Sam Bernier, Esquire
Joint Presentation for Small Animal I & Small Animal II
8:00am | "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Board of Veterinary Medicine: Tips from Your Neighborhood Attorney on Navigating a Board Complaint"
Mr. Bernier will discuss DHP and Board of Veterinary Medicine regulations governing Virginia veterinarians as well as contemporaneous documentation and record keeping techniques that comply with these regulations and enhance patient safety. Mr. Bernier will also discuss the DHP and Board of Veterinary Medicine regulations that govern complaints against veterinarians, and the process of responding to a DHP complaint.
Dr. Heather Wilson-Robles
Sponsored by: The Oncology Service
9:15am | "What's New in Veterinary Oncology"
This session discussion will provide a brief but thorough overview of many of the new therapeutics and diagnostics currently being offered in the veterinary oncology space. We will dive into the benefits and limitations of each new test or therapy and review a few cases that highlight these strengths ad weaknesses.
Dr. Pamela White
10:10am | "Radiation Therapy; it is not just for Cancer! How Radiation Can Help Beyond Cancer Therapy"
Description coming soon!
Dr. Ralph Harvey
Sponsored by: Zoetis
11:20am | "Everyone Benefits from Reducing Fear, Anxiety, Aggression & Stress in Perioperative Care"
Practical strategies move our practices and profession toward a more fear-free and stress-free experience. The benefits go far beyond the individual patient, bringing value and quality to our lives.
1:20pm | "Implementing the AAHA Anesthesia & Related Guidelines in Your Practice"
Our obligation to do our best for patients and clients requires that we continually improve anesthesia and perioperative care. We’ll discuss practical approaches and new opportunities. The task-force goal was to help improve the standards of anesthesia for dogs and cats across our profession. In our individual practices, the AAHA Guidelines can be implemented, or more simply can serve as a valuable resource to help us move incrementally toward that shared goal.
2:20pm | "A Revolution in Anesthetic Techniques - More Locals, Less Opioids, Lower Inhalants"
The opioid shortages, as well as other contemporary factors, have increased our emphasis on dramatically revised anesthetic care, and lead us to less suffering. Newly available medications, novel methods, and better use of local anesthetics have greatly expanded our options. We’ll summarize significant details that influence best methods. This can change your practice, adding substantial economy and building value.
Dr. Rell Parker
Sponsored by: Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
3:20pm | "Classification of Disc-Associated Diseases"
What is the difference between ANNPE and FCE? IVDE vs IVDP? This session will clarify the differences and similarities between common disc-associated diseases and briefly touch on the less common variants.
4:10-5:00pm | "Management of Intervertebral Disc Disease"
We will discuss recommendations for management of intervertebral disc disease, including when to prescribe medical management, when to refer a patient, indications for surgery, and post-operative care. We will also touch on risk factors for intervertebral disc disease.
Sam Bernier, Esquire
Joint Presentation for Small Animal I & Small Animal II
8:00am | "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Board of Veterinary Medicine: Tips from Your Neighborhood Attorney on Navigating a Board Complaint"
Mr. Bernier will discuss DHP and Board of Veterinary Medicine regulations governing Virginia veterinarians as well as contemporaneous documentation and record keeping techniques that comply with these regulations and enhance patient safety. Mr. Bernier will also discuss the DHP and Board of Veterinary Medicine regulations that govern complaints against veterinarians, and the process of responding to a DHP complaint.
Dr. Lisa Radosta
Sponsored by: Fear Free
9:15am | "Dog & Cat Anxiety Toolkit: Tools for Confident Diagnosis & Communication"
What is in a name? Sometimes labels or diagnoses can be harmful and sometimes they
can help us speak the same language. How do you translate what you see and what the
client tells you into meaningful labels and an effective treatment plan? It is easier than
you might think.
10:10am | "Dog & Cat Anxiety Toolkit: Tools for Confident Diagnosis & Communication" Continued
Trying to determine which medication class, formulation or dosing schedule is best for
your patient can feel overwhelming. Should you stick with what you know? Go with your
gut? Use what worked for the last patient? Throw some medication at the wall and see
what sticks? Luckily, there are five simple rules that you can apply to level up your
medication decision making game. Improve your confidence with this lecture.
Dr. Kelly St. Denis
Sponsored by: American Association of Feline Practitioners
11:20am | "Cat Friendly Interactions and Handling: Creating Better Feline Visits"
Veterinary visits with some cats can be challenging and downright difficult at times. It may seem like the cat is being deliberately uncooperative, but if we take the time to understand what they are experiencing, we can learn simple ways to improve the visit for the cat, the caregiver and the veterinary team. This seminar will explore the Heath Model of Emotional Health and how we can easily apply it to our day to day interactions with cats, thereby revolutionizing the cat’s veterinary experience.
1:20pm | "The Cat Friendly Veterinary Environment: It's Easier Than You Think"
Cats are territorial by nature, preferring to remain within their defined safe space if possible. A trip to the veterinary hospital not only removes them from that territory, but exposes them to numerous threats. This seminar will examine the cat’s feelings during this experience and explore the many small but pivotal changes we can make that will improve the overall visit for the cat, caregiver and veterinary team.
2:20pm | "Update on Pain in the Cat: Decoding a Feline Enigma"
As a prey species the cat is programmed to conceal illness and pain. The result is that
identifying pain in the cat can be challenging for caregivers and veterinary teams.
