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Courses open for VSPNer registration

TECH144-0309 : Triage and CPR

INSTRUCTOR:
Maryam Will-Bratton, LVT, VTS (ECC)

DATES:
March 9-April 15, 2009
Real Time Sessions: Sunday evenings; March 15, 22, and 29, and April 5, 2009; 8pm-9:30pm ET

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Before we can understand why we do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) the veterinary technician and experienced support staff need to be able to assess and/or triage incoming patients. In learning these basic skills and improving proficiency for assessment and triage, the veterinary technician or veterinary assistant will be able to prepare the clinic and the patient more effectively. The experienced veterinary technician will be able to communicate to the veterinarian the patient's status, potential for CPR, or other critical care nursing needs. The time before irreversible brain cell death occurs is very short, being prepared is essential in excellent patient care; CPR will thusly be addressed with respect to each of the emergency situations for Week 2, 3, and 4.

Maryam Will-Bratton has been a VTS (ECC) since 2001 and has worked in emergency critical care medicine for almost 10 years. Nursing highly critical or potentially critical patients requires attention to detail and knowledge of the hospital's abilities to address and triage patients at any time. As a veterinary technician, Maryam has developed and taught staff how to best be aware and prepared; thus providing exceptional care to patients and aiding the veterinarians in critical care.

Upon completion of this course, the participant should be able to:

TEXTBOOK: There is no required textbook for this course.
Recommend text for your reference:
Battaglia, A. M. (2007). Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care-A manual for the Veterinary Technician. Elsevier Health. VIN Store: https://store.vin.com/custom/edit.asp?p=82432

COURSE OUTLINE:
Week 1: Introduction
Content: In this first week we will look at what 'emergency' means to the owner and pet. We'll discuss techniques on how to deal with clients on the phone and when they present their pets to the clinic.

Week 2: Cardiac and respiratory emergencies
Content: We'll start with the more common emergencies of both of these systems. What clinical signs to look for and what to prepare for in each situation. We will approach CPR and its impact to the patient with these particular clinical health issues.

Week 3: Gastrointestinal emergencies
Content: Many gastrointestinal emergencies are surgical, but many are not. We'll discuss the most common symptoms and how to prepare patients for treatment and/or surgery. We will also address what types of complications might occur and how to be ready for them. We will approach CPR and its impact to the patient with these particular clinical health issues.

Week 4: Neurological emergencies
Content: We will cover the more common neurologic emergencies and what medications and equipment to have on hand to treat head trauma and the initially recumbent patient. We will also focus on the nursing care of the recumbent patient including padding, turning, bed sores, and other circulation and muscular issues. We will approach CPR and its impact to the patient with these particular clinical health issues.

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.

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

TUITION:
$120 ($108 early bird special if registered before February 23, 2009)
*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.

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

**For more on how online CE works see the VSPN Participant's Resource Center.

TO REGISTER:

  1. Each enrollee must individually be a registered member of VSPN or VIN (www.vspn.org). Membership in VSPN is free; VIN membership includes VSPN membership.
  2. To enroll in any VSPN CE course click on the ENROLL NOW link below the course title on the right side of the page at www.vspn.org/CE
  3. Each enrollee 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.
  4. 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 approved for 6 hours of continuing education credit 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. (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, M.Ed., RVT, CVT, LVT
VSPN Content Director & CE Coordinator
VSPNCE@vspn.org
1-800-846-0028 or 1-530-756-4881, ext 187

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
VSPN CE Services
1-800-846-0028 or 1-530-756-4881

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

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