Frequently Asked Questions about VIN and VSPN CE

 

  • AAVSB: American Association of Veterinary State Boards - The American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB) is an association of veterinary medicine regulatory boards whose membership includes licensing bodies in 63 jurisdictions, including the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the ten Canadian provinces.

  • CattleDog Publishing® (CDP): Created by Dr. Sophia Yin, DVM, CAAB, MS, CattleDog Publishing houses the Low Stress Handling® techniques she developed through scientific methods, rigorous research, and testing. To this day, her methodology has been used in schools and clinics all around the world and her teachings have shaped the new standard of care for veterinary professionals, pet professionals, shelter workers, and pet owners.

  • Course Area: Landing page that takes participants to live sessions, library and message boards associated with course.

  • Course Information Page: Page providing detailed information about the course including enrollment information.

  • CVPM: Certified Veterinary Practice Manager (Certification offered through VHMA)

  • drip.vet (pronounced drip dot vet): Part of the VIN Family that provides engaging, high-quality, RACE-approved courses covering medical, business, financial, legal, and ethical issues encountered by veterinarians and technicians throughout their journey. drip.vet courses are rooted in the drip teaching methodology, delivering easily digestible drips of information over time for maximum learning and efficiency.

  • EOCT: End Of Course Test associated with a course.

  • Interactive Course: Participants collaborate with instructors and peers during and/or after scheduled sessions for an exceptional, online learning experience.

  • RACE: The AAVSB’s Registry of Approved Continuing Education program develops and applies uniform standards for veterinary medicine continuing education. Our goal is to support the AAVSB member boards by ensuring that all RACE-approved continuing education programs meet appropriate standards of quality.

  • Real time session (RTS): Live Zoom sessions associated with the course.

  • Self Study Course: Independent, online continual education that can be completed at participant convenience and is available via most devices.

  • VHMA: VHMA is a professional organization for veterinary management professionals that offers education, certification, community, and career resources.

  • VIN CE: Veterinary Information Network Continuing Education courses

  • VSPN CE: Veterinary Support Personnel Continuing Education courses
  • VIN and VSPN CE offer discounts for signing up for courses with multiple modules, as well as “early bird” discounts and more. These discounts will be documented on the course information page.
  • Currently, Self Study courses do not offer discounts on course prices.
  • VIN CE courses are free to VIN student members unless otherwise specified on the course information page.
    VSPN CE courses are offered at a 50% discount to VIN student members and VSPN members enrolled in an AVMA or CVMA accredited veterinary technician program.
    Last but not least, VIN wants you to learn as much as you can, but we encourage you to limit the number of courses enrolled in to one at a time. Once finished, come back, and sign up for another.
    Please contact CEonVIN@vin.com if you have any questions or need help enrolling.

