Continued Education (CE) and Events

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Dates and Details

Wednesday February 22, 2023

Some Great Advice on Burnout and Compassion Fatigue from Dr. Debbie Stoewen, DVM, MSW, RSW, PhD

Wednesday March 29, 2023

Some Great Advice on Coaching On Conflict with Dr. Leann Benedetti, DVM, ACC, CCFP

Wednesday April 26, 2023

Some Great Advice on Time Management with Ashley Janssen

Wednesday May 31, 2023

Some Great Advice on Online Reputation Management with Marlie Oden

Wednesday June 28, 2023

Some Great Advice on Staff Retention with Becky Taylor

Wednesday July 26, 2023

Some Great Advice on Dealing with Angry Clients and How to prepare Staff with Mandy Dale

Wednesday August 30, 2023

Some Great Advice on Terminating a VCPR with Stacey Thomas, DVM

Wednesday September 27, 2023

TBA

Wednesday October 25, 2023

Some Great Advice on Associate Employment Contracts: what every associate should know before they sign, and what every owner should know before they offer with Scott Nicoll LLB

Wednesday November 29, 2023

Some Great Advice on Bullying and Boundaries both External Clients and Internal Staff with Tovah Caldwell, DVM

Wednesday December 27, 2023

Some Great Advice on Managing Uncertainty with Dr. Debbie Stoewen, DVM, MSW, RSW, PhD

Wednesday January 31, 2024

TBA

Wednesday February 28, 2024

TBA

All Wellness Wednesday - Some Great Advice Sessions are generously sponsored by RBC.

Purchase your tickets here

Held on four different Sundays, delivered by Zoom in real-time, these Sundays cover topics such as feline diabetes and nutritional issues; point-of-care ultrasound; COVID puppies and behavioural issues; and pain management in dogs and cats.

EACH SUNDAY begins with a two-hour session on the economics of practice, which is delivered in two alternating parts: one for veterinarians and one for non-DVM veterinary staff. These sessions, generously sponsored by True North Veterinary Diagnostics, will help your entire team to understand the economic realities of practice and provide effective strategies for altering prices and sound tactics for delivering cost information on the increasing costs of care directly to clients.

SBCV Members enjoy a 50% discount off of regular rates, paying only $200 per Sunday instead of the full fee of $400 for any full Sunday. Prices are "each day" and there are no discounts if you do not wish to take a morning or an afternoon session or if you have already taken a session earlier. Once purchased, tickets are non-refundable.

To assist practices to send their non-DVM staff for ONLY the two-hour economic session PART 2, the cost for techs, practice managers, and front-end staff is only $25 a person.

Please scroll down for details of each date including session description and speakers' biographies. Each Sunday provides up to 6 CE credits.

Not a SBCV member yet?

Buy a membership now and get your discount instantly. Please call the office now to join (604.406.3713) and experience these discounts and all the benefits of membership.

Dates, Session Descriptions, and Speaker Biographies

Sunday April 2, 2023

The ticket will say the session starts at 7:00 am; this is when registration starts. The actual session begins at 8:00 am. Please try to register prior to the start of the session so your admittance into the session from the waiting room is not delayed.

Sessions start at 8:00 am, registration begins at 7:00 am.

8:00 am – 10:00 am

The Financial Aspects of Wellness for Veterinarians (Part two for Veterinarians and Front End Staff) with Darren Osborne - Generously sponsored by True North Veterinary Diagnostics (2 CE Credit Hours)

Asking clients to pay for veterinary services is one of the worst parts of the job. Throw in a looming recession, persistent inflation, and clients with COVID hangovers, and it’s even harder. In this two-hour session, using data and real-life stories, Darren Osborne will pull back the curtain on veterinary fees and offer suggestions on how to best present fees to clients. Topics include creative pricing techniques like staging your dental fees; discounts and a discussion of whether or not they work; how to charge more for technician-performed procedures; and how often you should consider raising your fees. You will know by the end of two hours why you must charge what you charge and how to ensure clients value your services. This two-hour session (Part Two) focuses on these key factors in a session geared both for veterinarians and also additional support information and messaging for veterinary staff members including front-end staff, RVTs and practice managers.

10:30 am – 3:30 pm

Point of Care Ultrasound for Everyday Practice with Dr. Serge Chalhoub, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM) and Dr. Soren Boysen, DVM, DACVECC (4 credit CE hours)

Seeing is believing is an expression that holds true with point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). Diagnostic confidence increases in 89.2% of patients when general practitioners add bedside POCUS to patient evaluation. Despite widespread ownership of ultrasound machines and their revolutionary effect on all facets of veterinary medicine, they are underutilized in small animal practice. By asking clinically relevant questions, veterinary POCUS can be rapidly and efficiently learned and applied. Go beyond looking for the urinary bladder to get a urine sample, and start using ultrasound to make a difference in in the daily assessment and management of your patients. This four-hour session is delivered by two boarded specialists for a comprehensive session on the use of ultrasound. They will define veterinary POCUS, discuss its evolution, cover the key binary diagnostic questions, summarize the clinically driven questions you’ll need to ask, and discuss which POCUS skills are easy to learn.

Sunday April 16, 2023

The ticket will say the session starts at 7:00 am; this is when registration starts. The actual session begins at 8:00 am. Please try to register prior to the start of the session so your admittance into the session from the waiting room is not delayed.

Sessions start at 8:00 am, registration begins at 7:00 am.

8:00 am – 10:00 am

The Financial Aspects of Wellness for Veterinarians (Part One) with Darren Osborne - Generously sponsored by True North Veterinary Diagnostics (2 CE Credit Hours) REPEAT

Asking clients to pay for veterinary services is one of the worst parts of the job. Throw in a looming recession, persistent inflation, and clients with COVID hangovers, and it’s even harder. In this two-hour session, using data and real-life stories, Darren Osborne will pull back the curtain on veterinary fees and offer suggestions on how to best present fees to clients. Topics include creative pricing techniques like staging your dental fees; discounts and a discussion of whether or not they work; how to charge more for technician-performed procedures; and how often you should consider raising your fees. You will know by the end of two hours why you must charge what you charge and how to ensure clients value your services. This two-hour session (Part One) focuses on these key factors in a session geared specifically for veterinarians.

10:30 am – 3:30 pm

COVID Puppies and Behavioural Issues in Young Dogs with Dr. Katherine Pankratz, DVM, DACVB - Generously sponsored by VetStrategy (4 CE Credits)

Hour 1 - Designing the Best-Behaved Pets and Patients Through Socialization: as a veterinarian, you can play a major role in puppy development by recognizing the important puppy developmental stages, educating clients about critical life skills, and creating an environment for pups to love the veterinary clinic.

Hour 2 - COVID Crisis! Isolation’s Impact on Dog Behavior: when the COVID19 pandemic required social distancing, this generation of pups were at risk of inadequate socialization. Socialization encompasses positive emotional associations during a puppy’s sensitive developmental stage; its omission carries a greater risk of developing behavior problems in the future, including fear and aggressive behaviors. Learn to recognize this impact and provide support to these cases.

Hour 3 - Don’t Leave Me This Way: how to approach canine separation anxiety when noise complaints, destroyed doors, and ruined carpets from a left-alone dog are damaging the human-animal bond. Even dogs without these behaviours may be suffering in silence. Our post-pandemic lives mean less flexibility with our pups, so learn how to design treatment plans to support these patients and their families.

Hour 4 – Humane Handling in the Veterinary Clinic: focus on nurturing cooperative patients especially when high levels of fear, anxiety, and stress can result in aggression or learned helplessness. Awareness of your patient’s emotional needs and implementation of humane handling techniques increase patient compliance and accuracy of evaluation. You’ll get tips and tricks throughout the stages of an appointment to improve patient comfort, including considerations for patients the express fear or aggression.

Sunday April 30, 2023

The ticket will say the session starts at 7:00 am; this is when registration starts. The actual session begins at 8:00 am. Please try to register prior to the start of the session so your admittance into the session from the waiting room is not delayed.

Sessions start at 8:00 am, registration begins at 7:00 am.

