QUARTERLY BEAT / DECEMBER 2024
QUARTERLY BEAT / DECEMBER 2024
VETGIRL’S SMALL ANIMAL WEBINAR ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 THEY SAID 'NO' TO REFERRAL, NOW WHAT? CONQUERING AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE BY DR. LAURA GREENE, DACVIM • Autoimmune diseases are similar to a fire burning in the body. The first step is to put out the fire! Next, we can think about asking, “Who started it?” • Mycophenolate and azathioprine have similar mechanisms of action, so they shouldn’t be used together when multiple immunosuppressants are needed. • Cyclosporine bioavailability can be unpredictable, so if your patient isn’t responding to this medication as expected, you can try adjusting the dose. • Protocols vary by clinicians, but one possible way to taper glucocorticoids in IMHA and ITP is to decrease the dose by 25% every 1-2 weeks with a recheck PCV or platelets (respectively) before each increment of the taper. • Above all, treat each patient individually – no ‘one size fits all’ in medicine! Each patient will demonstrate their own individual response to treatment with and tapering from immunosuppressant medications.
VETGIRL’S SMALL ANIMAL WEBINAR ON OCTOBER 16, 2024 5 INGREDIENTS FOR VETERINARY HOSPICE BY DR. MARY GARDNER • Veterinary Hospice Redefines Care: Veterinary hospice focuses on comfort and quality of life rather than curing disease, allowing pets and their families to experience meaningful moments during a pet’s final months without the pressure of curative treatments. • Palliative Care is a Core Service: Most clinics already offer elements of hospice care, such as palliative treatment, and pain management. Incorporating a full hospice service builds on the care you’re already providing. • Quality of Life Assessments: Helping owners to determine when it is time to say goodbye, is an integral part of a hospice care plan, offering compassionate guidance that builds trust and supports pet owners during one of the most difficult decisions they’ll ever make. • Environmental and Caregiver Support: Offering practical home environment modifications and caregiver support helps alleviate physical and emotional strain, empowering families to care for their pets more comfortably and compassionately. • End-of-Life Planning: Tailored end-of-life planning ensures pet parents are prepared for their pet’s passing, whether through natural death or euthanasia, giving them control over the experience and helping reduce anxiety. • Hospice Care Strengthens Client Bonds: By offering hospice services, clinics can foster deeper, more trusting relationships with families, providing invaluable support during an emotionally difficult time and ensuring long- term client loyalty.
VETGIRL’S PANEL DISCUSSION ON OCTOBER 3, 2024 NOT SURE IF YOU SHOULD DO AN INTERNSHIP OR A RESIDENCY?
• Internships are more than just a way to land a residency! Many doctors are seeing how internships can boost your education and finances, especially if you’re looking to work in general practice or ER. • Is the financial sacrifice worth the extra training? While internship pay and work-life balance have come a long way, the experience gained in these programs is invaluable. This focused year of training can make you a more efficient clinician and may even give you some leverage in salary discussions with future employers. • Internships pack about 3 years of training into a single year, which can really boost your confidence and skill level. This experience can make your resume stand out to employers. • How to be a more competitive candidate: Focus on doing well during clinical rotations and remember to be kind and helpful! Veterinary circles are small, and your reputation matters. Show genuine interest, support your classmates, and make a good impression. • Private practice vs. university programs? Generally, interns and residents tend to be happier in programs with larger class size and more access to a variety of specialists, which can be found in either setting. • Here’s some general questions to help you decide if a program is right for you: o Can you speak with a current intern to hear about their experience? o Ask a current intern if they feel the program lives up to its VIRMP description, and if it meets his or her own personal expectations. o What does a typical day look like for the interns and residents? o What does their case oversight (mentorship) look like? o What’s the acceptance rate of your program’s interns into residency programs? o If you’re not sure, try it out! Externships are a great way to see if a facility and its programs are the right fit for you. • If you’re doing an externship at a place where you'd love to intern, let the program directors know you're interested. You can even ask if they'd consider you outside the match program.
VETGIRL’S SMALL ANIMAL WEBINAR ON NOVEMBER 10, 2024 ADDISON’S DISEASE - THE GREAT PRETENDER BY DR. JARED JAFFEY, DACVIM (SAIM) • Reports suggest that up to 35% of dogs with Addison’s will be glucocorticoid deficient and thus, have blood sodium and potassium concentrations within their respective reference intervals. • The sodium-to-potassium ratio should not be used to reliably exclude or rule in primary typical Addison’s. • A resting serum cortisol of > 2 μ g/dL (55 nmol/L) effectively rules out Addison’s. • A β 2-agonist such as inhaled albuterol (dogs: 5 puffs [450 μ g] and cats: 1-4puffs [90-360 μ g]) or terbutaline (0.01 mg/kg IM, SC, IV) is preferred for hyperkalemia over insulin with dextrose in pets with Addison’s. • DOCP is the preferred mineralocorticoid drug for pets with primary typical Addison’s and dogs rarely require manufacturer recommended dosages. VETGIRL’S LEADERSHIP WEBINAR ON NOVEMBER 13, 2024 CONNECTING WITH INTENTION BY LOREN MCANALLY • Listening is an undervalued trust-building tool, with as few as 2% of leaders having any formal listening training. • Listening is an active process, which requires circumventing several automatic cognitive processes. • Planning the ratio of questions vs statements for each conversation can increase connection and trust. • Increase the quality of your questions by asking "what" and "how" open-ended questions. • Key techniques for regulating emotion during difficult conversations (like creating a mantra, taking a pause, and naming emotions) can assist in returning to an active listening state, deepening relationships.
VETGIRL’S SMALL ANIMAL WEBINAR ON OCTOBER 1, 2024 BEYOND THE BASICS: RELEVANT AND ESSENTIAL UPDATES FOR VETERINARY PRACTICE BY DR. NATALIE YOUNG, PHARMD, BCSCP, FACVP, FSVHP • Practicing ‘effective’ veterinary medicine will inevitably involve prescribing controlled drugs. Understanding the regulatory environment and guidelines is vital for veterinarians holding the DEA license and the veterinary professionals working with them. • Federal regulation surrounding controlled substance prescription varies for CII-CV scheduled substances including number of allowable refills, methods of prescribing (e.g., fax, phone, written), label requirements, and expiration dates on the prescription. • It is important to recognize individual states can impose stricter regulations regarding controlled and/or reportable drugs above and beyond the federal regulations. • Veterinarians cannot accept the return of any medications once they have left the veterinary facility. This includes but is not limited to controlled or reportable substances.
VETGIRL’S WEBINAR ON OCTOBER 27, 2024 SPECTRUM OF CARE FROM THE
REGULATOR'S PERSPECTIVE BY DR. BETH VENIT, MPH, DACVPM • Veterinarians can practice Spectrum of Care and remain in compliance with the veterinary regulatory board. • Regulatory Boards have requirements for good client communications and medical recordkeeping, both of which align with the Spectrum of Care. • License revocation is not the only potential outcome of a complaint to the regulatory board, or even the most common one. • It is important for veterinarians and veterinary technicians to read and know the veterinary practice act for every jurisdiction in which they hold a license.
30
31
VETGIRL BEAT EMAGAZINE | VETGIRLONTHERUN.COM VETGIRL BEAT EMAGAZINE | VETGIRLONTHERUN.COM
VETGIRL BEAT EMAGAZINE | VETGIRLONTHERUN.COM
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker