Viticus Group’s inaugural WVC Nashville conference brought veterinary professionals to Music City Center Aug. 15–18 for more than three days of continuing education, hands-on training, and networking. Photo courtesy Viticus Group WVC Las Vegas The event offered more than 400 hours of continuing education, an exhibit hall with more than 300 exhibitors and more than 15 hands-on lab trainings at Viticus Group’s new Nashville education center. Attendees included veterinarians, veterinary technicians, practice managers and other veterinary professionals. The conference also featured entertainment, including the Nash Bash Block Party, a General Session with Miranda Lambert and the Tails & Tunes music festival, which included performances by Blanco Brown, Uncle Kracker and Gretchen Wilson. WVC Nashville coincided with the opening of Viticus Group’s new education centers near Nashville International Airport. The two adjacent centers add nearly 80,000 square feet of training space and are expected to accommodate more than 15,000 participants annually when fully operational. “The wait is over…we are officially bringing the electric energy of Las Vegas straight to the heart of Music City!” says Andrea Davis, CEO of Viticus Group. “Launching WVC Nashville isn't just about opening a new location; it’s a bold step forward in making world-class continuing education more accessible and inclusive than ever before.” Veterinary Practice News caught up with Anthony Pease, DVM, MS, DACVR, chief veterinary medical officer of Viticus Group, to learn more about their recent expansion: Following the inaugural conference, what outcomes or feedback have most validated the decision to establish a second home in Nashville? Dr. Anthony Pease (AP): "With more than 8,800 participants, the veterinary community gave its resounding support to our new conference in Nashville. We also have our new Viticus Group Nashville Centers and Center 1 had a great turn out for our inaugural hands-on laboratories. Our purpose-built facilities allow a permanent location for the Viticus Group expansion in Nashville bringing our year-around world class education closer to the veterinarians on the east coast." Why was Nashville the right choice for this expansion? AP: [We picked Nashville for this event] for improv[ed] access, expanding options, and the unique entertainment experience. Nashville also has outstanding weather, a great airport and is a great location that people want to come back to year over year. Ultimately, we realized that we need to expand the Viticus Group to help meet the needs of the veterinary community and Nashville was an amazing location that allows us to bring our training to more veterinarians and veterinary professionals. Our facilities are only five minutes from the airport, and the Music City Center is surrounded by hotels and restaurants making everything very accessible and convenient for the veterinary professional. The event combined CE hours, hands-on wet-lab training at the new education center, and large-scale networking and entertainment. How does that mix support the practical and professional needs of today’s veterinarians, technicians, and practice leaders? AP: We pulled out all the stops. We created an environment where veterinary professionals can get everything they need: Education, hands-on training, networking, and entertainment. We recognize that the veterinary community is busy, so we provided more than 450 hours of education in one-stop, spanning topics from small animal, exotics, food animal, equine and practice management. We made something for everyone and created a conference where people can come together to network and continue to support veterinary medicine, as well as access an Exhibit Hall to experience the latest technologies and equipment. The uniqueness of Nashville was creating more of an integrated approach to conference education that we also offer in Las Vegas. Our education focus is on patient symptoms and presentations, much like veterinarians and technicians see every day. These symptoms are then discussed through team talks across numerous specialties, providing practitioners with the diversity of disease presentations and the best, most up-to-date methods to diagnose and treat them. What new types of hands-on learning and development opportunities are offered in the Viticus Group Nashville Centers? AP: For hands-on programs, we launched our new skills program, the KNACK Track. KNACK, an acronym for Keys to Navigating and Applying Clinical Knowledge, is a new elevated continuing education experience comprised of a comprehensive, small group and assessment-based learning journey. This provides more than CE by requiring an assessment at the end of the course to provide feedback on the participant’s skill with the techniques just learned. This unique hands-on laboratory is another inaugural offering started in Nashville to help re-enforce the hands-on CE being provided to participants and ensuring they leave with the skills and techniques to improve their veterinary care. We also expanded our interactive educational offerings, making escape rooms and other interactive workshops to engage participants in smaller group settings. This is done to make sure we focus on not just providing state of the art information but ensuring it is presented in a way to be retained when presented in fun and novel ways. Looking ahead, what is the long-term vision for both WVC Las Vegas and WVC Nashville? AP: The long-term vision is for the Viticus Group to be the premier post-graduate hands-on educational resource for the veterinary community. This is not just by offering two amazing conferences to help accommodate everything the veterinary community needs around their busy schedule. But also, for those that prefer more hands-on learning, Viticus Group has the largest network of purpose-built training facilities to help truly immerse participants and allow them to elevate their practice of veterinary medicine throughout the year. These educational programs are teaching practical techniques for general practitioners either right out of veterinary school or looking to improve their skills, taught by the leading experts throughout the country! We will continue to grow WVC Nashville in 2027 as we expand to occupy the entire Music City Convention Center increasing our educational offerings while continuing to leverage Nashville’s amazing city for entertainment and adventures. For WVC Vegas, we have an amazing team of dedicated meeting planners and educational managers that will continue to elevate the experiences in both locations. There is truly something for everyone, from workshops for more personal attention, large lecture venues and team talks to watch conversations between specialists, escape rooms, hands-on laboratories, all the species specialists throughout the country, there is something for everyone in Vegas or Nashville. And the Nashville conference is not a repeat of Vegas, with our low registration fee, our hope is to get participants to come to both and grow their knowledge and skills in leaps and bounds continuing from what they learned from Vegas to Nashville and back to Vegas! With six months between each WVC conference, it is a perfect time to start the year with us and then end it honing your skills at our second conference! Viticus Group continues to host its flagship WVC Annual Conference in Las Vegas. For more information, visit the Viticus Group website.
