Complementary Veterinary Medicine Courses

CAVM1001 Principles of Integrative Veterinary Medicine

Your client asks you whether acupuncture is appropriate for a skin rash, or whether h cavm complmentary alternative medicine olistic medicine is the same as homeopathic medicine. They tell you that they practice Reiki and will it help? You really aren't sure, and in fact you are quite sceptical but don't want to ostracise your client. You want to know more about CAVM but not you're not sure where to start. This survey course will give you the nuts and bolts so you will know how to guide your clients and take an integrated approach to the care of your patients.

This short course in Integrative Veterinary Medicine is an introductory and clinically based course. It explores several complementary and alternative veterinary medicines, with an overview of the evidence, usage in veterinary practice, communicating with clients and safe use as well as interactions with conventional medications. Resources for finding out more about complementary medicine and ethical, legal and regulatory issues are discussed.

This course is suitable for veterinary practitioners or veterinary technicians and nurses involved in educating and advising clients. It will assist in answering clients' questions and assisting them in deciding if and what complementary approaches might be suitable for their animals. It discusses assessment of safety and referral issues. It is not designed to make you a practitioner of complementary medicine.

The course is also suitable for veterinary students with an interest in complementary medicine. It takes an evidence based approach throughout. It assumes a knowledge of animal physiology, anatomy and husbandry. The course is comprised of 6 Topics and takes approximately 30 hours. A certificate of completion for Principles of Intergative Veterinary Medicine will be awarded on completion of course activities. This course is heavily subsidised for current veterinary students attending a recognised Veterinary School.


Why learn with CIVT?	CIVT offers an evidence based approach to Integrative Veterinary Medicine. This course is a survey of the CAVM therapies used in contemporary veterinary practice with a focus on the evidence base, evaluation, safety and use.
Course Title	CAVM1001 Principles of Integrative Veterinary Medicine
Course Units and Codes	Topic 1 CAVM An Approach to Maintaining Health What is CAVM? Western Herbal Medicine Chinese Herbal Medicine Acupuncture Manipulative Therapies Homeopathy Aromatherapy Naturopathy Nutritional Medicine Lesser known therapies Topic 2 CAVM An Overview of the Evidence for Efficacy- or is it a Scam? Issues Researching CAVM Evidence on efficacy How CAVM therapies work A sceptics view Topic 3 CAVM Use in Practice Why do clients seek CAVM? Popular CAVM therapies in veterinary medicine Integration into Veterinary Practice Implications for practice Topic 4 Safety of CAVM Communicating with clients Issues with referral for CAVM The medical record Adverse events Interactions with conventional medicines Topic 5 Resources in CAVM Available information sources Assessing the resources Scientific evidence and traditional evidence Topic 6 Ethical , legal and regulatory issues Ethical issues in veterinary medicine Legal aspects of CAVM Regulation of CAVM products Regulation of practitioners
Course Outcomes	At the end of this 10 week course participants will be able to: Define complementary and alternative vet medicine Identify key characterisitcs of different CAVM practices Evaluate the evidence to support the use, or not of CAVM Evaluate research methods that may be used for CAVM research Appreciate issues regarding CAVM research Review a sceptics viewpoint of CAVM Discuss issues concerning quality, efficacy and safety of CAVM products Identify ways of encouraging clients to report CAVM use Identify and report adverse reactions to CAVM Locate resources to support safe use of CAVM with conventional medicines Access a range of CAVM information resources Critically evaluate information sources in CAVM Identify ethical and legal aspects of the use of complementary medicines Describe how CAVM products are regulated or not Identify the professional associations and educational standards associated with CAVM in your country and worldwide Identify and evaluate CAVM practitioners to refer to.
Course tuition fee	New introductory rate of US$497.00 (usually US$597.00) includes enrolment fee, enrollment, access to online classroom, access to materials, course study guide, journal article readings and assessment. Australian residents AUS$497.00 plus GST $49.70 Veterinary Students are subsidised by CIVT and can access this course for AUS $33.00.
Communication and Course Course Material	We will provide self-paced learning content and activities within the myCIVT classroom online. You will receive a log in and password to access this room. From myCIVT you can access course content as well as submit assessment tasks. Email/skype/chat support is available.
Course schedule 2012	This course is available three times a year, once you enrol and your enrolment is approved you will receive access codes to enter the classroom. Online real time tutorials are scheduled and recorded in case you miss them. The course takes approximately 30 hours to complete. The course is conducted online through myCIVT. Click here to register your interest in the course and we will let you know as soon as we are taking enrollments.
Prerequisites	You should have independent computer skills and be able to access the Internet. This course is restricted to qualified veterinarians and veterinary students, veterinary technicians and veterinary nurses.
Assessment	Multiple choice open book, short answers, forum participation.