8:00 am – 10:00 am

The Financial Aspects of Wellness for Veterinarians (Part two for Veterinarians and Front End Staff) with Darren Osborne - Generously sponsored by True North Veterinary Diagnostics (2 CE Credit Hours) REPEAT

Asking clients to pay for veterinary services is one of the worst parts of the job. Throw in a looming recession, persistent inflation, and clients with COVID hangovers, and it’s even harder. In this two-hour session, using data and real-life stories, Darren Osborne will pull back the curtain on veterinary fees and offer suggestions on how to best present fees to clients. Topics include creative pricing techniques like staging your dental fees; discounts and a discussion of whether or not they work; how to charge more for technician-performed procedures; and how often you should consider raising your fees. You will know by the end of two hours why you must charge what you charge and how to ensure clients value your services. This two-hour session (Part Two) focuses on these key factors in a session geared both for veterinarians and also additional support information and messaging for veterinary staff members including front-end staff, RVTs and practice managers.

10:30 am – 3:30 pm

Acute and Chronic Pain Management with Dr. Tamara Grubb, DVM, DACVAA - Generously sponsored by Associated Veterinary Purchasing Co. Ltd. (4 CE Credits)

Covering pain issues and management in both dogs and cats, this session will focus on any new treatment options or protocols that BC veterinarians need to know, or any existing options veterinarians might move away from. The four hours will cover chronic pain management, acute or critical care pain management, pharmacology, alternate veterinary treatments (for veterinarians not skilled in acupuncture or chiro), analgesia and anesthesia protocols for pain as well as pre- and post-anesthesia pain management.

SPEAKERS' BIOGRAPHIES

Darren Osborne is the Director of Economic Research for the Ontario VMA and Economic Consultant for the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association, several State VMAs, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association and veterinary study groups across North America. Darren attended York University and completed his master’s degree in Economics in 1992. Darren is generously sponsored by True North Veterinary Diagnostics.

Dr. Margie Scherk graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1982. In 1986, she opened Cats Only Veterinary Clinic in Vancouver, practicing there until 2008. She published several clinical trials whilst in practice. She has written numerous book chapters and is an active international speaker as well as enjoying teaching on-line. She is Co-editor of the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. Dr. Scherk has served extensively in the American Association of Feline Practitioners as well other veterinary organizations. Her interests include all things feline analgesia, the feline digestive system, renal disease, nutrition, and enabling more positive interactions with cats.

Dr. Chalhoub graduated from the DVM program at the Faculté de médecine vétérinaire (FMV) of the Université de Montréal in 2004, followed by a small animal clinical internship. After working as an emergency veterinarian, Dr. Chalhoub pursued a residency in small animal internal medicine at the Animal Medical Center (AMC) in New York City, staying on as AMC’s first renal/hemodialysis fellow, then staff doctor. He is a faculty member at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Carl J. Norden Distinguished Teacher Award in 2017. He coordinates a community outreach-service learning program, has authored and co-authored numerous scientific articles and book chapters on veterinary point of care ultrasound, renal and urinary medicine, and lectures around the world on these topics.

Dr. Søren Boysen completed his DVM from the University of Saskatchewan, completed a small animal internship at the Atlantic Veterinary College, and a residency at Tufts University, becoming a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care in 2003. Former chief of veterinary ECC at the University of Montreal, he helped establish veterinary ECC in the province of Quebec and is currently employed as a Full Professor in Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care at the University of Calgary. Extensively published and the recipient of numerous teaching, research, and speaker excellence awards, he has become an internationally recognized speaker. He co-edited the textbook “Essentials of veterinary point of care ultrasound: Pleural space and lung” and continues to pioneer novel ultrasound training techniques and workshops.

Dr. Katherine (Kat) Pankratz graduated with a DVM from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2014 and pursued a small animal rotating internship in New York. She completed her behavioral medicine residency program at North Carolina State University. In 2018, she became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. She stayed on at North Carolina State for her fellowship and as a clinical instructor. In 2019, she joined the Animal Behavior Clinic in Portland, OR. For her research on the use of behavioral medication to improve the welfare of cats, she was awarded the RK Anderson ACVB Resident Award and JFMS Resident Best Paper Award. She is an adjunct professor at North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine and teaches veterinary behavior to fellow veterinarians. 

