By: Marc Seitz, DVM, DACVR, DABVP

Description:
Is surgery indicated?  Few questions cause an emergency clinician’s stomach to tie up in knots!  This session will use radiographs from real cases to discuss interpretation strategies for diagnosing mechanical gastrointestinal obstructions.   Alternative radiographic imaging techniques available to most emergency clinicians will also be discussed.

Course Objectives:

1. By the end of the session, the attendee will be able to diagnose the three main types of mechanical gastrointestinal obstructions with radiography: pyloric outflow obstruction, small intestinal mechanical obstruction, and linear foreign body.
2. The attendee will be able to utilize the following to increase the diagnostic yield of radiography for diagnosing mechanical gastrointestinal obstructions: left lateral projection, objective criteria for small intestinal dilation, negative contrast gastrography using soda, pneumocolonogram, and compression radiography.
3. The attendee will be able to recognize free gas and decreased serosal detail in cases of gastrointestinal rupture and presumed septic peritonitis.

Speaker Info:
Marc Seitz, DVM, DACVR, DABVP

Dr. Seitz is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Diagnostic Imaging at Mississippi State University (MSU).  He earned both his B.S. in biochemistry and his DVM from MSU.  After graduation, he spent eight years in private practice as both a general practitioner and emergency clinician prior to returning to MSU as an emergency faculty member.  In 2014, he earned Diplomate status with the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (Canine and Feline).  Due to his interest in performing and teaching ultrasound, in 2018 he began working towards a second specialty in diagnostic imaging and is now a full-time board-certified radiologist.  In addition to clinical practice, he thoroughly enjoys teaching, with the ultimate goal of translating sound medical practices and current veterinary literature into useful clinical skills for both general practitioners and emergency clinicians.  His passion for teaching has been recognized through the Zoetis Distinguished Veterinary Teaching Award (2016).

By: Amanda Cavanagh, DVM, DACVECC

Description:
In this 1-hour presentation, learners will first dive into the challenges of accurate volume assessment in dogs and cats presenting with emergent conditions or hospitalized with critically illness. The challenges and limitations of various invasive techniques for volume assessment will be briefly reviewed. Point of care ultrasound is a non-invasive, inexpensive, easily learned tool that can be used to assess volume status and urine output in dogs and cats. Learners will be introduced to ultrasound techniques that indirectly assess volume by imaging the heart and caudal vena cava. Techniques will be applied to clinical scenarios. Learners will also be introduced to bladder measurements as a noninvasive method of assessing urine output to aid in volume assessment.

Course Objectives:

1. Understand the challenges of volume assessment in critically ill patients
2. Describe the technique for imaging the caudal vena cava, left ventricle, and bladder to approximate blood and urine volume
3. Interpret caudal vena cava images and left ventricular end diastolic diameter measurements to determine volume status in a patient
4. Describe changes in imaging and measurements in response to fluid boluses

Speaker Info:
Amanda Cavanagh, DVM, DACVECC
Service Leader, Small Animal Urgent Care
Assistant Professor, Emergency and Critical Care
CSU College of Veterinary Medicine

Amanda Cavanagh, DVM, DACVECC is an Assistant Professor of Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care at Colorado State University and is the section head of the Urgent Care Service. She received her DVM from Auburn University in 2011 and acquired ACVECC board certification after completing a residency at North Carolina State University in 2015. Dr. Cavanagh has specific interests in point of care ultrasound, traumatology, and toxicology.

By: Steven Epstein, DVM, DACVECC

Description:
This lecture will review how intravenous lipid emulsions (ILE) work for treating lipophilic intoxications and provide a framework for decision making for the rationale use of ILE in various toxins.

Course Objectives:

1. Understand the differing mechanisms of how intravenous lipid emulsions act as an antidote
2. Recognize which toxins intravenous lipid emulsions are useful for treatment
3. Understand the limitations of intravenous lipid emulsion therapy
4. Recognize adverse effects of intravenous lipid emulsions

Speaker Info:
Dr. Steven Epstein attended University of California at Davis for his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine.  He then went on to complete an internship in anesthesiology at Kansas State University and then completed a three-year residency in veterinary emergency and critical care at UC Davis.  Dr. Epstein is now Professor of Clinical Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care. His research interests include CPR, diagnostic testing in the emergency room, and antimicrobial resistance patterns.

By: Tiffany Jagodich, DVM, DVSc. DACVECC

Description:
Course description: High flow nasal oxygen is a novel modality of respiratory support in animals. It has been used widely in neonatal and pediatric children as well as adult humans. It’s use in dogs at this point, has been limited to acute hypoxemic failure but, evidence may lead us to investigate new perspectives for use of this device in other conditions. In this lecture, we will discuss the use of HFNC in people, in hypoxemic failure of companion animals, and further considerations for our brachycephalic patients.

Course Objectives:

1. Understand the mechanisms of action and indications supported by the literature for use of HFNC in respiratory disease.
2. Describe the safety considerations for use of HFNC as related to the patient population and disease process.
3. Discuss when success or failure of HFNC is observed, and consideration when discussing outcomes with veterinary patient owners.

Speaker Info:
Dr. Jagodich completed her veterinary degree at the University of Guelph, Ontario Veterinary College. She subsequently completed a rotating internship at Tufts University and then returned to the University of Guelph for her residency in emergency and critical care; as well as a graduate degree focussing on respiratory physiology and high flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy in dogs. She is currently the  founding criticalist for a private practice in British Columbia, Canada and trauma medical director for her hospital. Her areas of interest include respiratory medicine, mechanical ventilation, trauma and much more.

By: Erin Mays, DVM

Description:
Coagulation dysfunction in trauma has been a topic of debate for the past 20 years. Over the past decade, our understanding of the mechanisms behind trauma induced coagulopathy have improved significantly, though some concepts remain unclear.  Specifically: why do some patients develop coagulopathy and others do not?  This question holds true in veterinary trauma medicine as well- for we have yet to consistently identify such a coagulopathy in veterinary trauma studies, though many case reports exist. In this session, we will explore our understanding (as well as lack of understanding) of the mechanisms of coagulopathy in trauma and will delve into the recommended diagnostic treatment approach for cases in which coagulopathy is suspected or confirmed.  We will explore what is on the horizon to improve our understanding of coagulopathy in trauma and how we can harness what we know about the phenomenon to improve outcomes, even when advanced coagulation diagnostics are not available.

Course Objectives:

1. Understand the clinical and diagnostic features of coagulopathic trauma patients
2. Understand mechanisms driving coagulation dysfunction in trauma
3. Understand the pertinent literature surrounding trauma and coagulopathy in both human and veterinary medicine
4. Understand how to apply our knowledge of coagulopathy to optimally treat trauma patients, even in resource-limited settings

Speaker Info:
Dr. Mays is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care and has special clinical and research interest in trauma resuscitation, transfusion therapy, and disorders of coagulation. Following graduation from University of Illinois in 2008, she was commissioned as an Officer in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps. Following her active duty service, Dr. Mays pursued her passion for critical care medicine at NC State University where she completed specialty internship and residency in emergency and critical care. She works both in private practice and industry and has ongoing clinical research in the area of trauma hemostasis and development of novel transfusion products and strategies. Dr. Mays continues her military service in the Army Reserves.

By: Lee Palmer, DVM, MS, DACVECC, NRP, EMT-T, WEMT, CCRP, TP-C

Description:
Operational K9s (OpK9s) deployed in a tactical or high threat environment remain at high risk for suffering preventable deaths. Despite their invaluable contribution in safeguarding our society’s freedoms, prehospital trauma care for these OpK9s remains lacking. Factors hindering the availability and provision of such care include lack of: a) Veterinary Emergency Medical Service (VEMS) support b) Nationally accepted “standards of care” for Veterinary Prehospital Care, and c) standardized VEMS training courses and certifications. Veterinary professionals are increasingly requested to teach non-veterinary first responder’s canine field care. Attempts to provide or develop standardized veterinary prehospital courses are hampered by the interpretation of current state laws governing practice of veterinary medicine. As such, not only would such acts be considered out of the scope of practice of an EMSP, but also in violation of the state’s Veterinary Practice Act / Legislative Code which subjects the EMSP to legal reprisal.  The National Association of Veterinary EMS (NAVEMS) is a not-for-profit association with the mission to advocate preveterinary care legislation and to serve providers of veterinary prehospital care with the knowledge, information, and inspiration to enable them to be the best in their profession. NAVEMS is the first multidisciplinary association of veterinary professionals, EMS practitioners and K9 Handlers with a united front of delivering focused educational programs and building strong networks to enable a collaboration between Veterinary and EMS professionals to develop a National Standard for Veterinary Prehospital Care.

Course Objectives:

1. Discuss lessons learned needed for States to pursue the development of Preveterinary Care Legislation to legally allow EMS providers the ability to legally render emergency life-saving care to Operational K9s injured in the Line of Duty.
2. Discuss key points EMS agencies need to consider before providing preveterinary care to an injured OpK9 to include development of: a VEMS training program for their EMS providers, a working relationship with a regional veterinary treatment facility for provision of veterinary oversight, training, and Online Veterinary Medical Control support, and more.
3. Discuss the tenets of developing a training program for various audiences (EMS, K9 handlers). This requires veterinary personnel to have a general understanding of each audience’s scope of practice, training knowledge, available resources, and operations

Speaker Info:
Dr. Palmer is a Diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care and Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner (CCRP) that possesses over 20 years of military, tactical and operational medicine experience. He has served in the military since 1996, currently assigned as the Group Veterinarian for the 20th Special Forces Group, Alabama Army National Guard. Dr. Palmer also serves as the Veterinarian for the 24^th Special Operations Wing and Operational K9 consultant for various federal Law Enforcement agencies. He has and continues to provide training and consultation in the field of K9 Tactical and Prehospital Care nationally and internationally, at various venues and for various military, Law Enforcement, Search and Rescue, and Tactical EMS communities. Dr. Palmer is the lead and founder of the K9 Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (K9 TECC) working group, Medical Education Director for PennVet’s Working Dog Practitioner program, Veterinary Medical Director for National Association of Veterinary EMS (NAVEMS), and active working group member for the Defense Committee on Trauma’s (DCoT) Canine Combat Casualty Care Committee. Additionally, he serves as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff and certified Tactical Paramedic for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

By: Scott P Shaw, DVM, DACVECC

Description:
Patient Safety Science is well established in human medicine; a strong movement originated in the early 2000’s and now is ubiquitous in human healthcare. In this lecture we will review patient safety science, current patient safety data and statistics and cover why errors happen when delivering medical care. We will explore the many opportunities to apply Patient Safety Science to veterinary medicine in order to keep our patients safer from medical error. We will discuss how errors impact our teams. Errors hurt not only our patients, but us as their caregivers. This is called the second victim phenomenon, and it contributes to the stress and burnout common in our profession. We will discuss the importance of a strong patient safety culture, and how one can be established and fostered in our clinics and hospitals.

Course Objectives:

1. Develop a basic understanding patient safety science
2. Be able to describe why errors happen and their impact on health care profession
3. Be able to perform a Root Cause Analysis to help us dissect and learn from events

Speaker Info:
Dr. Shaw 1998 graduate of the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and completed a rotating internship at the Veterinary Referral and Emergency Center in Norwalk CT before returning to Tufts to complete a residency in Emergency and Critical Care Medicine.  After completing his residency in 2002, Dr. Shaw joined the faculty at Tufts.  He spent the next 10 years as a faculty member at Tufts.  In 2012, Dr. Shaw left Tufts to help open New England Veterinary Center & Cancer Care in Windsor, CT. In 2014 he became the Regional Medical Director for the VCA Specialty Hospitals in the Northeast.  In 2017 he became the Regional Vice-President of VCA’s Northeast Specialty Hospitals. Dr. Shaw lives in Woodstock, CT with his wife and son.  They breed and show Labrador retrievers and standard dachshunds and have 3 mini donkeys.

By: Julien Guillaumin, Docteur Vétérinaire, Diplomate ACVECC, Diplomate ECVECC

Description:
There is limited literature in septic shock in dogs and cats, although plenty of evidence-based practices from human medicine. With a mortality rate around 15-20% in dogs, it is very important that septic shock is quickly suspected, appropriately diagnosed and treated. Both the veterinary definitions and the human Sepsis 3 definitions aligned for septic shock, which avoids confusion of having 2 sets of definitions for SIRS, sepsis and MODS. Treatment of septic shock includes rapid source identification and control, and a bundle of treatments. This bundle includes early and judicious fluid therapy, rapid administration of broad spectrum antibiotics, sometimes with higher doses or prolonged infusion, and finally rapid administration of vasopressors. Specific triggers and timing of decision-making processes regarding use of those therapies, especially antibiotics and pressors, are important. Finally, ancillary treatment such as monitoring, nutrition and specific organ dysfunction treatments are important to understand the management of this complex syndrome.

Course Objectives:

1. Understand the timing of antibiotic and vasopressor administration in septic shock
2. Recall the veterinary and human sepsis 3 definitions of septic shock
3. Apply a specific bundle of treatment to the management of septic shock in dogs and cats

Speaker Info:
Dr Guillaumin is currently an Associate Professor in Emergency and Critical Care at Colorado State University. After graduating from the Ecole Nationale Veterinaire de Nantes, France, Dr Guillaumin pursued a small animal rotating internship at the Ecole Nationale Veterinaire d’Alfort, France. After graduation, he worked in both private practice emergency settings and academia, serving as a clinical instructor in Emergency and Critical Care at the Ecole Nationale Veterinaire de Lyon (now VetAgroSup). Dr Guillaumin continued his advanced training in Emergency and Critical Care by moving to the US in 2005, working as a clinical instructor at Cornell University and then completed his ACVECC residency at the University of California, Davis in 2009.

For 10 years, Dr Guillaumin was a clinician, teacher and researcher as a clinical track Assistant, then Associate Professor at the Ohio State University. He also acted as the Blood Bank Director. In 2015, Dr Guillaumin was recognized as an invited diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care. In 2019, Dr Guillaumin took a tenure-track position at Colorado State University. His clinical and research interests include thrombosis and thrombolysis, hemostasis, blood banking, transfusion medicine, sepsis and septic shock.

Dr Guillaumin is a former Chair of the ACVECC residency training committee and currently serves as a Chair of the Joint Committee which oversees the work of the 3 major ACVECC Committees as well as a member of the ECVECC Education Committee. Dr Guillaumin has trained over 150 interns and ECC residents and has over 200 invited lectures and scholarly publications.

By: Lisa Hacker, LMSW

Description:
As the human-animal bond strengthens over time and staffing shortages have altered every practice, veterinary professionals are faced with a growing number of clients with high emotional reactivity when their companion animal is experiencing an emergency. This course will shed some light on why this occurs and focus on techniques to help clients return to a more rational state.

Course Objectives:

1. Define & understand the term “emotionally charged”
2. Recognize the early signs of agitation in vet med clients
3. Describe the concept and importance of de-escalation
4. Acquire a collection of skills & techniques to use in practice

Speaker Info:
Lisa is an Advanced Practice Social Worker (APSW) in the State of Wisconsin, as well as a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) in the State of Arizona. She earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2009. Lisa’s post-graduate experience had been in pediatric, medical social work before transitioning full-time into Veterinary Social Work in 2018. Lisa’s first program was developed at Lakeshore Veterinary Specialists in Milwaukee, WI which was featured in the June 2020 edition of the JAVMA. Currently, Lisa is the Social Work Program Manager for employee-owned, 1st Pet Veterinary Centers in the metro Phoenix area, where she also manages a training program for MSW students for multiple area universities. Lisa achieved her Grief Support Specialist Certification at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2021 and is a contributor to the forthcoming volume The Comprehensive Guide to Interdisciplinary Veterinary Social Work. Lisa continues her work providing relevant education for the veterinary community as well as facilitating nationwide support groups for DVM’s through the Veterinary Hope Foundation.

By: Dr. Isaac Sabat

Description:
This presentation will provide an overview of best practices in designing selection systems based on the organizational psychology literature. Specifically, I will review research demonstrating the evidence of implicit bias inherent within typical hiring approaches. I will then discuss the business case for reducing these biases and improving diversity within organizations. Lastly, I will discuss effective recruitment and selection strategies for improving employee diversity and success.

Course Objectives:

1. Learn how to design valid selection systems
2. Learn how to evaluate bias and inequity within these systems
3. Learn evidence-based strategies for increasing diversity in organizations
4. CR

Speaker Info:
Isaac Sabat’s program of research broadly focuses on understanding and improving the working lives of stigmatized employees. He is particularly interested in examining strategies in which these employees can engage, such as disclosing or acknowledging their identities, to effectively remediate the workplace obstacles that they face. He has conducted various interrelated projects that examine how the effectiveness of expressing one’s identity is impacted by the extent to which stigmas are previously known, visible, or discovered by others over time. This is a novel area, given that disclosures have previously been conceptualized as a dichotomous, all-or-nothing phenomenon. This work has been published in Journal of Business and Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Vocational Behavior, and Harvard Business Review.

