Vet Tech CE Day Proves Extremely PopularMarch 14, 2016What if you scheduled a conference for 50 veterinary technicians and then 250 accepted the invitation? You would find a larger meeting place. That’s what Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Center (VSEC) did after receiving overwhelming demand for the 2016 Greater Philadelphia Area Veterinary Technician Conference. The free, daylong educational event will take place Saturday at The Brookside Manor in the suburban community of Feasterville-Trevose, 20 miles from VSEC’s Philadelphia hospital. “We’ve just been completely overwhelmed by the demand,” said Scott Franco, the conference organizer and VSEC’s marketing manager. Even with seats reserved for 250 vet techs, more than a dozen other veterinary professionals were placed on a waiting list. “There are a lot of veterinary conferences with a veterinary technician’s track, but a free event like this is pretty rare,” said hospital co-owner Laura W. Tseng, DVM, Dipl. ACVECC. Five continuing-education credits will be awarded to veterinary technicians attending lectures on anesthesia, nutrition, triage, oncology and grief management. A lunchtime roundtable discussion will feature three veterinary technician specialists. The event drew support from the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association, which will staff a booth, and from corporate sponsors Antech Diagnostics, Brief Media, Elanco Animal Health, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Stokes …
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$20 Million Gift Brings CSU Closer to Research InstituteMarch 11, 2016Colorado State University recently reported that an anonymous racehorse breeder has donated $20 million to build a regenerative medicine research facility. This fulfills a $65 million matching challenge from lead donors John and Leslie Malone, according to the university. The Malones, who raise dressage horses and Thoroughbred racehorses, pledged $42.5 million for the planned facility in late 2014. They challenged CSU to raise $32.5 million to match the equivalent amount that they directed to building the facility. The Malones’ additional $10 million is slated for institute operations over the first five years. Groundbreaking of the CSU Institute for Biologic Translational Therapies, which will feature laboratories, specialized surgical suites and conference space for veterinarians and physicians, is expected to take place later this year. “We are deeply grateful for another tremendous gift to help establish the Institute for Biologic Translational Therapies,” said CSU President Tony Frank. “This support, combined with the transformational gift from John and Leslie Malone, will advance Colorado State’s work in a new era of veterinary and translational medicine.” The Institute for Biologic Translational Therapies will develop next-generation remedies based on living cells and their products. These include patient-derived stem cells to …
Fred Gingrich, DVM, Named Ohio Veterinarian of the YearMarch 10, 2016The Ohio Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) has named American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) President Fred Gingrich, DVM, the 2015 Veterinarian of the Year. Outgoing OVMA President Dr. Brad Garrison presented the award, largely considered the Association’s highest honor, during a special award ceremony at the annual Midwest Veterinary Conference. A 1995 graduate of the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Gingrich is the owner of Country Roads Veterinary Services and Ashland Veterinary Clinic in Ashland, Ohio, where he practices dairy and small animal medicine. Dr. Gingrich is a champion for the Ohio Dairy Veterinarians Association and has worked to educate veterinarians and dairy producers across the state on responsible drug use. On a national level, his involvement in organized veterinary medicine includes serving on the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Task Force on Veterinary Compounding Legislation, the Clinical Practitioners Advisory Committee and the Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents. A long-time member of the AABP, Dr. Gingrich is also a past winner of the organization’s Preventative Medicine Dairy Award and recently assumed the role of president. “To rise to such national prominence obviously speaks well of his talents and standing with his veterinary …
Gavel Passed on to New OVMA President at Annual ConventionMarch 10, 2016Scott Pendleton, DVM, of Cadiz, Ohio, has assumed the role of President of the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA). At the organization’s annual Midwest Veterinary Conference (MVC), outgoing President Dr. Brad Garrison passed the gavel on to his successor. “I value the work of organized veterinary medicine and the real changes it can make for the practicing veterinarian,” Dr. Pendleton said, remarking that his main goal for his presidency will be to increase support for the OVMA’s Veterinary Political Action Committee (VPAC). Dr. Pendleton’s one-year term as president officially began March 1. He will lead the OVMA’s 20-member Board of Directors, which guides the association’s policies, resources and strategies. In the past, he has served the Board as vice president, secretary and district representative. Type image credit here Dr. Pendleton’s primary goal for his year as president is to increase support for OVMA’s Veterinary Political Action Committee. A 1989 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Pendleton is owner of Cadiz Animal Clinic, where he practices solo mixed-animal veterinary medicine. Dr. Pendleton is also president of the Harrison County Historical Society and is a birdwatcher. He …
Auburn Vet Students Begin PreceptorshipsMarch 10, 2016Senior class students from Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine have begun their eight-week preceptorships. Preceptorships give students an opportunity to apply what they have learned in classrooms, laboratories and clinical rotations in a real-world setting under the supervision of veterinarians around the world, according to the college which made the announcement in early March. Students are required to choose a hosting practice that is at least 30 miles away from the college. Practices undergo a “rigorous evaluation process” before they can host students, the college noted. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Rob Schnurr, far right, is in Hannover University College of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover, Germany. Posted by Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine on Wednesday, March 9, 2016 The class of 2016 is comprised of 116 students. While many will be staying close to home (27 students will remain in Alabama and 24 will go to Kentucky), others will be completing their preceptorships in locations such as California, Montana …
