Over the weekend of Jan. 9, Virginia Tech's Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center hosted the American Association of Equine Veterinary Technicians' (AAEVT) mid-Atlantic Regional Symposium.

Over 70 veterinary technicians who specialize in working with horses gathered in Leesburg from across the United States to attend lectures and participate in labs in order to earn valuable continuing education credit, learn about advances in equine veterinary care, and apply new skills.

A wealth of information was available to symposium attendees, beginning on Thursday evening as several administrative personnel from the center offered practice management tips. Lectures given by the equine medical center’s expert faculty on Friday and Sunday covered topics such as equine emergencies, neonate critical care, pain management, cardiology, respiratory disease, dentistry, gait analysis, and other subjects.

“Wet labs,” which offered hands-on opportunities for participants to learn more about a variety of subjects, took place at the equine medical center over the course of the day on Saturday. Wet labs topics covered the spectrum from nuclear scintigraphy, digital radiography, ultrasound techniques, equine dentistry, hoof care, and diagnostic treadmill examinations.

Overwhelmingly, attendees expressed enormous satisfaction with not only the information presented at the symposium but with how well the event was organized. As one participant stated, “I just wanted to congratulate you on a wonderful seminar; I learned a lot.”

“We were very pleased to have hosted this important symposium,” noted Dr. Nathaniel A. White II, Jean Ellen Shehan Professor, and equine medical center director. “Between the EMC’s world class faculty and our state-of-the-art equipment, we were able to provide a tremendous opportunity for equine veterinary technicians to gain valuable knowledge about health care for horses.”

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