- Weekend Rounds
- Posts
- What's old is new again...
What's old is new again...
Plus: Orbeez & Raccoons to make you laugh
Hello š
Welcome back to another edition of Weekend Rounds! Itās another special Monday edition as we squeeze all we can out of the long weekend in Canada and the US.
In the US, today is also Indigenous Peoples Day which is a time to celebrate and honor Indigenous American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures. We encourage you to learn about the cultures and traditions of the people Indigenous to your land. The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) has some great resources to get you started.
Meanwhile, north of the border it is Thanksgiving. This year we are feeling extra grateful for the veterinary community and are thinking about those affected by recent storms.
For us, long weekends are all about food, family, and enjoying time off work. But in case you didnāt get enough joy out of your long weekend, here is a video of a dog pooping rainbow Orbeez to lead off the newsletter. Hopefully that will bring you some laughter.
@larenmciaren Just another day in the ER š(Permission to post obtained by owner) #veterinarymedicine #petER #dogsoftiktok #Orbeez
If that didnāt do it, what about 100 raccoons taking over one personās property?
Normally, weād be quick to blame these cute trash pandas, but if you are going to feed raccoons on your property what did you expect?
Hereās what else weāre covering:
ā Vet med is aā¦ circle?
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RACEtrack out for California
š©» Radiology Case of the Week
š Quick hits
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Vet med is aā¦ circle?
Itās feeling a little bit like groundhog day, or like the world of Dennis Duffy from 30 Rockā¦ where whatās old is new, and everything is cyclical.
This week we have ānewsā that looks a lot like something of the past.
Stop us if youāve heard this one before: Walmart has decided to open veterinary centers in its practices, which we covered in our 2023 Stories of the Year newsletter. After making a similar attempt with PetIQ, which ended unceremoniously in August with the closing of 282 in-store practices, Walmart has decided to open self-branded veterinary centers in some of its stores according to reporting from VIN News.
Meanwhile, with elections approaching, the conversation over the mid level practitioner is heating up again. Bob Murtaugh, arguably the face of the movement, spoke with United Spay Alliance in a recent Webinar:
To learn more on this nuanced topic, we recommend a couple of articles written last month by Dr. Eric Fish in his Substack āAll Science Great and Smallā
Our take: It seems like there is a general and widespread lack of support for the mid-level practitioner among veterinary professionalsā¦ so what are we even doing? Not a single large organization we are aware of has put support behind such an endeavour. But I guess it is in the hands of the voters now.
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RACEtrack out for California
According to reporting from VIN, California's Veterinary Medical Board has stopped using the RACEtrack platform to verify veterinarians' and technicians' continuing education, citing unreliable data and duplicated course reports.
RACEtrack, run by CE Broker for the AAVSB, has faced criticism for inaccuracies and privacy concerns in the past. Veterinarians must now use Californiaās BReEZe system or submit certificates directly. While many states accept RACEtrack, its rollout sparked controversy, with California regulators raising concerns. AAVSB and CE Broker are working to resolve issues, but for now, California professionals must rely on alternate methods to track continuing education compliance.
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The Reading Room
Last week we looked at a fantastic case of lymphoma including the classic signs of intrathoracic lymphadenopathy and interstitial pattern. Check out the case here:
This week we are taking the week off, but weāre hard at work creating more case reviews. Help us choose the right cases for you:
Which of the following topics is most interesting to you? |
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Quick Hits
Here are some of the other stories that caught our eye and we're following this week from around the veterinary world and animal kingdom:
How did we do today?Tell us what you thought of this edition of Weekend Rounds so we can keep improving! |