The 39th annual Veterinary Meeting & Expo (VMX) is underway at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Presented by the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC), VMX is the largest veterinary educational conference in the world.
At a press conference on Monday, the NAVC unveiled the Veterinary Nurse/Technician Empowerment Initiative, a bold new program to elevate and advance veterinary nurses and technicians who are vital yet underutilized members of veterinary practices.
Antech Diagnostics announced the debut of KeyScreen GI Parasite PCR, a molecular diagnostic test that detects 20 parasites from a single sample, including anthelmintic drug-resistant hookworm and zoonotic Giardia. Keyscreen is a revolutionary new test that reads the DNA of intestinal parasites in dogs and cats.
In addition to the industry announcements, veterinary nurses and technicians took center stage presenting in the following educational sessions:
- Leslie Wereszczak, MS, LVMT, VTS (ECC), presented on neonatal emergencies, a session focused on preparing and training clinic staff members to handle unexpected neonatal emergencies. When a canine or feline patient presents requiring an emergency C-section, rapid and efficient emergency care is vital for both the mother and her litter
- Courtney Waxman, VTS (ECC), prsernted on emergency and critical care. As an emergency and critical care nurse who teaches basic life support and advanced life support, Courtney also leads a task force to create a certification process for pet owners and other pet professionals (groomers, boarding facilities, etc.) to become trained in pet CPR
- Amy Newfield, MS, CVT, VTS (ECC), discussed tips to help senior pets thrive, offers tips to help senior pets thrive at home, first by adding motion sensor lights to light up dark areas inside and outdoors as a senior pet’s eyesight begins to fail. Above all, she advises pet owners not to treat their pets as seniors, but encourage and allow them to be as physically active as possible
Another unique session, “Reptiles Get Cancer Too”, focusing on zoo animal care, was also presented by Jimmy Johnson, DVM, MS, CertAqV, DACZM. Saint Louis Zoo Staff Veterinarian Jimmy Johnson treats a variety of zoo animals for various health conditions, including cancer.
