Enrollment is closed.

Tuition: $66 ($59 early bird special if enrolled by November 15, 2022) * Students currently enrolled in an AVMA accredited or CVMA approved Veterinary Technician Program may be eligible to receive a 50% discount off the regular rate for this course (upon verification of student status). Prices are listed in US dollars.

Course Information:
Pain, in any animal species, can demand all the patient’s attention. It can cripple the individual, often making them unable to focus on anything else. Pain can be acute, chronic, or neuropathic. Behavioral changes are currently the principal indicator of pain and its course of improvement or progression, and the basis for recently validated pain scores. The management of pain requires a continuum of care that includes anticipation, early intervention, and evaluation of response on an individual patient basis. A team-oriented approach, including the owner, is essential for maximizing the recognition, prevention, and treatment of pain in animals. This lecture will attempt to illustrate pain behaviors that everyone in practice can use for identification. Participants will be shown various pain scales/grimace scales and shown variations. Images and videos will be shown. Participants will be asked to apply what they learned in the discussion to the images/videos. We will discuss why the patient should receive a specific pain score. At the end of the session, the participant should have a working knowledge of what pain scale would fit into usage at their practice and be able to explain why it would be a good fit.

• Name types and categories of pain.
• Name at least three detrimental effects of pain.
• Name three behavioral keys for pain.
• Describe at least three common signs of acute and chronic pain in dogs and cats.
• Describe three behaviors that are negatively impacted in acute and chronic pain for dogs and cats.
• Distinguish between pain and dysphoria.
• Define hyperesthesia and allodynia; name at least three neuropathic conditions in both dogs and cats.
• Understand and name conditions that cause tumor pain in dogs and cats.
• Discuss chronic pain scales.
• Understand the postures and appearance of many species that are in pain: dogs, cats, non-human primates, rodents, rabbits, horses, livestock, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish invertebrates.
• Discuss using acute pain scales for pain identification.
• Understand the difference between grimace scales and facial action units.
• Identify pain in patients (we will use videos and images as examples).

RACE Accreditation: This program has been approved for 3 hours of continuing education credit in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval. This program is approved for veterinarians | veterinary technicians/technologists | veterinarians and veterinary technicians/technologists. (20-854873)

Week 2 (Real Time Session December 13): Assessing and Scoring Pain in Animals (most species included)
We will discuss postures and appearance of many species that are in pain, using acute pain scales, understanding the facial expressions, and reviewing videos and images to identify pain in patients.

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.

*To ensure participants are ready and prepared for classes, enrollment will close on December 6, 2022 at 5 pm ET (USA) or when the maximum number of participants is reached.

1. VIN CE Courses:
   1. VIN CE courses are open to VIN member, VIN student member, and non-member veterinarians.
   2. Veterinary support staff must be VSPN members in order to enroll in a VIN CE course open to VSPN member enrollment.
2. VSPN CE Courses:
   1. VSPN CE courses are open to veterinary support staff and veterinarians.
   2. Only VIN and VSPN members can enroll in a VSPN CE course.
   3. Veterinarians will only receive credit for those VSPN CE courses that specify in the Accreditation statement that the course is accredited for veterinarians.
3. Please check the course Level and Prerequisites, Accreditation, and Tuition before enrolling.
4. Each enrollee must be able to receive emails from @vspn.org and @vin.com addresses.
   1. Email is our major form of communication with participants; personal emails are highly recommended rather than clinic/hospital email addresses.
5. For further assistance call 800-846-0028 ext. 797 or email CEonVIN. Please include the course title, your full name, and contact information in your correspondence.