    For more information, please visit the VIN Student Center.
  • Please reach out to a course facilitator for information on additional discounts based on membership type.
  • VIN/VSPN CE courses are RACE-approved, which most states will accept. There may be limits on how many hours of online CE (interactive or self-study) your jurisdiction accepts. Please visit CE Hubs | drip.vet a part of the VIN Family for detailed information. Always contact your jurisdictional board as a final authority for specific limitations or requirements regarding CE credits for maintaining your license.
  • Not unless you give your express permission at the time of course registration to do so.
  • You can request a name change to your VIN/VSPN profile which will reflect on your certificate.
    For more information, please email (VIN) CEonVIN@vin.com or (VSPN) VSPNCE@vpsn.org.
  • To add a license number to your profile, open MyVIN or MyVSPN from the VIN/VSPN front page navigation bar. In MyVIN or MyVSPN, open the 'Profile' menu and select 'Licensure.' From the Licensure page, select 'Add Licensure.'
  • VIN and VSPN CE both offer RACE-approved self-study courses that can be completed at your own pace. Non-VIN members can enroll in Self Study courses at drip.vet, part of the VIN Family.
    VSPN Self Study courses are only open to VSPN members. VSPN membership is free to veterinary support staff.
  • You will need to watch the videos, answer poll/quiz questions, take the end of course test, and click the 'Submit the Course' button.
  • After you complete the course and click the ‘Submit’ button, your course results will be reviewed, and the certificate will be issued. This can take up to 72 hours due to holidays and weekends. Once the certificate is issued, you will be able to download the certificate from the course entry in MyCE.
  • How do I earn a certificate for an accredited Rounds session?
    • You must attend the live webinar session to earn a certificate of participation. You cannot earn a certificate of participation (CE credit) by reviewing the replay video of the session.
  • You must earn the required number of participation points and take the end of course test to earn a certificate of participation. You can earn points in the real time session by answering polls or asking questions, or outside of the real time session by posting questions to the message boards and taking quizzes and the end of course test.
  • Attendance is recommended but not required. There are many ways to fulfill the requirements to receive CE credit. Visit the Participant Resource Center on the VIN CE Portal for more information.
  • Participants have indefinite access to the course materials, even if not a VIN or VSPN member. Visit the Participant Resource Center on the VIN CE Portal for more information.
  • As a VIN member, you can enroll in VSPN CE courses; but keep in mind the majority of VSPN CE courses are not RACE approved for veterinarians. Check the course information page to see if the course is accredited to veterinarians.
  • Participation points are used to measure the course participants’ level of participation in a course.
    Participants get:
    • 1 participation point for each poll answered or question asked during a webinar session;
    • 1 participation point for each message posted to the course message boards;
    • 1 participation point for completing the course evaluation and;
    • 1 participation point for passing the end-of-course test.
  • Participation points are displayed in the gray ‘Participation Progress’ box located at the top left on the course main page. The display is updated with webinar participation points within 24 hours after the webinar ends, and the message board participation points update at midnight daily.
  • After the course opens, you can access the course area by going to www.vin.com, click on the 'CE Portal' button. That takes you to the CE Portal page. Login. Then scroll down until you see the 'MyCE' insert. Locate your course in MyCE under the 'Current Courses' tab and click on the green arrow in the 'Visit Course' column to go to the course area.
  • On the course main page, scroll down until you see a menu on the left-hand side of the page. Click on the menu entry entitled 'Library' to open the library.
  • Scroll down the course main page until you locate the menu on the left-hand side of the page. The Message Board is the last entry in that menu. To learn how to post to the course message board, please see How to Use the Course Message Board in the Participant Resources Center.
  • There are two ways to enter the Zoom session. From the course main page, you can click 'Classroom' on the top navigation bar or the orange 'Attend Session' button on the left side of the page. If you encounter issues while trying to access the Zoom meeting, please use the 'Help' live chat button on the right side of the course page.
  • VIN-VSPN CE records all real time sessions, and the recording is released to the course library within 24 hours. While you cannot participate by watching the recorded session, you can earn participation points by posting questions to the message boards.
  • Transcripts and real time session recordings are in the course library under the category 'Real Time Session Videos/Audio/Transcripts'. Recordings are posted within 24 hours. Transcripts can take 3-5 business days before they are posted.
  • The end of course test is available the morning after the last real time session. It will be in the course library under the category 'End of Course Test/Evaluation/Quizzes'.
  • The end of course test is available the morning after the last real time session. It will be in the course library under the category 'End of Course Test/Evaluation/Quizzes'.
  • Course enrollees will have indefinite access to the course materials and can access past courses via the 'MyCE' - 'Previous Courses' tab.
  • Certificates are issued 3-4 days after the course close date. There are many "housekeeping" tasks the VIN/VSPN CE staff must do before certificates can be issued. Message board stats do not import into our stats program until the day after the course close date. Payments must be checked. The staff goes through each member’s record of those that are enrolled to ensure that they have met the requirements for a certificate. Last, the certificates are not auto populated after requirements are met; there is a manual process that the CE staff must handle to issue certificates.
  • There are many factors that determine course availability after the course ends, please email CEonVIN@vin.com or VSPNCE@vspn.org to inquire. There is a cost associated with accessing an archived course.
    *Note: CE credit is not available for an archived course.
  • Many factors are considered when VIN/VSPN CE schedule times for real time sessions. Most instructors still work in clinical practice and need to work around their clinic schedules.
  • VIN/VSPN CE interactive courses open 7-10 days before the first real time session to allow members that have enrolled early to access and go through any course materials provided in the course library.
    Courses close 10 days after the last real time session to allow time to review recordings and transcripts, make up participation points, take the end of course test, and complete the course evaluation. Our community is an international community and the real time sessions may not happen at a time that is convenient for those outside of North America. We also understand that sometimes emergencies happen, members must work longer hours than scheduled, and sessions may be missed. The extra time gives course participants an opportunity to complete the participation requirements.
  • Not all instructors provide adjunct study materials for their courses. If you believe there should be something specific provided and you don’t see it, please contact your course facilitator for an explanation. Facilitator contact information is provided at the bottom of the course main page banner.
  • If you are attempting to access a course listed under the 'Upcoming Courses' tab of MyCE, the course is not yet available to view. Once the course opens to participants, you will see it listed under the 'Current Courses' tab. If you are still not able to access a course, please contact CEonVIN@vin.com or VSPNCE@vspn.org for assistance.
  • There are many factors that can affect your ability to join a real time session.
  • Please double check the session time. The real time session will be accessible only during the specified session times. You may join approximately 15 minutes before the start of the session and at any time during the scheduled session time. The webinar sessions are listed on the course main page and on the course main page banner.
  • If you have an existing Zoom account, please make sure you are logged out of it. To join the real time session webinar, please use the 'Attend Session' button on the course main page.
  • If you are still unable to join the webinar, please use the VIN 'Help' button located on the right-hand side of any CE page for assistance.
  • When a poll is launched the polling window should automatically take over the screen. If it does not you will see the 'Poll Active Indicator' represented by 3 voting columns in the upper part of your screen.

  • Clicking the 'Poll Is Active' icon will bring up the status of the poll.

  • Clicking will bring up the option to open the poll. Click 'Polls'.

  • Selecting an answer, the circle and submit button will turn color. Click the 'Submit' button.

  • Once submitted, the poll window will automatically close and you will be back to the presentation slides. 

  • There may be a glitch.
    • This happens most often with iPads and older Mac devices.
    • Leave the webinar and come back in.
    • If you continue to have a problem with the polls, please chat with your course facilitator in the real time session or use the VIN help button located on the right-hand side of any CE page for assistance.
    • You can always answer the poll in the Q+A window if you are unable to submit a poll. Your answer will not be shared with anyone, but you will receive the participation credit.
  • There may be a glitch.
    • This happens most often with iPads and older Mac devices.
    • Leave the webinar and come back in.
    • If you continue to have a problem with the polls, please chat with your course facilitator in the real time session or use the VIN help button located on the right-hand side of any CE page for assistance.
    • You can always answer the poll in the Q+A window if you are unable to submit a poll. Your answer will not be shared with anyone, but you will receive the participation credit.
  • No one is talking.
  • Check your audio settings in Zoom, you may need to turn up the volume or select the appropriate output device (speaker).
  • Please use the VIN 'Help' button located on the right-hand side of any CE page for assistance.
  • Leave and come back in.
  • The speaker may not be sharing their screen yet.
  • Payment has not yet been processed (in some instances, payment will not be processed until the courses area is open).
  • Your credit card may have been declined.
  • Contact the course facilitator if you have any questions.
  • You can contact the following to receive assistance in retrieving your information:
    • Email CEonVIN@vin.com (VIN) or VSPNCE@vspn.org (VSPN).
    • Call 1-800-846-0028 ext. 797 (VIN) or ext. 792 (VSPN).
    • Contact your course facilitator directly.
    • Click on the help button located on the right side of any CE page.
  • The End-of-Course Test and Course Evaluation will be posted after the last Real-Time Session.
  • If you are still unable to see the them, please contact your course facilitator.
  • Currently self-study courses are only open to enrollment to VIN and VSPN members.
    Veterinarians may be eligible for a free trial VIN membership.
    VSPN membership is free for veterinary technicians and support staff.
    Many of the courses offered on VIN are available to non-members on drip.vet (part of the VIN Family).
  • Many members fail to click the ‘Submit’ button after finishing a Self Study course. Make sure you have clicked the submit button.
    The process is the same as with interactive course certificates; there are manual tasks that the VIN/VSPN CE team must perform before a certificate is issued (this process is not yet automated). It can take up to 72 hours for the staff to review each course that is submitted, due to holidays and weekends. For example, if you enroll in a Self Study course on Saturday morning and do all of the coursework on that same day, the certificate most likely will not be issued until Tuesday. The staff needs to process the payment for the enrollment on Monday, then check that the payment cleared, and that all participation is complete.
  • If you have enrolled in a Self Study course and cannot access it, try logging out and logging back in again.
  • You will not be able to access the EOCT or course evaluation until you have completed all the course modules/sections. Check the course dashboard to ensure you have completed all sections.
  • You can contact the following to receive assistance:
    • Email CEonVIN@vin.com (VIN) or VSPNCE@vspn.org (VSPN).
    • Call 1-800-846-0028 ext. 797 (VIN) or ext. 792 (VSPN).
    • Contact your course facilitator directly.
    • Click on the 'Help' button located on the right side of any CE page.
  • To receive CE credit for an eligible Rounds session, you must attend the live session. You cannot receive CE credit for watching a Rounds session recording.
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