Dr. Tamara Grubb, a graduate of Texas A&M University, is a board-certified veterinary anesthesiologist with a strong clinical interest and research focus in pain management. She is an Associate Clinical Professor of Anesthesia & Analgesia in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University, a certified acupuncturist, and a member of the Board of Directors of the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (IVAPM). She has a DVM husband and a myriad of pets of numerous species, all of whom participate in training her in Fear Free, which has definite benefits in anesthetic and analgesic protocols. Dr. Grubb has authored or co-authored a myriad of papers and books. Her favorite achievement is winning the Carl J. Norden Distinguished Teaching Award.

Thank you to our sponsors.

All Economic Sessions are generously sponsored by True North Veterinary Diagnostics

COVID Puppies and Behavioural Issues in Young Dogs with Dr. Katherine Pankratz, DVM, DACVB - Generously sponsored by VetStrategy

Acute and Chronic Pain Management with Dr. Tamara Grubb, DVM, DACVAA - Generously sponsored by Associated Veterinary Purchasing Co. Ltd.

Ultrasonography and Embryo Transfer Workshops are being conducted in tandem May 5-10, 2023, at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan with the intention of providing essential knowledge and hands-on experience for veterinary practitioners, research scientists and graduate students.  The Ultrasound Workshop is a three-day course covering principles of ultrasonography equipment and imaging, imaging of the reproductive tract in large animals and OPU/IVF.  The Embryo Transfer Workshop is a three- and half--day course covering all aspects of embryo transfer technology in cattle.  For more information and to register, please visit: https://wcvm.usask.ca/education/ultrasound.php

This course will prepare veterinary professionals that provide health services to small flock owners. 
Webinar dates:
April 4, 11, 18, 25 and May 2, 9, 2023 
Click this page for more details.
Registration link is here

View the program here. Early registration rate is $295 (until Feb 10, 2023). A student rate ($85) and part registrations (i.e., one or two days) are also available. See our registration page here for more details.

Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpdu6orT4rH9Hb0ILmULLheR_t4_eMA2QU

Luncheon Panel Agenda:

12:00 p.m.          Welcome and Introduction        

DG Blair, Committee Chair, Vancouver Cats and Birds Committee

Outdoor cats and One Health: Insights from outdoor cat research in Canada.

Dr. Elizabeth Gow, Research Scientist, University of Guelph, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Safe outdoor options and resources for owners interested in providing outdoor enrichment for their cats.          

Meghann Cant, Manager, Companion Animal Welfare Science & Policy, BC SPCA  

Vets and Vet Techs are active participants in the health of cats and their communities. What do professionals in the region have to say?  

Tanya Luszcz, M.Sc., Monitoring Biologist, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Professional perspective on facilitating health and harmony for cats, people, and the ecosystem.

Dr. Amy Wilson, Veterinarian

 Question, answer, and discussion period

Register: Click here to register for the webinar: http://bit.ly/3ZxCAF9 

Speakers: Dr. John Campbell, WCVM Dr. Eugene Janzen, UCVM Dr. Tim Nickel, Boehringer Ingelheim Dr. Bruce Kostelansky, Zoetis 

WeCAHN as well as WCVM, UCVM and a number of other organizations, is sponsoring this upcoming webinar on beef cow-calf vaccination programs.

The WCVM will be offering online CE from January to March 2023 to veterinarians, registered veterinary technologists and other veterinary professionals from all areas of practice – mixed animal as well as small animal and large animal.  Join our speakers for a variety pack of CE sessions covering everything from bulls and honey bees to pet behaviour and equine parasites.  For more information and to register, please visit  https://wcvm.usask.ca/education/mixed-animal-ce.php.

From January to March 2023, practitioners from all areas of practice — mixed animal as well as small animal and large animal — are welcome to join our speakers for a variety pack of CE sessions covering everything from bulls and honey bees to pet behaviour and equine parasites. 

The CE sessions take place on selected Wednesday evenings from January to March 2023. Each 90-minute session will begin at 6:30 p.m. CST.