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STAF144-0611: Take Retail Inventory and Make It Work

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INSTRUCTOR(S): Angela Aisbet-Schneider, CVT

COURSE OPEN: June 6-30, 2011

REAL TIME SESSIONS: Mondays, June 13 and 20, 2011; 8:00pm-9:30pm 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 intermediate course is designed for all team members of a veterinary practice involved with inventory management. All veterinary staff involved in or wishing to learn more about product placement, merchandising, and marketing are encouraged to enroll. The instructor strongly recommends enrollees have taken "Take Hospital Inventory and Make It Work" VSPN CE course as a precursor or at least have a fundamental understanding of veterinary inventory management. VSPN CE Course open to all VIN and VSPN members.

Course Description:
How much do we know about why we buy? What truly influences our decisions in today's message-cluttered world? Your lobby and exam rooms are the most underutilized profit centers in your clinic. Well-planned product placement, marketing and promotion are simple ways to turn your inventory from an expense to a profit. This can be a year to capture new revenue that is already available in your clinic, whether it is by improving compliance on products your currently have or identifying the needs of your clients and patients by incorporating new products. This course will introduce you to basic retail management and consumer habits that influence buying decisions. This course will incorporate ideas for product placement, marketing and promotion in your hospital as well as utilizing an online store and social networking. Many of the same principles can help with selling the "invisible" such as services.

This course will consist of two (2) ninety (90) minute real time sessions each covering library course materials, discussion of situations and cases, interactive message boards to discuss the Real Time Sessions, as well as 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

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

TEXTBOOKS: There are NO required textbooks for this course.

About the Instructor: Angela Aisbet-Schneider holds credentials as a CVT (Certified Veterinary Technician) and is currently an in-clinic inventory management consultant.

Course Outline:
Week 1: (Real Time Session June 13): Why We Buy
Content: This lecture will introduce you to basic retail terminology and consumer behavior. We will identify who your clients and patients are in order to develop effective product placement in your practice. We will also learn the different comprehension rates of clients.

Week 2: (Real Time Session June 20): Discounts vs. Promotions and the Utilization of Online Stores and Social Networks
Content: This lecture will help you understand the difference between discounting your products and services vs. marketing and promoting them. It will also discuss how to use online resources such as social network sites and your own online store to more effectively promote professional services and sell retail products.

CE HOURS: 3

Tuition: $60 ($45 early bird special if enrolled by May 23, 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 submitted for approval for 3 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).
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).
** 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
Jennifer Withrow (Jennifer@vspn.org); ext 159
Nanette Walker Smith (Nanette@vspn.org); ext 187

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