Anesthesia and Analgesia for Neurologic Diseases

**Click Here to RSVP**

This lecture will:

• Review of the principles of anesthesia and analgesia
• Discuss common neurologic diseases (e.g. epilepsy and intervertebral disc herniation) and considerations regarding anesthesia for these patients (e.g. elevated intracranial pressure and careful positioning)
• Discuss contraindications for anesthesia
• Discuss different anesthetic medications and protocols

Speaker: Dr. Martin Kwan, DVM, DACVIM (Neurology)

Sponsor:

How to Become a Client Whisperer:

Unlocking the Secrets to Client Communication

***Click Here to Register***

Mastering client communication is the key to building trust, strengthening relationships, and ensuring the best outcomes for patients.  In this session, you’ll learn how to engage clients with confidence, lead conversations effectively, and build lasting connections through transparency, empathy, and education.

This session will cover:

• The art of active listening to truly understand client concerns
• Strategies to build trust through consistency, follow-up, and proactive communication
• How to educate clients in a way that empowers decision-making while keeping the focus on patient care
• Techniques to navigate difficult conversations and turn complaints into opportunities

Together, we will uncover the key strategies to becoming a trusted advisor—guiding clients toward the best care decisions while strengthening your practice’s reputation and fostering lasting client loyalty.

Speaker: Kasey Ellinwood, RVT, Founder of VetSnoot

Bio: Kasey Ellinwood, RVT is a registered veterinary technician with over 30 years of experience in the veterinary industry.  From receptionist to practice manager and beyond, Kasey has worn many hats, giving her a deep understanding of client communication and team dynamics.  As the founder of VetSnoot, Kasey is passionate about helping veterinary teams enhance client interactions, build trust, and improve patient care through effective training and education.

Sponsor:

Common Pitfalls of Radiographic Interpretation

**for this meeting only**

Stitches Veterinary Surgery

2211 N Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90815

 Seating is VERY limited- RSVP NOW to save your spot!

***Click Here to RSVP***

Speaker: Dr. Ann Reed, DVM, DAVCR

Bio: Dr. Ann Reed received her DVM from Kansas State University in 1991 and did her radiology residency at University Missouri. She became board certified in Veterinary Radiology in 1995. She remained on faculty as a clinical instructor at the University of Missouri until 1999; she then came to Southern California to start her own diagnostic imaging service. Now, she focuses on diagnostic mobile veterinary ultrasonography and diagnostic veterinary radiology. She is also an adjunct faculty at Western University of Health Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine.

Sponsor:

Best Employment Practices

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In this informative seminar, we will explore workplace issues of concern for practice owners and managers, discuss the basics of workplace compliance and volley questions and answers about employment law best practices.

Speaker: Shannon Jenkins, Esq, Partner TLD Law

Bio: Shannon Marie Jenkins, Esq. is an employment defense attorney defending business owners, management and employers of all sizes. She has 28 years of litigation experience and her representation involves disputes from pre-litigation through jury trial or bench verdict, individual, class action and representative cases, administrative, judicial forum(s) and alternative dispute resolution. This experience includes defending all manner of alleged harassment, discrimination and retaliation, breach of employment agreement, wage and hour, breach of confidentiality agreement, wrongful termination and virtually every type of related statutory, tort or contract claims using an array of trial technology. She also provides non-litigation business counseling services including best practices advice, required sexual harassment/anti-bullying training and preparation of the spectrum of pre-hire/hire/post-hire and termination documentation. Shannon is an Orange County native with undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon and a law degree from Western State University College of Law.

Sponsor:

Allergic Dermatitis and the Role of Nutrition

**Click Here to RSVP**

Speaker: Dr. Allison Kirby, DVM, DACVD

Sponsor:

SCVMA Presents:

Level II Leadership Training Parts I & II

Much like the Level I training, Level II will be delivered in two full days of fun, informative, didactic, and hands-on training at the SCVMA HQ in Cypress. *Only those that have attended the Level I training may attend this training, as the two build on each other*

**Click Here to Register**

**By clicking this link to register, you will be registered for BOTH sessions. Attendees must attend both sessions to receive CE credit**

Two 6 Hour Sessions
Part I-  Sunday October 19th
Part II-  Sunday November 16th

Provided FREE
for DVM Graduates from 2014 to Present, Practice Managers, and DVM Students
***Limited to 25 Attendees**
Attendees Must Attend BOTH Sessions

9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Doors Open at 8:30 for Registration and Breakfast
**Breakfast and Lunch Included**
SCVMA Headquarters
5576 Corporate Avenue, Cypress, CA 90630

12 hours of CA Statutorily Approved CE

Presented By:

Peter Weinstein, DVM, MBA

Dr. Peter Weinstein attended Cornell University undergraduate and the University of Illinois to receive his DVM.  After graduation, he worked as an associate for three years before opening his practice. As he was running his practice, he identified the need for increased business acumen to make his practice successful. Thus, while managing and practicing full time, he attended University of Redlands to receive his MBA. As a result of the MBA, he was able to relocate, expand and sell his practice to a corporate consolidator.