Veterinary Student Rides Bike Across U.K. for CharityMarch 9, 2016Twenty-year-old Francesca Cutts is a 3rd-year veterinary student at the Royal Veterinary College in London. As if the demands of veterinary school were not enough, Cutts is embarking on another grueling task: Riding a bicycle across the United Kingdom. Cutts, who works at Greendale Veterinary Diagnostics in Woking, began the 250,000-mile journey on Feb. 27 in John O’Groats. The goal is to raise $355,255 (£250,000) for Sport Relief, a nonprofit that “focuses amongst other things on supporting vulnerable people with mental health problems,” Cutts told Get Surrey. The cause, she says, is close to her heart. “My personal target is to raise £1,052 ($1,494.91), which is a pound for every mile,” she added. “This is a huge total for me, and with the public’s help, I hope to beat it.” Of the challenge, Cutts told Get Surrey was that, “The first few days we were lucky with the weather so we could enjoy the beautiful scenery but the biggest difficulties have been the wind. It’s very frustrating to be hit and pushed back at all sides to feel like you’re not making any progress. But we all stuck together as a team and battled it …
British Study Reveals 1.4 Million Pet Owners Give Their Pets Human Meds to Avoid Veterinary ExpensesMarch 9, 2016One of the biggest complaints veterinarians hear is that the cost of veterinary care is too expensive. While some pet owners get pet insurance, make payments or find some other means of paying for it, one-third of the 1,000 pet owners surveyed in a recent British study have taken matters into their own hands by giving their pets human medications rather than paying veterinary fees. The study, conducted by pet insurance company MORE TH>N, revealed that one in 11 pet owners have given their pets over-the-counter medication, including anti-histamines, paracetamol, antiseptic creams, ibuprofen and aspirin. According to the study, pet owners gave these medications to their cats and dogs for issues such as “injured paws to cuts to insect and nettle stings.” The pet owners also admitted giving their pets these medications an average of seven times over the last year. When asked why they gave human medication to their dogs and cats, 35 percent of the surveyed pet owners “claimed they were trying to avoid incurring vet costs, 21 percent didn’t feel the …
Veterinarians Use 3D Printing to Help Three-Legged Dog Walk Without WheelsMarch 9, 2016Ziggy is a Border Collie who was found in 2014 with a broken leg. Because it had healed incorrectly, his front right leg had to be amputated. He was adopted from the Wacol RSPCA by University of Queensland PhD students Glenn Althor and Rebecca Colvin when he was three months old. The now 2-year-old dog was getting around on his remaining three legs; however, he has since been diagnosed with an angular limb deformity. Veterinarians say it is likely because the extra weight his front left leg is now bearing. Jayne McGhie, BVSc and senior lecturer at University of Queensland School of Veterinary Science, told Althor and Colvin that Ziggy would not be able to use his leg without experiencing pain, but that it was necessary to save it, ABC reports. After hearing the news, Althor and Colvin ordered a wheelchair for Ziggy and trained him how to use it — a temporary solution to help keep weight off his bad leg. In December, Dr. McGhie and Lance Wilson, BVSc(hons) MANZCVSc, performed surgery on Ziggy’s remaining front leg. McGhie told ABC that given Ziggy only had the one front leg, “I didn’t believe there was room …
Penn Foster College Joins NAVTA on Changing term 'Veterinary Technician' to 'Veterinary Nurse'March 9, 2016James Hurrell, DVM and Director of the Veterinary Academy at Penn Foster College, today endorsed the National Association of Veterinary Technicians' (NAVTA) initiative to elevate the status of the profession of “veterinary technician” to “veterinary nurse.” Dr. Hurrell declared that the new term will “bring more understanding and respect to the people that assist veterinarians with the healthcare of animals.” Dr. Hurrell announced his endorsement at the 2016 Western Veterinary Conference (WVC) in Las Vegas. “This proposed change to ‘veterinary nurse’ has been gaining momentum for a while, both for practical reasons within the field of veterinary medicine, and also for reasons of professional standing and recognition for individual practitioners,” Dr. Hurrell said in a press release. Penn Foster’s Veterinary Academy director explained that the name change would bring more respect for a profession whose current title is hard to explain to the public, and forge greater understanding of the educational and professional achievements by those who will be called “veterinary nurse.” Penn Foster College Dr. James Hurrell, DVM, Director of the Veterinary Academy at Penn Foster College. In the field of veterinary medicine, depending on the state …
Lone Star College-Tomball Veterinary Technology Program Receives Recognition for Volunteer WorkMarch 8, 2016Lone Star College-Tomball Veterinary Technology and Boys and Girls Country have had ties for two decades. Students from the veterinary program have been volunteering their time to provide deworming products and vaccines to the herds of livestock that the nonprofit organization maintains through its at-risk urban youths that it houses. “The students who are enrolled in the Food Animal Management course, first-year students, are doing the work,” Kathleen Diamond, LVT and Veterinary Technology program director, told Cypress Creek Mirror. Boys and Girls Country not only recognized Lone Star College-Tomball Veterinary Technology students’ service, but the length of service at an awards luncheon on Feb. 10 at the River Oaks Country Club in Houston. The service started 20 years ago when Dr. George W. Younger of the Lone Star College-Tomball, organized a field trip to the nonprofit for his veterinary students. The trip was sporadic until around 2008, when it became an annual visit. “They tend to a herd no matter the weather conditions,” Joyce Brod, LVT and Director of the LSC-Tomball Veterinary Technology program, told Cypress Creek Mirror. “We have been there when it was cold, wet and hot. The students in our program …
