Open: April 14-May 8, 2020
Real Time Sessions (RTS): Tuesdays, April 21 and 28, 2020; 8:00-10:00 pm ET (USA)
Course RTS Times in Your Area: World Clock Converter

Level and Prerequisites: This basic course will be open to to veterinarians and veterinary students actively interested in antimicrobial resistance stewardship.
VIN CE Course: Open to veterinarians and veterinary students. This course is approved by RACE for veterinarians. (RACE 22-39935)
This course meets the California VMB's requirement of a minimum of one credit hour of continuing education on the judicious use of medically important antimicrobial drugs.

Course Information:
Antimicrobial resistance is an increasing problem in both human and veterinary medicine. Whenever an antimicrobial is used, it inadvertently selects for resistance by killing or inhibiting sensitive bacteria and leaving behind resistant organisms. As a result, medicines become ineffective and infections persist, increasing hospital times, cost and morbidity. Inappropriate antibiotic use can lead to superbugs that are difficult or impossible to treat with our current antibiotic options. This course will discuss the mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance, the use of "best" practices to avoid the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance.

Week 1 (Real Time Session April 21, 2020): Antimicrobial Resistance – Understanding the Problem
Presenter: Sandra McConkey, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVP
Format: Audio
Objectives: Upon completion of this session, the participant should be able to
  • Understand the importance of preventing antimicrobial resistance.
  • Describe what resistance (including multi-drug resistance) is, how and why it occurs, and when antimicrobial use is required.
  • Explain empirical vs rational choice of antimicrobials.
  • Explain how to get the most information out of an MIC (Minimum Inhibitory Concentration) result.

Week 2 (Real Time Session April 28, 2020): Rational Antimicrobial Therapy for Small Animals: What to Choose for Specific Diseases
Presenter: Peter Foley, MSc, DVM, DACVIM SAIM
Format: Audio
Objectives: Upon completion of this session, the participant should be able to
  • Identify when and which antimicrobials are appropriate for small animal diseases, including the following scenarios:
    • Perioperative antibiotic use
    • Urinary tract infections
    • Miscellaneous infectious diseases

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:
Peter Foley graduated with a DVM degree from the University of Prince Edward Island, Atlantic Veterinary College. He completed a rotating small animal internship at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine and a residency in small animal internal medicine at the Atlantic Veterinary College. He is a Diplomate in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and an Associate Professor of Companion Animal Medicine at the University of Prince Edward Island.

Sandra McConkey is a graduate of the Ontario Veterinary College and a board-certified clinical pathologist (Dipl. ACVP). She received a PhD in the area of pharmacology in 2008 and has been an Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at the Atlantic Veterinary College, UPEI, Canada since that time.

Total CE Credit: 4

Tuition: Member $92 ($83 early bird special if enrolled by March 25, 2020)
Non-Member $169 ($152 early bird special if enrolled by March 25, 2020)
Prices are listed in US dollars.

*To ensure participants are ready and prepared for classes, enrollment will close on April 21,2020 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 (22-39935) is approved by the AAVSB RACE to offer a total of 4 CE Credits, with a maximum of 4 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