Politically, he served as President of the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association and the California Veterinary Medical Association and President for VetPartners, the national consultants association. He just completed three years as the Chair of the Veterinary Economic Strategy Committee of the AVMA’s Veterinary Economics Division

In the veterinary industry, he acted as Medical Director overseeing the Claims Department for Veterinary Pet Insurance.  Dr. Weinstein has provided small business and corporate consulting via his company, PAW Consulting. After 14 years, Dr. Weinstein retired from his role as the Executive Director for the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association to pursue other interests including teaching at Western University.

He was the 2018 Speaker of the Year for the Western Veterinary Conference Practice Management Section.  And in 2021 for the VMX Practice Management section. He co-authored with Michael E Gerber, “The EMyth Veterinarian- Why Most Veterinary Practices Don’t Work and What to Do About It”. Dr. Weinstein has spoken and written extensively on practice management, team building, leadership, collegiality, marketing, and other topics focused on making the veterinary profession better for all those affiliated with it.

Dr Weinstein lives in Orange County, California with his wife Sharon, two daughters (one a veterinary student at Oregon State), two dogs, and Bazinga, a Senegal parrot.

Rob Best, CVPM, CFN

Rob Best is a certified expert in Neuroleadership, the science-based field centered around emotional intelligence. His work focuses on increasing the emotional and psychological safety within professional environments to help attract, retain, and develop talent.

And he certainly knows a little something about talent, having been a basketball player, a world explorer who’s trekked six of the seven continents, and even the CEO of a global nonprofit supporting teenage entrepreneurs in over 30 countries.

Rob holds two bachelor’s degrees, Business, and Organizational Communication. And his learning & education have never stopped; he’s earned his CVPM, is a licensed expert in body language, statement analysis, and deception detection. Along with his excellence in neuroleadership, these educational advances have helped grow his ability to support leaders and influence positive change with measurable business and interpersonal improvements.

His message for professionals today? A reminder that being resilient often means taking a breath and making an intentional decision to be kind to yourself and to others. So, in the words of the famous Dr. Odie Marcovici, “Always be kinder than you feel”!

Sponsor:

SCVMA and VCA OCVS Present

Practice Makes Perfect:

CPR Updates

Join us for a presentation, discussion, and demonstration geared toward technicians regarding current and updated CPR practices.

Wednesday October 22, 2025

Dinner Included!

Dinner Served: 6:45pm

Lecture Starts: 7:00pm

Location:

VCA OCVS

3021 Edinger Ave, Tustin, CA 92780

For More Information and to RSVP   **Click Here**

Presented By:

Dr. Lauren Munchel, DVM

Bio: Dr. Lauren Munchel grew up in Southern California. She graduated in 2009 from the University of California, Irvine with a Bachelor of Biological Science and a minor in Anthropology. She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2017. After obtaining her degree Dr. Munchel completed a one-year rotating internship at Hickory Veterinary Hospital in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. Although Dr. Munchel enjoys traveling, she was very glad to be able to move back home to Southern California.

Dr. Munchel enjoys time at home with her two island cats, Pixel and Quorra, as well as her crested gecko. When not at work, Dr. Munchel enjoys baking, reading and tabletop games with friends.

and

Dr. Kayla Mochizuki, DVM

Bio: Dr. Kayla Mochizuki grew up in Southern California. She graduated in 2015 from Missouri Valley College with a Bachelor of Biological Science and a minor in Chemistry. She received her Master of Public Health in 2020 and her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from St. George’s University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2022. After obtaining her degree, Dr. Mochizuki completed a one-year rotating internship at California Veterinary Specialists in Carlsbad, California.

In her free time, she enjoys looking after her collection of plants and animals. She also enjoys spending time outdoors when the weather is nice; hiking, camping, paddle boarding and snowboarding are some of her favorite activities.

Presents

Contagion Quest:

Infectious Diseases

A FREE Interactive and Halloween Themed CE Event

Sunday October 26, 2025

The Modern Animal West LA Clinic
1901 Westwood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025

TIME
1:45 – Check-in by
2:00pm – Event Start
4:30pm – Light fare, Drinks, Treats & Prizes

 *Click Here to Register*

**Non SCVMA event

Everything You Need to Know to Maximize the Value of Your Practice

***Click Here to Register***

In this webinar, you’ll learn about what goes into determining what your practice is worth and how that valuation is applied in sales and practice transitions.

Speakers: Brooke Pollard, LLM Partner & Kim Ford, Omni Veterinary Practice Group

Sponsor:

Mentoring:

Why We Need It

*Click Here to RSVP*

This lecture will talk about different types of mentoring and why each is important in the veterinary industry:

• Tech to Tech
• Vet to Tech
• Tech to Vet

**Zoom Link Will Be Available Closer to the Date of Event** 

Speaker: Dr. Dani Rabwin, DVM, Founder of Ready, Vet, Go

Bio: In her copy of Dr. Seuss’s My Book About Me, four year old Dani wrote that she wanted to be a trapeze artist or animal doctor. She decided against the circus, and today Dr. Dani Rabwin is a veterinarian, author, speaker and mentor. She is the founder of Ready, Vet, Go, a remote veterinary mentorship program and community that supports new and early veterinarians, and complements the clinical mentorship that practices provide to their new associates. She graduated from UC Davis in 2004 and completed an internship at Michigan Veterinary Specialists. She feels extremely privileged to be able to help veterinarians thrive in this profession that she loves so much.

