Confidence through education, training focus of WVC

By Therese M. Castillo

This year's Western Veterinary Conference (WVC), happening February 15 to 18 at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Neva., embraces the theme "Vegas Twist: Get Confident. Get Connected. Go ALL IN!" with a focus on empowering veterinary professionals through practical education, hands-on training, and networking opportunities.

In an interview, Anthony Pease, DVM, MS, DACVR, chief veterinary medical officer of Viticus Group, highlights how WVC equips attendees with the confidence to handle challenging cases across small animal, large animal, and exotic medicine. With more than 60 hands-on laboratories, interactive workshops, and lecture tracks, the conference offers personalized learning experiences aimed at meeting the needs of veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and practice managers.

Dr. Pease gave an exclusive sneak peek to Veterinary Practice News on innovations in continuing education, expanded exhibitor offerings, and exciting social events—including a concert with the Grammy Award–winning band Train. For the first time, WVC is extending its reach with a new conference in Nashville, Tenn., bringing the signature Las Vegas educational experience and interactive hands-on opportunities to the East Coast and Southeast.

How does WVC intend to impart confidence in its attendees? What does this mean for them?

Anthony Pease, DVM, MS, DACVR: We have an amazing and renowned group of education managers who have recruited the best veterinary specialists and experts throughout the United States. Our instructors provide cutting-edge practical recommendations on some of the most common, yet challenging cases faced by small animal, large animal, and exotic veterinarians, and veterinary technicians.

WVC has always focused on providing education practitioners, technicians, and practice managers can use as soon as they get back, which allows them to leave WVC with the confidence to practice the best-quality medicine for their patients.

What also sets us apart from other conferences is it is not just lectures at WVC Vegas; we also have 60 hands-on laboratories in a purpose-built, real-world environment that allows clinicians and technicians to build confidence under the expert guidance of our world-renowned instructors. This combination of lectures, social events and hands-on training allows all our participants to "Get Confident, Get Connected, and Go All In" on veterinary medicine.

What would you say are the biggest challenges facing the veterinary industry today? How does the organization address them?

Pease: One of the biggest challenges in veterinary medicine is the huge diversity of diseases and how the veterinary community can keep up with the case load and practice medicine as efficiently and confidently as possible. We focus on providing education for people regardless of their learning style. [WVC offers] large lecture halls, smaller workshops for a more personalized education, learning lounges for more interactive and robust experiences, and hands-on laboratories for those who want to dig in and practice at the height of their ability.

In terms of innovation, what can attendees expect from exhibitors this year?

Pease: Our exhibit hall is bigger and better than ever. We have several interactive booths, and we continue to bring education to our learning lounges on the exhibit hall floor, featuring more exhibitors than ever before. If you are looking for anything in the veterinary field, you will find it at Mandalay Bay in our exhibit hall. There are tons of surprises in store for participants and the social events with the help of our sponsors, like our concert with Grammy Award–winning pop-rock band Train.

Our exhibitors continue to pull out all the stops with the biggest booths in the industry, and we are so excited by all the new technologies, equipment and services that will be on our exhibit hall floor.

How does the organization support continuing education for veterinarians and veterinary technicians.

Pease: We have introduced new tracks this year that are geared more toward disease or lifestyle, such as a track that follows animals from birth through neonates, mid-life, and geriatrics. We are focusing some of our lectures on addressing the way patients are presented and showing the different directions diagnostics can take a patient that presents with the same clinical signs, such as vomiting.
Ultimately, our education director has been working with our education managers and focused on creating the best and diverse educational experience for veterinarians, veterinary technicians and practice managers so we will have something for everyone.

As for hands-on programs, we are expanding our offerings to include more sessions than ever before. From equine and small animal ophthalmology, small animal dentistry, and small animal ultrasound, we are also offering soft tissue and orthopedic full-day laboratories, turtle shell repair, anesthesia monitoring for technicians, and hands-on training on how to obtain the best CT images for technicians and veterinarians.

The organization had a successful expansion in Nashville last year. Could you tell us more about what they can expect in this year's run?

Pease: We are thrilled to bring all the amazing offerings our participants have come to expect from the Viticus Group in Las Vegas to Nashville. We have two new buildings in Nashville to provide hands-on training. We are opening our first building to coincide with the launch of our new conference in the heart of Nashville downtown.

Our Nashville conference will bring the first new national conference to the East Coast and Southeast in over 40 years. This conference aims to bring the large exhibit hall and cutting-edge, interactive education that people have come to love in Las Vegas to Nashville from August 15-18. We will have hands-on laboratories, education in the exhibit hall, and new and dynamic lectures. We will even have some great workshops, and we're going all-in with our social events as well.