In this seminar we will review the common causes of pain in the cat and learn how to utilize pain scales to identify and quantify that pain. We will investigate current treatment options, focusing on taking a holistic approach to the prevention and treatment of feline pain.
Dr. Dominic Tauer
3:20pm | "Top 5 Toxins in the Dog & Cat"
A discussion of the most common toxins in both canine and feline patients with clinical
signs and treatment recommendations.
4:10-5:00pm | "Decontamination of the Toxic Patient"
Decontamination is the most important treatment for the poisoned patient. Here we will discuss different methods in both the canine and feline patient.
Dr. Sue McDonnell
8:00am | "Equine Ethology: Fun Facts with Implications for Better Horse Management"
This talk will review several key aspects of the natural behavior of horses with corresponding important implications for health and welfare of domestically managed horses.
Dr. Cade Torcivia
9:15am | "Low Stress Handling of Equine Patients"
Description coming soon!
Dr. Sue McDonnell
10:10am | "Hormones and Behavior in Equine Practice"
This talk will discuss common behavior complaints suspected or assumed to be related to reproductive hormones, including common temperament/performance behavior problems in mares and stallion-like behavior in geldings.
Dr. Cade Torcivia
11:20am | "Equine Discomfort Ethogram"
Description coming soon!
Dr. Sue McDonnell & Dr. Cade Torcivia
1:20pm | "Behavior Cases I"
These interactive sessions will work through several examples of behavior cases, including systematic evaluation, treatment, behavior modification and/or management.
2:20pm | "Behavior Cases II"
These interactive sessions will work through several examples of behavior cases, including systematic evaluation, treatment, behavior modification and/or management.
Dr. Sophie Bogers
Sponsored by: Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
3:20pm | "Standing Surgeries Simplified"
Does the thought of performing standing surgery on-farm give you goose-bumps? This session is to give you confidence in safe methods of patient restraint for standing surgery, as well as tips and tricks for surgery that could be performed in the field including enucleation, standing castration, sinus trephination and flaps for exploration or tooth removal, skin mass and distal splint bone removal.
Dr. Amy Santonastaso
Sponsored by: Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
4:10-5:00pm | "Noteworthy News in Equine Research"
This talk will highlight some of the important research in the recent literature that is relevant to the practicing equine veterinarian. I will attempt to highlight a wide variety of topics that is relevant to all areas of equine practice.
Dr. Jordan Thomas
Sponsored by: Boehringer Ingelheim
8:00am | "Pasture Management: Do's and Dont's for Beef Grazing Systems"
Forage management is an integral component for profitable beef cow-calf systems. According to recent surveys, high-return cow-calf producers invest in pasture management as compared to low- and middle-return producers. Veterinary practitioners are often consulted for their opinion on nutrition and forage management. In this session, we will review the basics of forage management as it relates to the overall production system. An introduction to different forage management systems will be discussed including management-intensive grazing. Finally, we will identify specific “Do's” and Dont's” for grazing systems involving native or improved pastures.
Dr. Dan Cummings
Sponsored by: Boehringer Ingelheim
9:00am | "Evaluation of Refugia-Based Parasite Control Strategy"
Internal parasite control in beef cattle is an important management tool impacting herd health, productivity, and profitability. The development of antiparasitic resistance is an area of growing concern, which may become a significant threat to cattle health and performance. To reduce the development of resistance, veterinary parasitologists are recommending two strategies: refugia-based (leaving a percentage of the herd untreated) and/or combination treatment (2 anthelmintics from different drug classes). The focus of this session will be to review current literature and discuss a recently completed study designed to determine the impact of a refugia-based strategy on production parameters and fecal egg counts over a 131-day grazing season.
10:10am | "Strategic Communications for the Practicing Veterinarian"
On any given day veterinary practitioners encounter difficult medical cases, complicated surgeries, and a plethora of routine veterinary medical procedures. Amid the chaos and challenges of practicing veterinary medicine, veterinarians must also learn to become highly effective and efficient communicators. Implementing strategic communication within the daily grind of veterinary practice can enhance the overall experience for the veterinary team, clients, and ultimately, the practitioner. In this session we will review communication styles and identify many of the crucial conversations veterinary practitioners must master. Attendees will be exposed to general best practices and tips to become a strategic communicator.
Dr. Gil Patterson
11:00am | "Veterinary Telemedicine Background & Regulations"
Description coming soon!
1:30pm | "How to Successfully Implement Telemedicine in Food Animal Practice"
Description coming soon!
Dr. Phil Sponenberg
Sponsored by: Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
2:20pm | "Management Solutions to Difficult Small Ruminant Diseases"
This session takes the basic pathogenesis of select diseases of small ruminants
(caseous lymphadenitis, Johne’s disease, foot rot, paraelephastrongylus) and outlines
treatment and management approaches to them. The emphasis is on understanding
disease progression to develop management approaches leading to control.
Dr. Jason Nickell
Sponsored by: Merck
3:30pm | "Limitations & Challenges of an Accurate BRD Diagnosis"
This session will focus on reviewing the challenges in arriving at an accurate BRD diagnosis. Additionally, this discussion will evolve into how untimely and missed diagnoses impact the overall performance of postweaned beef cattle.
4:20-5:10pm | "Improving BRD Health Outcomes with the SenseHub Feedlot Technology"
This session will focus on the introduction of this new technology. Attendees will be presented with an overview of the technology, field research data, and additional insights gleaned from real-world application.
