RACE Approved

Continuing Education Courses

Effective Communication and Healthy Boundaries- Dr. Katie Lawlor, Dr. Dustin Kieschnick

The Impacts of Stress and Trauma in Veterinary Medicine- Dr. Katie Lawlor, Dr. Dustin Kieschnick

Perfectionism and Procrastination- Dr. Katie Lawlor, Dr. Dustin Kieschnick

Meeting the Moment: Learn How to Stress Better - Dr. Sonja Olson

Stress happens. In veterinary caregiving environments, the work inevitably includes navigating conversations and work that often is emotional and stressful to the individuals and teams involved. In this session, we will:

  • Normalize Conversations: Understand and discuss the common experiences of veterinary caregivers globally in 2024.

  • Embrace Emotional Language: Increase awareness and comfort in expressing emotions related to stress and mental health challenges, especially for those in caregiving roles.

  • Build Resilience: Explore frameworks, skills, and practices to fortify personal strategies for coping, proactively addressing distress and fatigue, and supporting holistic health within and outside of work.

  • Explore Mindful Coping Techniques: Learn evidence-based microbreak skills and cognitive reframing for intentional responses to stress, promoting a healthier reaction to challenges.

  • Neuro-Hack for Balance: Explore the capacity to "neuro-hack" using polyvagal wisdom, balancing the nervous system, and regulating emotions when stress pushes you beyond your window of tolerance.

Human-Focused Culture Shift in Veterinary Medicine – The Trauma-Informed Care Approach- Dr. Sonja Olson

Veterinary medicine environments are spaces of deeply meaningful work, of professional development and growth, and potentially positive contributions to the lives of animals and of the humans that care for them. Equally, in medical care environments there is inevitably high emotions, work-related stress, and potential for secondary traumatic stress. The key to fortifying a sustainably healthy, engaged caregiving team and leadership is to acknowledge these challenges and to cultivate protective factors and skills building. In many highly stressful professions other than veterinary medicine,

Becoming Trauma-Informed normalizes the experiences of individuals in the stressful environments of veterinary medicine and provides understanding on how to be better prepared as individuals and as teams.

The (6) pillars to this framework include:

·Safety (including psychological safety)

·Trustworthiness/transparency

·Peer support

·Collaboration/mutuality

·Empowerment/voice/choice

·Cultural competency.

This presentation will provide attendees with a foundational understanding being Trauma-Informed as each of these (6) pillars are discussed and made relevant to our veterinary spaces. Initial skill-building and approaches will be shared to build confidence and increase stress-regulation capacity for the individual learner so that they can then bring these concepts to their professional roles, teams, and work environments.

Navigating Healthy Boundaries – Essential Framework for Professional and Personal Resiliency for Caregiving Professionals- Dr. Sonja Olson

Boundaries are essential when it comes to healthy and connected individuals, teams and culture. So why are they so hard? In this session, we will discuss some of the circumstances and reasons why healthy boundary creation and articulation for oneself and for veterinary caregiving teams can be challenging. The goal is to develop a more fundamental understanding of some of the potential barriers to boundary creation, to examine and then to practice more skillful articulation around our boundaries, and then how to develop a culture of psychological safety and compassion that upholds boundaries. The intention is to build and strengthen collective awareness of how healthy boundaries can foster sustainable well-being and resiliency for individuals and for teams supporting holistic thriving.

In this session, we will:

1. Consider and discuss the professional development impacts of having, and not having, healthy work-life boundaries as an individual and as team.

2. Examine and explore potential personal and cultural barriers that may interfere with discerning and creating healthy boundaries.

3. Identify and demonstrate techniques and approaches that can be practiced when attempting to articulate healthy boundaries in personal and professional environments.

Mindfulness Practices: The Intelligent Efficiency and Effectiveness of Equanimity and Radical Acceptance Part 2- Dr. Sonja Olson

Equanimity is an essential mindfulness practice that brings wisdom, balance, and perspective when challenging life circumstances arise. It is the intentional choosing of courageous compassion for self and for others while letting go of outcome for a situation or for another person. It is not indifference or apathy. Rather, equanimity is intelligent efficiency of energy and time investment by recognizing that we can accept reality, we can control what we can control (largely our mindset and our responses to situations), and we can remain present with less distress and emotional reactivity with all that arises. Radical acceptance compliments equanimity with the concept that ‘suffering’ occurs when resistance to circumstances occurs. The saying is “pain in life is inevitable, but suffering is optional.” With less striving, resisting, and efforts to control outcome there is more capacity to remain open-hearted, open-minded, and less distressed.