Sponsor:

Practical Cardiology for the General Practitioner

***Click Here to RSVP***

Cardiac issues are very common in pets with approximately 10% of the dogs veterinarians evaluate experiencing heart disease. In this lecture, we will discuss many of the common cardiology scenarios that pets present in everyday practice. We will provide you easy to understand and executable plans to help pets live long and happy lives. Our goal is for everyone involved in the case (pet owner and us veterinarians) to truly understand the big picture of what is going on, what signs to look for and what to expect. Some of the specific cardiology scenarios we will be discussing include congestive heart failure in little dogs, big dogs and feline patients, degenerative valve disease vs DCM, HCM, pulmonary hypertension and common arrhythmias. And… we promise to make cardiology fun!

Speaker: Dr. Carley Saelinger, VMD, DACVIM (cardiology)

Bio: Dr. Saelinger is the founder and CEO of Cardiac Vet, Inc., a teleconsulting service for interpretation of cardiac diagnostic studies and a mobile echo service for veterinarians (cardiacvet.com). Her clinical interests include medical and surgical treatment of arrhythmias. She is one of two cardiologists in the United States who specialize in implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) surgery, programming and defibrillation. She also customizes pacemaker programming for individual canine patients. She has vast experience and a long-time special interest in the pathophysiology & treatment of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (AC) of Boxers and English Bulldogs.

Dr. Saelinger is a graduate of The Schreyer Honors College at the Pennsylvania State University. She obtained her veterinary degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007. She then completed a one-year rotating internship at the University of Florida in Gainesville, followed by a cardiology internship and cardiology residency at Louisiana State University from 2008-2012. In 2012, she successfully completed the ACVIM exams and the Cardiology specialty boards to become a Diplomate of the ACVIM in the specialty of Cardiology.

To help Dr. Saelinger achieve her mission of providing world-class cardiac care to more pets, she created Cardiac Vet, Inc. Cardiac Vet employs a team of board-certified veterinary cardiologists and highly skilled, cardiology-focused, veterinary technicians. We are currently able to perform mobile echocardiograms throughout the major metro areas of California. Dr. Saelinger also evaluates patients and meets with pet owners in person in San Francisco at SFAMC and in Los Angeles at VCA ASEC.

Sponsor:

Diving into the OBBA (One Big Beautiful Bill Act):

The Good and Bad of the New Tax Law

***Click Here to Register***

Speaker: Tom McFerson, CPA, ABV

Bio: Originally from Fresno, Tom ventured south for college and is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University. Tom is one of only a few CPAs serving the veterinary community that is accredited in Business Valuations by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Gatto McFerson, CPAs specializes in providing financial, tax, and purchase/sale consulting services to the veterinary industry.

Outside of work, Tom plays a lot of tennis, is an active dad with his three kids, and loves to travel with his wife and family, which includes a lovable lab.

Sponsor:

More Than a Gut Feeling:

All About Canine Chronic Enteropathy

***Click Here to Register***

Speaker:  Dr. Whitney Topmiller, DVM (Practice Limited to Internal Medicine)

Bio: Dr. Whitney Topmiller is an internist at VCA Los Angeles Veterinary Specialists in West Hollywood. She did her residency training at VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital, but is originally from Florida, and did both her undergraduate and veterinary school training at the University of Florida. She is grateful for the opportunity to maintain long-term relationships with patients and clients through the practice of internal medicine and has a special interest in endocrinology. She is currently in the process of publishing an article on the relationship between periodontal disease and insulin resistance in dogs. During her down time, she enjoys hiking in all the natural beauty Southern California has to offer, as well as spending time with her two adored rescue dogs, Lenny and Sally.

Sponsor:

Nutritional Management of

Canine Cognitive Dysfunction and Degenerative Joint Disease

**for this meeting only**

Stitches Veterinary Surgery

2211 N Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90815

 Seating is VERY limited- RSVP NOW to save your spot!

***Click Here to RSVP***

Speaker: Dr. Gina Brandstetter, DVM

Bio: Dr. Gina Brandstetter is a graduate of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine with a background in small animal general practice. She is especially interested in the areas of scientific communication, preventive care, and geriatric care. Dr. Brandstetter is also passionate about nutrition as a cornerstone of care, which is reflected in her current position as a Professional Consulting Veterinarian at Hill’s Pet Nutrition. California has always been home for Dr. Brandstetter and she currently resides in San Diego, CA. Outside of work, she enjoys travel, spending time in nature, and going on family trips that include her yellow lab who loves nothing more than tagging along on any adventure.

Sponsor: