VPN Plus+ ExclusiveCrash, Boom, Bang! Protocols for Dogs with Sound SensitivityJanuary 24, 2024It is estimated that anywhere from one-third to two-thirds of dogs have noise aversions! If you saw 12 dogs in your hospital each day, four to eight of them are likely to develop noise sensitivities in their lifetime. Not only can a fear of sounds be physiologically and emotionally damaging for dogs, but it can also strain the human-animal relationship. In this session: Debbie Martin, LVT, VTS (Behavior), provides strategies for how to approach and prevent sound sensitivities, including teaching desired coping skills.
SPONSORED CONTENTHelping manage the hidden signs of stressOur therapeutic nutrition targets underlying stress in cats with GI or urinary issues — helping provide relief to pets and their humans. + Learn More
VPN Plus+ ExclusivePsyMed: The Science Linking Psychological Stress and Medical SymptomsJanuary 12, 2024It is well-known certain behavioral signs can identify chronic psychological stress that eventually may affect medical symptoms. This field is known as “PsyMed.” This lecture shows how identifying these behaviors is more effective than measuring cortisol. Rolan Tripp, DVM, CABC, takes a deep dive into stress-induced cell adhesion molecule disruption and introduces the PsyMed hypothesis as the connection between pet behavioral health and enjoyable longevity.
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveTech Talk: A clinic without strong leadership is in troubleJanuary 11, 2024By Jamie Rauscher, LVTIf your clinic is lacking in leadership, developing a plan on how to build up the leaders in your clinic should be a number one priority in your life. There are direct and indirect impacts to having less leadership in your clinic than what is ideal. Some direct impacts of not having structured leadership are gossip, turnover, stress on current team members, and a negative culture.
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveDo You Speak Cat? Feline Communication for the Veterinary TeamJanuary 3, 2024In this session: Tabitha Kucera, RVT, VTS (Behavior), CCBC, KPA-CTP helps you understand how cats communicate with us and determine how to tell when they are fearful, stressed, anxious, or happy. This is the first step to Fear Free and feline friendly handling.
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveAn American vet tech in SwedenDecember 29, 2023This year’s conference was at the Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet or Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala, which houses both the veterinary and veterinary nursing programs. It is the only university in Sweden for both professions and is a state-of-the-art training facility. While I was excited to speak about U.S. veterinary technology education, well-being, and the team-based learning pedagogical concept we are doing at Appalachian State, I was even more excited to meet fellow educators from all over and learn more about education in the UK and EU, and what struggles and successes they had.
VPN Plus+ ExclusivePositivity prevails: nine resolutions for the new yearDecember 20, 2023By Patty Khuly, VMD, MBAAfter last month’s column, it was brought to my attention that my last few columns have been somewhat less than positive in their outlook on our profession; and that’s no way to end a year, is it? To wit, it is time to offer a rosier take on how to succeed in veterinary medicine.
AAHA announces enhanced digital benchmarking platform now free for all membersDecember 13, 2023The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) has partnered with Chewy Health to provide its comprehensive analytics platform, AAHA Benchmarking+, free to all members and practices using certain Chewy Health tools.
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveAnalgesia—Opioids and Their AlternativesDecember 8, 2023In this session: Ellen Williamson, DVM, MS, Dip. ACVAA, discusses pain treatment modalities in small animal practice.
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveElevating team morale and retentionDecember 8, 2023Industry surveys have begun to paint a clearer picture of these issues and how veterinary practices are tackling them. However, data specific to the emergency and specialty sector has typically been limited. This summer, the Instinct Science team set out to better understand how hospitals in this vital sector are evolving amidst mounting team morale challenges.
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveDon't forget about CE for vet techsNovember 29, 2023Requiring a CrVT to obtain a certain amount of CE to continue to be certified allows them to stay up to date on veterinary medicine and will make them more utilizable within a veterinary facility. A properly educated and trained CrVT will be able to not only complete more complex tasks, but is able to share that education with others within the facility.