In this session, we will take time to examine these very helpful mindfulness concepts and practice how to use them in ‘real life.’ Like any muscle, repetitive utilization of these mindful moments imbued with compassion can strengthen veterinary caregiver’s capacity to stay present, calm, and connected to their caregiving natures as stress occurs in their lives

The Science of the Human Animal Bond- Dr. Katie Lawlor, Dr. Dustin Kieschnick

The Intelligent Efficiency and Effectiveness of Equanimity and Radical Acceptance -Dr. Sonja Olson

Equanimity is an essential mindfulness practice that brings wisdom, balance, and perspective when challenging life circumstances arise. It is the intentional choosing of courageous compassion for self and for others while letting go of outcome for a situation or for another person. It is not indifference or apathy. Rather, equanimity is intelligent efficiency of energy and time investment by recognizing that we can accept reality, we can control what we can control (largely our mindset and our responses to situations), and we can remain present with less distress and emotional reactivity with all that arises. Radical acceptance compliments equanimity with the concept that ‘suffering’ occurs when resistance to circumstances occurs. The saying is “pain in life is inevitable, but suffering is optional.” With less striving, resisting, and efforts to control outcome there is more capacity to remain open-hearted, open-minded, and less distressed.

In this session, we will take time to examine these very helpful mindfulness concepts and practice how to use them in ‘real life.’ Like any muscle, repetitive utilization of these mindful moments imbued with compassion can strengthen veterinary caregiver’s capacity to stay present, calm, and connected to their caregiving natures as stress occurs in their lives.

Empathic Strain and Secondary Traumatic Stress – Important Contributing Elements to Veterinary Burnout - Dr. Sonja Olson

In this session, we will explore the updated conversations and research around compassion fatigue, empathic strain, secondary traumatic stress, moral distress, and burnout as phenomenon associated with caregiving professions with a focus on our veterinary teams. When we can more accurately identify what is happening to us, to colleagues, and to clients, we are better prepared to create and apply meaningful and effective strategies. This is the powerful social behavior change approach of “name it to tame it.” With accurate understanding and language, we can individually and collectively develop a more robust and practical ‘toolbox’ of coping practices to meet caregiving challenges as they occur in veterinary practice environments.

Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine for Self-care and Wellbeing- Dr. Galina Bershteyn, DVM, CVA, CVFT

In this introduction to TCM we will look at the 5 branches of traditional chinese medicine and explore the different modalities and how to incorporate them into a self care practice. The session includes acupuncture, food therapy based on five elements theory and yin/yang principles, tui-na therapeutic massage techniques as well as movement and meditation practices such as tai-chi or yoga. We will also explore common western and eastern supplements as well as essential oils for wellbeing.

Note: basic acupuncture and acupressure techniques will be the focus

AVMA Double Edged Sword of Workplace Communication Presentation and Workshop 100 minutes- Dr. Galina Bershteyn DVM, CVA, CVFT, Certificate of Workplace Wellbeing, AVMA Veterinary Wellbeing Educator

This presentation and workshop are based on part of the AVMA Wellbeing Educator Program. Participants will learn about techniques in communication for the workplace with team members and clients. We will practice scenarios and adopting better communication strategies to maximize efficiency and minimize miscommunication and hurt feelings.

Note: Not offered on all retreats but is available in an online format for 1 AVMA credit

Coming Soon….

Companion Animal Grief and Loss - Dr. Katie Lawlor, Dr. Dustin Kieschnick

*This program (RACE number 1666-44601) is approved by the AAVSB RACE to offer a total of 15 CE Credits being available to any individual veterinarian or veterinary technician/technologist. This RACE approval is for the subject matter categories of non-medical using the delivery method of lecture/seminar and workshops. This approval is valid in jurisdictions which recognize AAVSB RACE; however, participants are responsible for ascertaining each board’s CE requirements.