VETERINARY ASSISTING: ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND NUTRITION

Course Overview
This course, Veterinary Assisting: Animal Husbandry and Nutrition, is modeled upon one of the 12 courses that make up the online portion of the VetMedTeam Veterinary Assistant Program. Our program has been NAVTA approved since it's inception and full program graduates are qualified to take NAVTA's Approved Veterinary Assistant (AVA) examination. We recognize that a member may not wish to enroll in the full program but they have an interest in a specific area of training. This course is therefore being offered as a separate training option. It does not contain a clinical requirement. As with the full program, this course is a valuable addition to a practice's in-house training protocols. This course does not require employment nor prior experience.

Course Overview

This course, Veterinary Assisting: Animal Husbandry and Nutrition, is modeled upon one of the 12 courses that make up the online portion of the VetMedTeam Veterinary Assistant Program. Our program has been NAVTA approved since it's inception and full program graduates are qualified to take NAVTA's Approved Veterinary Assistant (AVA) examination.

We recognize that a member may not wish to enroll in the full program but they have an interest in a specific area of training. This course is therefore being offered as a separate training option. It does not contain a clinical requirement.

As with the full program, this course is a valuable addition to a practice's in-house training protocols.

This course does not require employment nor prior experience.

Flexible Open Enrollment and the Activity Requirements
This course is designed to be as schedule friendly as possible as we understand it can be hard to fit interactive CE into an already busy life. Open enrollment allows students to enroll in this course at any time. Students can expect to be able to access their course with 48 hours of enrollment submission. The participant is not expected to be online in the course at any specific times as there are no real time lectures. The instructor will respond to an assignment submission, or a forum question, within 48 hours, with extended time for holidays. Activity Requirements: In order to remain in the course, a student must post assignments for grading on a regular, frequent, basis. Module or final exams, or just logging into the course, does not meet this requirement. As long as the participant continues to make regular progress, course access time is not set to a specific deadline. However, the course is not designed to take months to complete. If 30 days elapses without submitted assignment activity, the student will be removed from the course and graded as incomplete, as the lack of activity will indicate the student wishes to drop the course. But What If Something Comes Up?: There are times that students will have situations that interfere with their ability to work the course on a regular basis. In that case an email to VetMedTeam, as soon as such a situation arises, will allow us to work with the student to adjust the time frame. It all comes down to communication.

Flexible Open Enrollment and the Activity Requirements

This course is designed to be as schedule friendly as possible as we understand it can be hard to fit interactive CE into an already busy life. Open enrollment allows students to enroll in this course at any time. Students can expect to be able to access their course with 48 hours of enrollment submission.

The participant is not expected to be online in the course at any specific times as there are no real time lectures. The instructor will respond to an assignment submission, or a forum question, within 48 hours, with extended time for holidays.

Activity Requirements:

In order to remain in the course, a student must post assignments for grading on a regular, frequent, basis. Module or final exams, or just logging into the course, does not meet this requirement. As long as the participant continues to make regular progress, course access time is not set to a specific deadline.

However, the course is not designed to take months to complete. If 30 days elapses without submitted assignment activity, the student will be removed from the course and graded as incomplete, as the lack of activity will indicate the student wishes to drop the course.

But What If Something Comes Up?:

There are times that students will have situations that interfere with their ability to work the course on a regular basis. In that case an email to VetMedTeam, as soon as such a situation arises, will allow us to work with the student to adjust the time frame. It all comes down to communication.

Course Focus, Content, and Learning Objectives
Veterinary Assisting: Animal Husbandry and Nutrition is designed for those seeking to increase their skill in this area of practice. Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to: discuss general animal housing requirements define enteral nutrition, list methods, explain when it is used define TPN and discuss why it may be used for critically ill patients list essential nutrients and discuss table foods list and discuss foods that can cause health problems, including their effects discuss “prescription diets” including the role specialty diets play in disease treatment define zoonotic disease and discuss methods used to control the spread explain the general principles underlying disease prevention discuss general immunity concepts and the role of vaccinations in disease prevention Completion requirements: Instructor Graded Critical Thinking Assignments: Designed to help the participant apply the newly learned skills and knowledge via implementation focused and patient based situations Module Quizzes: Must be submitted with a score of 80% or better, multiple attempts Course Survey A certificate of completion is provided.

Course Focus, Content, and Learning Objectives

Veterinary Assisting: Animal Husbandry and Nutrition is designed for those seeking to increase their skill in this area of practice.

