VetMedTeam

What VetMedTeam is

VetMedTeam is an online continuing education site for the whole veterinary practice team: veterinarians, veterinary technicians and nurses, veterinary assistants, front desk staff and practice managers. It sells some courses and gives others away, and every course runs asynchronously. The About page says VetMedTeam "was born at the 1999 North American Veterinary Conference" and that it exists because of "a core belief that every position in the practice is vital to excellent medical care." The next line is the idea the catalog is built on: "Each team member needs access to continuing education to reach full potential." The site's tagline is "Providing Educational Pathways to Great Careers," and the footer gives the copyright to Kenilworth Media Inc.

The About page also says the admin group and all the instructors "strongly believes in the value of each and every member to the delivery of veterinary medicine," and links to pages introducing the web site team and the instructors.

How the courses work

The catalog page puts the format in one line: "VetMedTeam courses are asynchronous - they do not contain real time components." The FAQ adds that students log in "as often as desired to meet the course completion requirements during the time the course is in session." There is no fixed lecture hour to attend. This is also the FAQ's answer to learners abroad: because there are no real-time sessions, students outside US time zones can take part without logging in at odd hours, and the FAQ says it "is not unusual for a given course session to contain students from countries around the globe." The instructor logs in at times that suit them too.

Nearly every course in the catalog is listed as "On Demand" in both its start and its enrollment deadline columns, so a learner can enroll and begin at any time. A few entries show other dates; "Unions in Veterinary Medicine," for example, reads "Future sessions are currently being scheduled."

The course catalog

The catalog can be filtered by RACE hours for technicians, RACE hours for veterinarians and VHMA hours, and every row shows all three. That matters because credit is split by role: a course can carry RACE credit for technicians only, for veterinarians and technicians, VHMA credit for managers, or none. The catalog is grouped into sections:

• Veterinarians: RACE Approved Medical Interactive CE. Longer instructor-led courses such as "Veterinary Medicine: An Overview of Neurology in the Dog and Cat" (18.00 RACE hours for techs and for vets), "Radiology of the Abdomen and Parenchymatous Organs" (15.00/15.00) and "Medical Records the Roadmap to Quality Care" (10.00 RACE for each and 10.00 VHMA).
• Veterinary Nursing: RACE Approved Medical Interactive CE. Technician courses such as "Mathematical Calculations," "Polishing Up Your Dental Basics," "Small Animal Hematology Part One" and "The Trail to Core Equine Skills," each listed at 18.00 technician RACE hours, plus shorter ones such as "Fluid Therapy and Transfusion Medicine" and "Inside the Surgical Suite" at 12.00.
• VetMedTeam Veterinary Assistant Program: NAVTA Approved for AVA, the assistant training program.
• Front Desk Interactive CE and Practice Management Interactive CE: "At The Veterinary Front Desk: Client Satisfaction," "Telephone Courtesy and Client Service" and "Veterinary Practice Management: Effective Communication," each worth 5.00 VHMA hours.
• Self-Study CE: Medical and Non-Medical, Free and Fee-Based, a long list of shorter courses, from "Veterinary Nursing: The Language of Veterinary Medicine" (6.00 technician RACE hours) and "Veterinary Practice Management: A Bird's Eye View" (6.00 RACE for each and 6.00 VHMA) to one-hour courses on feline stomatitis, equine lameness exams and avian anesthesia.
• VetCE On Demand self-study medical courses, such as "Needles and Nociception: How Acupuncture Helps Modulate Pain" and "Don't be a Pain! Analgesia for Emergency and Critical Care Patients," and a management and personal development section with one-hour courses on social media, negative online reviews, retaining staff, euthanasia conversations and the money conversation with clients. "Honoring Your Mental Health as a Veterinary Professional" and "Raising Resilience" carry 1.50 hours each of RACE and VHMA credit.
• NAVTA CE for Technicians: Free and Fee Based and the Infection Prevention Leader Certificate Program.

Some courses carry no credit at all, and the catalog says so: "Emergency Stabilization for General Practitioners" reads "Course does not carry CE credits," and "Capnography: Monitoring in Thin Air" does not carry RACE credits. Several practice management courses carry no RACE credit but, in the catalog's words, are "applicable for 1 credit toward the continuing education requirement for the Certified Veterinary Practice Manager program offered by the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association (VHMA)."

