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Tuition: $132 ($119 early bird special if enrolled by May 1, 2024) * 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:
Hematology is a vital component in the health evaluation of veterinary patients and yields an abundance of information. Veterinary technicians are often involved in the collection and processing of these samples but may not recognize erroneous results. This course will cover sample collection, processing, review cellular identification, and validation of results of a complete blood count from start to finish, including ways to minimize artifactual errors in handling and processing hematology samples.

• Minimize errors during the collection process.
• Prioritize tests to maximize test results.
• Describe the principles behind the tests of a complete blood count.
• Identify limitations of both manual and automated methods.
• Understand the importance of blood slide preparation and evaluation.
• Evaluate the validity of automated results.
• Recognize factors that affect results.
• Identify cells, inclusions, and other structures in blood films.
• Recognize various morphological changes in red blood cell, white blood cell, and platelet morphology.
• Implement techniques to improve the reliability of a complete blood count.

RACE Accreditation: This program has been RACE approved for 6 hours of continuing education credit for veterinary technicians/technologists in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval. (20-1175240)

Week 2 (Real Time Session May 29): Preparing the Slide
This session will cover the preparation of blood films and their use in validating numbers. Principles behind staining will be discussed and techniques for minimizing artifacts will be included.

Week 3 (Real Time Session June 5): Analyzing the Automated CBC Results
This session will delve into the numbers in an automated CBC and the technology behind the numbers. Techniques to spot errors and methods of verifying numbers will be covered.

Week 4 (Real Time Session June 12): Evaluating the Slide
This session will cover the microscopic identification of cells, inclusions, and other structures on blood slides.

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.

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. For further assistance call 800-846-0028 ext.792 or email VSPNCE. Please include the course title, your full name, and contact information in your correspondence.