By: Gregory R. Lisciandro, DVM, DABVP, DACVECC

Description:
We will discuss the use of Global FAST point-of-care ultrasound for raising the suspicion and for the detection of traditionally difficult conditions focusing on pulmonary and cardiac conditions.  Global FAST is the combination of AFAST, TFAST and Vet BLUE as a single ultrasound examination that uniquely screens the abdomen and thorax including heart (TFAST fundamental echocardiography) and lung (Vet BLUE). By integrating findings, cardiac and lung conditions otherwise suspected or missed based on physical exam, laboratory testing, and radiography are “seen” (more evidence-based) using the Global FAST approach.

Course Objectives:

1. Understand the views of Global FAST
2. Understand AFAST and its abdominal fluid scoring system
3. Understand TFAST fundamental echocardiography
4. Understand Vet BLUE, its regional, pattern-based approach, B-line scoring system, and visual lung language for signs of consolidation
5. Understand how to integrate information by Global FAST for detecting traditionally difficult conditions

Speaker Info:
Dr. Gregory Lisciandro, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, Dipl. ACVECC, attended Cornell, completed an internship at The Animal Medical Center, New York City, and emergency and critical care residency at the Emergency Pet Center, San Antonio, Texas.  He has practiced veterinary medicine as a general practitioner, emergency veterinarian, and then as a specialist in emergency and critical care.  He developed AFAST^® and TFAST^® in 2005, and Vet BLUE^® and Global FAST^® in 2010.  Global FAST^® ultrasound is a unique ultrasound examination used to rapidly screen both the abdominal and thoracic cavities including heart and lung.  He has authored over 20 peer-reviewed Global FAST^®-related clinical studies.  He is chapter author and editor of Point-of-care Ultrasound Techniques now in its 2nd edition and has served as an ACVECC At-large Regent, member of the Scientific Committee, the Student Certification Committee, and VetCOT.  He has lectured and directed Global FAST^® ultrasound scanning workshops around the world and continues to lead in publishing clinically relevant, point-of-care ultrasound research.

By: Ginger Templeton, DVM, MS, CPC

Description: The veterinary profession is inherently stressful. Conflict and high emotions are both a cause and consequence of this workplace stress. Emotional intelligence is an important tool that can be taught and developed in order to improve conflict response, stress management, communication and leadership. Leaders who have high levels of emotional intelligent often have greater psychological safety on their teams which, in turn, are often more effective and productive.

In this course, we will explore the subdomains of emotional intelligence and how to apply these domains in stressful or conflict-laden situations. Cases will be used to illustrate the real-time application of emotional intelligence in the workplace. Participants will be encouraged to consider their own strengths and weaknesses in emotional intelligence and ways to improve their leadership through this framework.

Course Objectives:

Participants will be able to:

1. Define emotional intelligence (EI), and explain the relationship between EI and effective leadership
2.  List and describe the four domains and 12 subdomains of emotional intelligence (EI)
3. Identify personal strengths and weaknesses in emotional intelligence
4. Apply emotional intelligence as a framework for handling conflict and stress

Speaker Info:
Dr. Ginger Templeton is the CEO of Vet-to-Vet Coaching, which provides leadership development and wellbeing coaching to veterinarians and their teams. She also serves as Director of Learning and Development for Mentor Vet and is on the Board of Directors of MOVES (Mobile Veterinary Specialists). Her coaching style incorporates emotional intelligence to help veterinary professionals discover innovative solutions with confidence and compassion. After earning her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she spent fifteen years in the trenches of small animal general practice, including five as a mobile practice owner. In 2021, she completed the Veterinary Human Support Certification through the Department of Social Work at the University of Tennessee and executive coach certification through the post-graduate training program at The College of Executive Coaching. Dr. Templeton believes the key to culture change and greater wellbeing in veterinary medicine is through a combination of individual responsibility and organizational initiatives and thus finds value in working both one-on-one with leaders as well as teaching groups of veterinarians and team members.