Free courses and webinars

The Free CE page says VetMedTeam's courses "include free RACE and VHMA approved offerings," and that some are offered "in cooperation with veterinary companies and organizations who value the veterinary practice team." Examples include "Time to Tick-Talk," a review of tick-borne diseases in dogs and cats covering anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, rickettsiosis, borreliosis, babesiosis, cytauxzoonosis and hepatozoonosis; "VetTechnicalities: Triage," RACE approved for technicians and nurses; "Controlled Drugs: Recordkeeping and Diversion Prevention in Veterinary Medicine," described as a "free RACE approved 2 credit course" built around DEA expectations and cycle counting; "Bacteriuria in Dogs and Cats"; and "Intervertebral Disc Disease in Dogs: Oh, My Aching Back," which "utilizes the webinar archive from the live presentation."

The Infection Prevention Leader Certificate Program is offered by Virox and NAVTA "at no cost to members of the veterinary practice team." It is a set of four RACE approved courses: Pathogens & Disease Transmission, Infection Prevention, Implementation & Communication (1.00 hour each for techs and vets), and Cleaning, Disinfection & Sterilization (2.00 hours each).

NAVTA's annual convention issue adds free CE articles each year, which the site describes as "Free RACE approved (for technicians) CE articles" that "include a copy of the related article." Recent ones cover modernized pet food labels, the microbiome and senior pet care.

Live webinars sit outside membership: "Live webinars are open to all in the veterinary community; membership in VetMedTeam is not required to enroll." Free self-study courses are open enrollment.

Membership, enrollment and paying

Taking a course starts with a membership profile, which the FAQ says has "no cost." A member then opens the catalog, where every course has a "View Details" link. The details page holds the course information, "the course fee (if any)" and the enrollment link, which only logged-in members see. Fees are set per course on those pages; the catalog itself shows credit hours, not prices.

Fee-based courses are paid by MasterCard or Visa, or by check in US dollars, with a printed form sent along with the check. The catalog has its own sections on multi-student enrollments and payment help, and a withdrawal policy for fee-based CE: it "varies depending on the format of the course," and each course's policy is on its details page.

A practice cannot share one login across a team. The FAQ says each person needs an individual profile with a unique username and email address, so that completion certificates are personalized and VetMedTeam can meet "the student tracking obligations mandated by credit approval bodies such as RACE." Team members each submit their own membership form.

Certificates

The FAQ is direct: "every student who completes a course is awarded a completion documenting certificate," and the certificate "will include appropriate documentation regarding RACE and/or VHMA credits awarded." A completion certificate documents CE hours; it is not a license or a degree.

The AVA exam and NAVTA

VetMedTeam has a second role beyond its own courses. The Partners page says that since the Approved Veterinary Assistant (AVA) designation began in April 2011, VetMedTeam "has provided all graduates of NAVTA approved veterinary assistant programs with the testing platform," and it also handles the AVA renewal required every two years. NAVTA sets the exam questions, the protocols and the renewal requirements. The catalog carries an AVA exam portal and an AVA practice exam. VetMedTeam is also the portal where NAVTA members take the CE articles in every issue of The NAVTA Journal.

Partners

The Partners page says the educational partners "play a vital role in expanding quality continuing education opportunities." Alongside NAVTA it lists MYOS Corp, the maker of Fortetropin; VetStem, a regenerative medicine company; Innovacyn, maker of Vetericyn products; and Veterinary Practice News. It asks members to thank a partner's rep for supporting their education. Other companies can apply to become partners.

Support

The FAQ covers logins (case sensitive, with an email reminder) and notes that the login needs cookies enabled. For anything further it gives an email address, info@vetmedteam.com.

Who it suits

VetMedTeam suits veterinary team members in any role who need RACE or VHMA hours and want to study when they choose, including learners outside the US. Technicians will find the deepest catalog, with many courses at 12 to 18 RACE hours. Practice managers working toward the VHMA's Certified Veterinary Practice Manager requirement get courses carrying VHMA credit. Veterinary assistants come for the NAVTA-approved assistant program and the AVA exam. Practices on a tight budget can lean on the free courses and the Virox and NAVTA certificate program. Anyone who wants live, real-time classes will find webinars, but the courses themselves have no live component.