Calendar of Events

By: Christine Culler, DVM, MS, DACVECC

Description: Blood product shortages are increasingly common and many hospitals may not regularly keep blood products on hand. Having an established contingency plan for patients requiring blood products is important. It is stressful to find alternative solutions in a crisis and the delay can compromise patient outcomes. We will review various blood products and their uses, including dosages, rates, proper administration, and how to navigate transfusion reactions. We will discuss a variety of alternatives to reach for when your blood refrigerator is empty, including the pros and cons of each. This will include xenotransfusion for cats when type-specific products aren’t available, how to appropriately collect and store blood from a donor animal, stabilizing the anemic patient while waiting for a transfusion, and suggestions on navigating blood product purchasing in urgent situations. A goal for this course is to leave more confident in transfusion medicine and to have an organized plan for handling blood shortages.

By the end of the session, attendees will be able to:

1. To understand potential indications and risks of xenotransfusion in cats.
2. To be familiar with a protocol for in-house blood collection
3. To know the content of various blood products and alternatives when the ideal product is not available

Speaker Info: Christine Culler, DVM, MS, DACVECC is a traveling emergency doctor with Veterinary Emergency Group. She completed her DVM, Master of Science, and residency in Emergency and Critical Care at The Ohio State University. She then completed a fellowship in extracorporeal therapy at North Carolina State University. She was a medical director at BluePearl North Carolina and joined VEG in 2023. The challenge of end of life and quality of life decision-making in her critical patients fueled her interest in palliative care and improving communication in serious illness. She also enjoys managing trauma, sepsis, acute kidney injury, and intoxications and appreciates working in hospitals that encourage teachers and learners to be humble and curious.

By: Daniel J. Fletcher, PhD, DVM, DACVECC

Description: Delivery of quality healthcare requires highly skilled teams that can remain effective in the complex, unpredictable environment that is the modern veterinary practice. Drawing on the evidence based TeamSTEPPS system developed for human health care, this session will describe the VetTEAMS framework, a series of team competencies and simple communication tools that can be integrated into your practice to reduce medical errors, and improve team performance, and enhance staff satisfaction. Delivery of high-quality veterinary care requires extraordinary team work. Learn how you can help your team reach the next level of efficiency, quality, and safety.

By the end of the session, attendees will be able to:

1. Explain the principles of good leadership of a veterinary healthcare team.
2. Describe the 4 fundamental characteristics of good communication in a veterinary healthcare setting.
3. Demonstrate techniques and tools for achieving situation awareness through situation monitoring skills.
4. Describe the principles of mutual support and the behaviors that can maximize a team’s ability to ask for and offer help to allocate resources where they are needed.

Speaker Info: Dr. Fletcher has been faculty at Cornell since 2006. After receiving a BS in Electrical Engineering from Drexel University and a PhD in Bioengineering from the University of California, he obtained his DVM from the University of California at Davis. He then completed an internship and emergency and critical care residency at Penn. He is co-chair of the RECOVER Initiative, which published the first evidence-based veterinary CPR guidelines, and is past-president of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care.

By: Angela M Lennox, DVM, DABVP-Avian, ECM; DECZM-Small Mammal

Description: Rabbits commonly present with signs consistent with GI dysfunction; distinguishing these from actual obstruction, which may require surgical management, requires a thorough approach. This presentation helps practitioners identify this group of rabbits, and presents current thoughts on medical management of those not requiring surgery.

By the end of the session, attendees will be able to:

1. Understanding of the typical presentation of rabbits with GI dysfunction
2. Tools for helping to distinguish which are more likely to have GI obstructive disease
3. Protocols for both medical and surgical management

Speaker Info: Angela M. Lennox is a graduate of Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, and has practiced exclusively exotic animal medicine since 1991.  She is the owner of the Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic of Indianapolis.   She is a diplomate in the American Board of Veterinary Practitioner (ABVP) in both Avian and Exotic Companion Mammal Medicine, and a diplomate of the European College of Zoological Medicine, Small Mammal Medicine. Dr. Lennox is an adjunct professor at Purdue University Department of Clinical Sciences.