On February 25, we hosted Ed Carlson, CVT, VTS (Nutrition) to dive into the many nutritional challenges faced in practice. The live event recording will be available to watch on-demand for all registrants and live attendees beginning March 1. Access instructions will be sent to your email once you register. This event is worth 5 hours of medical CE. To register, click below.
Lecture topics
Approaches to Feeding the Finicky Patient
Do your clients complain that their pets are picky eaters? Do you have poor compliance rates when recommending a diet change or prescribing a veterinary therapeutic diet? Do you have trouble getting hospitalized patients to eat, or do clients complain that their pet is not eating well after discharge? This session will cover these questions, food aversions, behavioral issues, and more. Pharmaceutical intervention, nutritional history taking, and client education techniques will also be discussed.
Grain-Free and Other Fad Diets – Facts and Misconceptions
Grain-free, vegetarian, and vegan diets have become increasingly popular over the past several years. This lecture will discuss some common beliefs, facts, and misconceptions about homemade and commercially available grain-free diets. The latest information on grain-free and other diet types with a possible relationship to DCM will be covered in this session. This lecture will provide the veterinary health care team with nutritional knowledge to assist owners in making good nutritional choices for their pets.
Raw Diets – Facts and Misconceptions
Raw diets have become increasingly popular over the past several years. This lecture will discuss some common beliefs, facts, and misconceptions about homemade and commercially available raw diets. This topic can be pretty controversial; some clients are adamant in their beliefs; this lecture will provide the veterinary technician with nutritional knowledge to assist owners in making good nutritional choices for their pets. Approaches for client education and nutritional recommendation strategies are also discussed.
Chronic Kidney Disease; Current Recommendations for Nutritional Management
Current thoughts and recommendations on the nutritional management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) based on the latest literature are discussed in this lecture. We will discuss the key nutritional factors and benefits of veterinary therapeutic diets, the optimum time to recommend a therapeutic diet, pharmaceutical options to stimulate appetite and weight gain, and when to consider feeding tubes. Finally, this session will include the importance of client education and communication tips for the entire veterinary healthcare team.
Nutritional Support of Cancer Patients
Malnutrition, cachexia, and frailty are common and unwelcome in canine and feline cancer patients. Appropriate and timely nutrition support can help slow the progression of changes in appetite, body weight, muscling, activity, attitude, and cognitive function commonly seen in these patients. Feeding guidelines based on nutritional status, diet selection, and appropriate supplements will be presented. This session will also discuss tips and suggestions to encourage cancer patients to eat.
About your speaker
Ed Carlson, CVT, VTS (Nutrition), is the Director of Veterinary Nursing Education for VetBloom. He is the Treasurer of the New Hampshire Veterinary Technician Association and active in the Massachusetts Veterinary Technician Association. Ed has served on multiple National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) committees and was the 2021 NAVTA President. He obtained a VTS (Nutrition) in 2014 and lectures frequently at local, regional, national, and international veterinary conferences on a variety of topics. Ed also received the NAVTA 2019 Technician of the Year award.
