VSPN TECH312-1120: ER Procedures

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

Enrollment is closed.
Presenter: Courtney Waxman, MS, CVT, VTS (ECC)
Course Open: November 24, 2020-December 25, 2020
Real Time Sessions (RTS): Tuesdays December 1, 8, and 15, 2020: 9:00-10:30pm ET
Course RTS Times in Your Area: World Clock Converter

Level and Prerequisites: This intermediate course
VSPN CE Course: Open to will be open to veterinary technicians/technologists and support staff actively interested in advancing their emergency procedural skill set.

“This program has been approved for 4.5 hours of continuing education credit in jurisdictions which recognize RACE approval.(22-44256) “

Course Information:
This course is designed to review common procedures performed in the emergency and critical care setting that should be performed by veterinary technician/technologists. This course will focus on the concepts of indications, procedural steps, and nursing care of the following procedures: nasoesophageal (NE) and nasogastric (NG) feeding tube placement, advanced feeding tube care, urinary catheterization (male and female, canine and feline), multi-lumen catheterization (central and peripheral), arterial blood sampling, arterial catheterization, blood gas analysis (venous and arterial), transfusion therapy, nasal oxygen cannula placement, advanced respiratory tube care, and defibrillation.

Week 1 (Real Time Session December 1): Feeding Tubes & Urinary Catheters
Required Reading prior to Real Time Session.
  • NAVTA article – Feeding Tubes
  • TVN article – Feeding the Critical Patient
  • Nasal Feeding Tube Checklist
  • Clinician’s Brief article – Urinary Catheter Placement in Dogs
  • JAVMA article - UTIs
Objectives: Upon completion of this session, the participant should be able to
  • Identify the indications and procedural steps for nasal feeding tube placement (NE & NG)
  • Utilize a nasal feeding tube checklist.
  • Understand the nursing care of nasal feeding tubes.
  • Explain the technique for measuring gastric residual volume (GRV).
  • Understand the nursing care of advanced feeding tubes.
  • Identify the indications for urinary catheterization.
  • Recognize the procedural steps for urinary catheterization in dogs and cats.
  • Understand the nursing care of urinary catheters.
  • Explain the technique for quantifying urinary output.
Week 2 (Real Time Session December 8): Venous & Arterial Catheters
Required Reading prior to Real Time Session.
  • JVECC article – Central Venous Jugular Catheters
  • VetFolio article – Arterial Catheters
  • NAVTA article – Invasive Devices
  • NAVTA article – Blood Gases
Objectives: Upon completion of this session, the participant should be able to
  • Identify the indications for peripheral central venous and jugular central venous catheter placement.
  • Recognize the procedural steps for jugular and peripheral central venous catheter placement.
  • Understand the nursing care of central catheters (jugular and peripheral).
  • Explain the 3-syringe technique for venous blood sampling.
  • Identify the indications and procedural steps for arterial blood sampling and catheterization.
  • Understand the nursing care of arterial catheters.
  • Explain the 3-syringe technique for arterial blood sampling.
  • Explain the technique for direct arterial blood pressure monitoring.
  • Describe the parameters used for arterial blood and venous blood gas analysis.
Week 3 (Real Time Session December 15): Transfusions, Respiratory, & Defibrillation
Required Reading prior to Real Time Session.
  • NAVTA article – Blood Transfusions
  • TVN article – Providing Supplemental Oxygen Therapy
  • Clinician’s Brief article – Nasal Oxygen Cannulas
  • Clinician’s Brief article – Endotracheal Intubation
  • VNJ article – Thoracostomy Tubes
  • TVP article – Tracheostomy Tubes
  • Book chapter - Defibrillation
Objectives: Upon completion of this session, the participant should be able to
  • Identify the indications for pRBC, FFP, and whole blood transfusions.
  • Recognize the procedural steps for blood product administration.
  • Understand the nursing care of patients receiving blood component therapy.
  • Identify the indications for oxygen therapy.
  • Recognize the procedural steps for nasal oxygen cannula placement.
  • Understand the nursing care for nasal cannulas, long term intubation, and advanced respiratory illness.
  • Identify the indications and procedure steps for defibrillation.
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 Presenter: Courtney Waxman, MS, CVT, RVT, VTS (ECC) has spent 15 years working in the veterinary field. She holds licensure as a Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT) in Arizona and as a Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) in Indiana. In 2017, she became a Veterinary Technician Specialist (VTS) in Emergency and Critical Care (ECC). Courtney currently works as an instructor for Purdue University's Veterinary Nursing Program and in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital's ICU department. Her areas of special interest include CPR, mechanical ventilation, environmental hazards, one-on-one case management, critical care nursing, critical thinking, and technician training. In addition to working in critical care, Courtney is actively involved within the veterinary community. She is the NAVTA Executive Board Member-at-Large, the President of the Indiana Veterinary Technician Association (IVTA), on the advisory team for the Veterinary Nurse Initiative, is a RECOVER Certified BLS and ALS Instructor, is a speaker for the veterinary technician community at the national and international levels, and has been published in several veterinary technician and nursing journals. In 2018, she started her own business, Veterinary Nurse Consulting, LLC to share her love of emergency and critical care to fellow technicians. Courtney has been nominated for the NAVTA Vet Tech of the Year in 2018 and 2020. In 2019, she was named New Educator of the Year by the Association of Veterinary Technician Educators (AVTE). Off duty, she enjoys world travel with her husband, reading, fitness, and spoiling her two dogs, Biggs and Ollie.

Total CE Credit: 4.5

Tuition: $95($85 early bird special if enrolled by November 10, 2020)
* Students currently enrolled in and taking at least 2 classes or 5 units at 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.

*To ensure participants are ready and prepared for classes, enrollment will close on December 1, 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 has been approved for 4.5 hours of continuing education credit in jurisdictions which recognize RACE approval.(22-44256) “

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 VSPN's upcoming CE courses, check the VSPN Course Catalog.

Lisa Kernaghan, LVT, RVT, CVT, VTS (ECC)
VSPN CE Coordinator

VSPN 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