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Courses open for VSPNer registration

TECH128-1005: Pain Management of the Canine and Feline

INSTRUCTOR:
Deneen Cordell, CVT

DATES:
October 24 - November 28, 2005
Real Time Sessions: Thursday evenings, October 27, November 3, 10, and 17, 2005; 9:00pm-10:30pm ET (USA)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course will cover pain terminology, pain physiology, common pain syndromes, and help technicians to recognize signs of pain. The course reviews pharmacology and techniques such as local and regional blocks. Upon completion the student will be able to apply pain management strategies for specific conditions and procedures. By applying the concepts and techniques in this course the student will be better able to help implement a team approach to a Pain Management Program in clinical practice.

Veterinary technicians should consider this course especially if considering sitting for the VTS exam for anesthesia. This course is open to all veterinary staff working in the patient care and anesthesia sections of the hospital. Email VSPNCE@vspn.org for information about the price breaks for hospitals that enroll 5 or more employees. Please be sure to follow the "TO REGISTER" information below BEFORE you register.

Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to:

  1. understand pain terminology
  2. understand basic pain physiology
  3. understand basic pharmacology and application of drugs
  4. understand basic local and regional block application
  5. apply pain management strategies to specific procedures and conditions using the pain management triad
  6. have a new understanding for the complexity of chronic pain syndromes
  7. with the veterinary team, implement a pain management program in clinical practice
Course Outline:

Week One:
This week we will discuss pain terminology, physiology of pain, and pain recognition. We will discuss the processes of pain recognition. We will embrace the Pain Management Triad.

Week 2
We will largely cover pharmacology. We will discuss certain drug categories and then have more involved discussion about drugs in each category. For example we will have a general coverage of opioids and then get in depth about fentanyl, morphine, buprenorphine and other opioids. We will cover opioids, alpha 2 adrenergic agonists, local anesthetics, NSAIDs, analgesic adjuvant agents, and transdermal patches.

Week 3:
This week will cover basic of local/regional blocks. The blocks that will be presented are the epidural, brachial plexus block, radial/ulnar/median nerve block, intra- articular analgesia, dental blocks, infiltrative block, intercostal nerve block, epidural catheters and other techniques using catheters. We will discuss how local/regional blocks work and what cases to use them on. We will cover drugs used for local/regional blocks and the dosages. We will cover some of the techniques used to perform the blocks and contraindications/complications associated with the block. We will also go over CRI (constant rate infusions) and transdermal patch use.

Week 4
We will discuss adjunctive analgesic techniques briefly. This will include acupuncture, rehab, and other methods that can be added to your traditional pain management protocol.
We will then go in depth on protocols for specific conditions and procedures. We will discuss chronic pain and the difficulty that can be associated with the condition. We will end with how to implement pain management programs into clinical practice and the technician's role.

Textbook:
(The following texts are recommended)
Pain Management for the Small Animal Practitioner, 2nd Edition, Book and CD-ROM by Tranquilli, Grimm, Lamont. 2004. Teton publishing. This text can be purchased from the VIN Store: http://store.vin.com/custom/edit.asp?p=82352

Veterinary Anesthesia and Pain Management Secrets, Green (Ed). 2002. Elsevier publishing. This text can be purchased from the VIN Store: http://store.vin.com/custom/edit.asp?p=99635

Other course materials will be in the form of handouts and slideshows/web tours. There will also be a list of sources where the materials were retrieved to help create this course.

LIBRARY MATERIALS:
Library materials will be made available prior to the topic week so participants will have plenty of time to prepare for the real time sessions and discussion. Due to the amount of material to be covered, it is highly recommended the student comes to class having reviewed the handouts for that week, reviewed the previous week's homework and study guide, utilized the message boards for the course, and is prepared to interact during the real time session.

MESSAGE BOARD DISCUSSIONS:
Message board discussions regarding the topic presented will begin on the day the course opens and continue for one week following the last real time session. These discussions will be held in the VSPN CE course area.

CE HOURS: 6 (RACE applied for)

TUITION:
Registration: $102 ($ 92 early bird special if registered before October 10, 2005).
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)
*VT students: 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 directors name and contact information (email/phone) and school name.

** NOTE: Registration will be closed when the maximum number of participants is reached or at 5pm ET the day of the first real time session.

** Minimal computer requirements for participating in VSPN and VPSNCE: http://www.vspn.org/CE/MinReqs.htm

** For More Information on VSPN's upcoming CE Courses, check out http://www.VSPN.org/CE

TO REGISTER:

  1. Each person must individually be a registered member of VSPN (www.vspn.org). Membership in VSPN is free.
  2. Each person must be able to receive emails from @vspn.org and @vin.com addresses. This is our major form of communication with participants. It is highly recommended that course participants use their own, personal emails rather than clinic/hospital email addresses.
  3. VIN Member veterinarians SHOULD NOT register for their staff. Please have the staff member register through VSPN. Please email VSPNCE@vspn.org if you have questions.
Note: "This course has been submitted for approval 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.)
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. (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 withdrawal retroactively. Note: To ensure rapid handling of your request for withdrawal, we recommend that you call the VIN office at 1-800-700-INFO.
Nanette R. Walker Smith, RVT, CVT
VSPN Content Director
Nanette@vspn.org or VSPNCE@vspn.org

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