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

discuss general animal housing requirements
define enteral nutrition, list methods, explain when it is used
define TPN and discuss why it may be used for critically ill patients
list essential nutrients and discuss table foods
list and discuss foods that can cause health problems, including their effects
discuss “prescription diets” including the role specialty diets play in disease treatment
define zoonotic disease and discuss methods used to control the spread
explain the general principles underlying disease prevention
discuss general immunity concepts and the role of vaccinations in disease prevention

Completion requirements:

Instructor Graded Critical Thinking Assignments: Designed to help the participant apply the newly learned skills and knowledge via implementation focused and patient based situations

Module Quizzes: Must be submitted with a score of 80% or better, multiple attempts

Course Survey

A certificate of completion is provided.

Technology Requirements
Reading content within the course is provided via PDF therefore the ability to download files and open PDFs is required. It is recommended that participants utilize a program such as MS Word to create, and save, their assignment submission to their computer. Then the information can be pasted into the assignment submission area.

Course Instructor
Linda Merrill, LVT, VTS (Small Animal Internal Medicine) Emeritus Linda received her AS degree in veterinary technology and an AA degree, both from Pierce College in Washington State. She has worked in specialty practice (cardio-pulmonary and oncology) and the majority of her time in small animal practice. She retired from clinical practice in 2021 but remains active in other areas of veterinary medicine. She is an author and editor; her most recent works are as an author for the Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 9th edition and as the editor for Small Animal Internal Medicine for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses, 2nd edition (in print 2024). Linda is the former President of the Washington State Association of Veterinary Technicians and former President of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians of America (NAVTA). Linda has achieved two Veterinary Technician Specialists credentials. Her first is the Academy of Internal Medicine for Veterinary Technicians (AIMVT), she was the Founding Chair and is the current Executive Director. She currently holds Emeritus status. Her second specialty was as a Canine & Feline Veterinary Technician Specialist in Clinical Practice (AVTCP). At the time of her retirement, she withdrew her VTS in Clinical Practice. In her spare time, Linda is an avid scuba diver and has traveled the 7 continents. Her husband, Jeff, is employed in the Alaskan seafood industry. They enjoy the company of their rescue cat, an adorable but clueless Persian named "The Cat Formerly Known as Philbert." Her household is also the home to 2 rescue dogs. Linda loves Corgis and currently has the sweetest Cardigans named Ember and Stewie.

Course Instructor

Linda Merrill, LVT, VTS (Small Animal Internal Medicine) Emeritus

Linda received her AS degree in veterinary technology and an AA degree, both from Pierce College in Washington State. She has worked in specialty practice (cardio-pulmonary and oncology) and the majority of her time in small animal practice. She retired from clinical practice in 2021 but remains active in other areas of veterinary medicine.

She is an author and editor; her most recent works are as an author for the Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 9th edition and as the editor for Small Animal Internal Medicine for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses, 2nd edition (in print 2024).

Linda is the former President of the Washington State Association of Veterinary Technicians and former President of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians of America (NAVTA).

Linda has achieved two Veterinary Technician Specialists credentials. Her first is the Academy of Internal Medicine for Veterinary Technicians (AIMVT), she was the Founding Chair and is the current Executive Director. She currently holds Emeritus status. Her second specialty was as a Canine & Feline Veterinary Technician Specialist in Clinical Practice (AVTCP). At the time of her retirement, she withdrew her VTS in Clinical Practice.

In her spare time, Linda is an avid scuba diver and has traveled the 7 continents. Her husband, Jeff, is employed in the Alaskan seafood industry. They enjoy the company of their rescue cat, an adorable but clueless Persian named "The Cat Formerly Known as Philbert." Her household is also the home to 2 rescue dogs. Linda loves Corgis and currently has the sweetest Cardigans named Ember and Stewie.

Pricing
Price: $69.00 USD When enrolling in more than one course at a time, please indicate the preferred order of the courses. If desired, participants can start all courses at the same time. There is an area in the shopping cart to type in preferences. Practices may enroll individual team members in the same course. To learn how to assign a specific team member to a course, please visit the Assigning Students page.

Pricing

Price: $69.00 USD

When enrolling in more than one course at a time, please indicate the preferred order of the courses. If desired, participants can start all courses at the same time. There is an area in the shopping cart to type in preferences.

Practices may enroll individual team members in the same course. To learn how to assign a specific team member to a course, please visit the Assigning Students page.

VETERINARY ASSISTING: ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND NUTRITION

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