The Alabama State Veterinary Board requires that all licensed veterinarians in the state of Alabama undergo at least 20 hours of continuing education each year in order to renew their license to practice veterinary medicine. At Smith Animal Hospital we try to take advantage of this requirement as an opportunity to stay up to date the changes in veterinary medicine and to learn about new services that we can offer to our clients. Below is a description of the courses each of our veterinarians have taken part in during 2010.
Dr. Bell:
This spring, Dr. Bell traveled to Birmingham for a 2 day continuing education course about performing echocardiograms. During an echocardiogram, an ultrasound machine is used to examine the anatomy and function of a patient's heart. This allows us to assess qualities of the heart that auscultation (listening to a patients heart with a stethoscope) and radiographs (x-rays) cannot show us. Many specific heart diseases such as valve disease, dilated cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and even cancer in or near the heart can be diagnosed much easier using echocardiograms. Many of the more common heart diseases can be managed with medication; therefore having an echocardiogram performed in order to get an accurate diagnosis can be very beneficial to your pet's health. At Smith Animal Hospital we have an ultrasound machine that is more than capable of performing echocardiograms. Following this course Dr. Bell now has the knowledge needed to properly use the ultrasound machine to get the necessary images of a patients heart in order to offer the best treatment options for various heart disease.
Dr. Zeagler:
Dr. Zeagler attended the Louisiana Veterinary Medical Associations's winter meeting in Baton Rouge, LA. He attended lectures on a wide range of topics including canine heartworm disease, tick control, flea control, bone and soft tissue surgery, and radiology (x-rays). Many of these lectures were led by recognized experts in their field, including Michael Dryden, DVM, PhD (also known as "Dr. Flea"), who is considered the leading researcher into flea and tick biology and control. Dr. Dryden's research focuses on investigating flea resistance to flea control products. He discussed many cases of perceived flea resistance and causes for the poor control of fleas. Dr. John Mauterer is a board certified veterinary surgeon; he discussed different techniques of fixation for broken bones and how to deal with complications that arise from these procedures.
Dr. Fisher:
Dr. Fisher attended an extensive continuing education course in Ohio focusing on orthopedic surgery. This course was hosted by Ohio State University, and AO North America, one of the leading organizations for research into both human and veterinary surgery. During this course Dr. Fisher learned about multiple different fractures commonly seen in veterinary medicine. The course focused on how to properly assess the severity of fractures, develop a plan on how to properly repair these fractures using multiple different fixation methods. This course was an excellent opportunity to learn more about fracture management, plating techniques, external fixation methods, and post op complication management. This course was an opportunity to learn how to fix several different fractures that would otherwise need to be referred.
