VITA: Technician Tracks
At Texas A&M, we are breathing new life into veterinary continuing education (CE). VITA will give you the opportunity to learn new and innovative skills that you can take back to your clinic on Monday morning. Through interactive lectures, wet-labs, small group discussions, and social opportunities, our goal is to help you discover knowledge and tools that will continue your growth as a veterinary technician. We hope you’ll join us for this annual conference full of reimagined CE opportunities! (Note: Scheduled sessions and activities are subject to change or cancellation.)
Friday, May 17, 2024
6:00 p.m.
Texas A&M Hotel and Conference Center
Outstanding Alumni & Rising Star Awards Celebration
Saturday, May 18, 2024
7:00 – 7:50 a.m.
Registration & Continental Breakfast
Morning Sessions
VENI XXXX
Small Animal
Advanced Track
8:00 – 8:50 a.m.
Anesthesia
Machines 101
Jerri Rubio
9:00 – 9:50 a.m.
Mechanical
Ventilators 101
Jerri Rubio
10:10 – 11:00 a.m.
Anesthetic Perioperative
Thermoregulation
Jerri Rubio
11:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Introduction to
Anesthetic Monitoring
Jerri Rubio
VENI XXXX
Small Animal
General Track
8:00 – 8:50 a.m.
Fine Needle Aspirates:
How To
Liz Wood
9:00 – 9:50 a.m.
Managing the
Chemotherapy Patient
Liz Wood
10:10 – 11:00 a.m.
Purse String No More:
Placing e-Tubes
with SA Internal Med
Samantha Grosse
11:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Those Joints Won’t
Tap Themselves!
Joint Taps & LVT’s
Samantha Grosse
VENI XXXX
Small Animal
Assistant Track
8:00 – 8:50 a.m.
Neurology
Cindy Schocke
9:00 – 9:50 a.m.
Aseptic Technique
& Sterilization:
An Introduction
to Scrub Nursing
Leah Garza
10:10 – 11:00 a.m.
Bones & Beyond:
A Deep Dive into Canine
Orthopedic Evaluation
Austin Weger
11:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Topic TBD
TBD
VENI XXXX
Large Animal
Technician Track
8:00 – 8:50 a.m.
Equid alphaherpesvirus 1 (EHV-1):
A Technician’s Role Upon
Presentation & Treatment
Jaime McCue
9:00 – 9:50 a.m.
The Down
Horse Emergency:
A Technician’s Role
Jaime McCue
10:10 – 11:00 a.m.
The Role
of Fatty Acids
in the Equine Diet
Jennifer Wier
11:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Reshaping Equine
Recoveries:
The Aggie Way
Jeannette Bayer
Other Morning Opportunities
Emergency & Critical Care
VICI XXXX
8:00 – 9:50 a.m.
10:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Lunch & Learn:
Topic TBD
Afternoon Sessions
VENI XXXX
Small Animal
Advanced Track
1:00 – 1:50 p.m.
The Big 4
Ashley Wetz
2:00 – 2:50 p.m.
Urethral
Obstruction
Ashley Wetz
3:10 – 4:00 p.m.
Acute Respiratory
Distress Syndrome
(ARDS)
Ashley Wetz
4:10 – 5:00 p.m.
Proactive Imaging
for Technicians:
Forward Thinking
in Advanced Imaging
Hollye Felps
VENI XXXX
Small Animal
General Track
1:00 – 1:50 p.m.
Intensive
Care Unit
Kimberly Koehler
2:00 – 2:50 p.m.
But Did You Document It?
Opioids & Other
Controlled Drugs
Chelsea Michalak
3:10 – 4:00 p.m.
Fractures:
Putting the Pieces Back Together
Valerie Daugherty
4:10 – 5:00 p.m.
VTS Forum
VENI XXXX
Small Animal
Assistant Track
1:00 – 1:50 p.m.
What Is
Chagas Disease?
Kristen Flitcroft
2:00 – 2:50 p.m.
Common Cardiac
Congenital Defects
Kristen Flitcroft
3:10 – 4:00 p.m.
Operating
Room Life
Chase DeMus
4:10 – 5:00 p.m.
Squeeze Squad:
How to Deal
with Hypotension
Francis Park
VENI XXXX
Large Animal
Technician Track
1:00 – 1:50 p.m.
Swine Slumber:
Navigating the World
of Pig Anesthesia
Alexis Fichtel
2:00 – 2:50 p.m.
Ruminate in Rest:
Mastering Ruminant
Anesthesia
Alexis Fichtel
3:10 – 4:00 p.m.
Dystocia Drama:
Recognizing Issues
with Foaling
& the Technician’s Role
in Assisted Deliveries
Lisa Jolley
4:10 – 5:00 p.m.
Care of
Critically Ill Foals
Lisa Jolley
Other Afternoon Opportunities
1:00 – 4:50 p.m.
VICI XXXX
Emergency & Critical Care
RECOVER Veterinary CPR Advanced Life Support
Groups 1 & 2
3:10 – 6:00 p.m.
VENI Welcome Desk
VMBS Tours
Family tours of the VMBS campus led by student ambassadors.
6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Big Shots Golf (at Travis Bryan Midtown Park)
VITA + VMBS Alumni Celebration
Celebrating the classes of 1999, 2014, and 2019. Learn more and RSVP…
Learn more about Big Shots Golf (Bryan, TX)…
Sunday, May 19, 2024
7:20 – 7:50 a.m.
Registration & Continental Breakfast Session:
Topic TBD
Morning Sessions
VENI XXXX
Small Animal
Advanced Track
8:00 – 8:50 a.m.
Cataracts & Phacoemulsification
in Companion Animals
Kathrine Coronado
9:00 – 9:50 a.m.
Becoming a VTS
in Ophthalmology
Kathrine Coronado
10:10 – 11:00 a.m.
Cancer: How it
Happens & How
We Treat It
Jaci Christensen
11:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Common Neoplasias
of the Canine
& Feline Patient
Jaci Christensen
VENI XXXX
Small Animal
General Track
8:00 – 8:50 a.m.
Managing
Perioperative
Hypotension
Danielle McKinley
9:00 – 9:50 a.m.
Putting the
Cha Cha Cha
in Dental Charting
Shannon Jackson
10:10 – 11:00 a.m.
COHAT: What a Funny Name!
What is Involved
in a COHAT
Shannon Jackson
11:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Emergency
Hannah Langenkamp
VENI XXXX
Small Animal
Assistant Track
8:00 – 8:50 a.m.
Assessing the Situation:
Triage in Critical Events
Susan Lobit
9:00 – 9:50 a.m.
The Role of Veterinary
Medicine in Disasters
Susan Lobit
10:10 – 11:00 a.m.
Surgical Site
Preparation Principles
Marina Harrison
11:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Upper Airway
Disease 101
Marina Harrison
VENI XXXX
Large Animal
Technician Track
8:00 – 8:50 a.m.
MR: What We Do
and When We Do It
Brecca Jo Wheaton
9:00 – 9:50 a.m.
That’s a Wrap!
Equine Bandaging
Brecca Jo Wheaton
10:10 – 11:00 a.m.
The Tumor
that Takes Over
Shelby Stickler
11:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
and Don’ts
Shelby Stickler
Other Morning Opportunities
8:30 – 9:30 a.m.
Workshop
What the $&?! Does This Even Mean: A Blood Gas Analysis Workshop
with Alanna Sessum, LVT
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Lunch & Learn:
Topic TBD
Afternoon Sessions
VENI XXXX
Small Animal
Advanced Track
1:00 – 1:50 p.m.
A Technician’s Role
in Veterinary
Endodontics
Tommy Koenig
2:00 – 2:50 p.m.
A Technician’s Role
in Veterinary
Prosthodontics
Tommy Koenig
VENI XXXX
Small Animal
General Track
1:00 – 1:50 p.m.
Dystocia: Is She
Gonna Baby or Not
Alanna Sessum
2:00 – 2:50 p.m.
Antibiotics:
The Bugs Among
Us That Bug Us
Alanna Sessum
VENI XXXX
Small Animal
Assistant Track
1:00 – 1:50 p.m.
Wound Care
Basics
Mallory Worley
2:00 – 2:50 p.m.
Safe
Sedation
Mallory Worley
VENI XXXX
Large Animal
Technician Track
1:00 – 1:50 p.m.
You Gave WHAT to WHAT?
Food Animal Drug Rules
& Regulations, Part 1
Jake Trautmann
2:00 – 2:50 p.m.
You Gave WHAT to WHAT?
Food Animal Drug Rules
& Regulations, Part 2
Jake Trautmann
Other Afternoon Opportunities
1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Workshop
Decisions Decisions… An Anesthetic Monitoring Workshop
with Jerri Rubio, LVT, VTS
REGISTRATION OPEN!
If you’re looking for an opportunity to spend some time in Aggieland with old friends while you experience cutting-edge veterinary continuing education in May 2024, then VITA is the conference for you!