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Conference Schedule

The 2025 Summer Conference hosted by the Teaching Academy of the Consortium of West Region Colleges of Veterinary Medicine is packed with exceptional opportunities and experiences. Outlined below is the schedule of the conference.

 Schedule:

For more program details, select the button above 

To download the Conference Program, click here. For a quick glance at the conference schedule, click here.

June 21, Saturday:

8:00 AM – 4:00 PM PST: Pre-Conference Workshop: Veterinary Education Research Workshop

4:00 PM PST: Pre-Conference Social Event

June 22, Sunday:

8:00 AM – 4:00 PM PST: Pre-Conference Workshop: Veterinary Education Research Workshop

June 23, Monday:

8:00 AM – 1:00 PM PST: Pre-Conference Workshop: Veterinary Education Research Workshop
5:30 PM PST: New Member Event -TBA
6:00 PM PST: Conference Kick-off Event -TBA

June 24, Tuesday:

8:00 am PST: Welcome –  Dean Borjesson (WSU)

8:15 am PST: Land Acknowledgment  – Alberta Arviso (UA) 
8:30 am PST: RTA Teaching Awards  – Holley Bender (UA) 
8:45 am PST: RTA Committee Presentations

  1. Steering Committee – Holley Bender (UA)
  2. Faculty Development Initiative –
    1. Student Assessment – Chris Houser (UA)
    2. Educator Well-Being – Karen Boudreaux (UC-Davis)
    3. Clinical Teaching – Tandi Ngwenyama (OSU)
    4. VETS Fundamentals –
    5. VETS Selective –
  3. Quantification of Teaching Effort and Effectiveness Initiative –Julie Dechant (UCD) & Diana Hassel (CSU)
  4. External Review of Teaching Initiative-  Maria Fahie (WU)
  5. Membership Committee – Karen Boudreaux (UCD)
  6. Sharing High-Quality Educational Materials Working Group Holley BEnder (UA)
  7. Community Engagement Worksing Group – Malika Kachani (WUHS)

9:30 am PST: Break

10:00 am PST: Scholarship Session– Peer reviewed (podium presentations of accepted abstracts) Session Chair: Maria Fahia (WUHS)

  1. Veterinary Student Reflections on NAVLEÒ Preparation: A Qualitative Analysis. Presented by Maria Fahie, DVM, MS, DACVS (WUHS), Pedro Diniz, MV, PhD (WUHS) & Diane McClure, DVM, PhD, DACLAM (WUHS)
  2. Creation of a new wellbeing instrument specific for veterinary students. Presented by Munashe Chigerwe BVSc, MPH, PhD, DACVIM, MScVetEd (UC-Davis) & Karen A. Boudreaux MSc, PhD (UC-Davis).
  3. Research in practice Part I—preweaned calves: Educating veterinary students through involvement in research endeavors. Presented by Craig McConnel, DVM, PhD (WSU) WA; Lindsay Parrish, Katy Heaton, Lindsey Richmond, MPH, & Corinna Cauchy. 
  4. Research in practice Part II—lactating cows: Educating veterinary students through involvement in research endeavors. Presented by Craig McConnel, DVM, PhD (WSU), Lindsay Parrish, Katy Heaton, Lindsey Richmond, MPH, & Corinna Cauchy.

11:00 pm PST: Keynote: Dr. Katherine Fogelberg, DVM, PhD – “Encouraging Agility and Adaptability in Veterinary Medical Education.” 

12:00 pm PST: Lunch 

1:00 pm PST: Keynote Workshop: Dr. Katherine Fogelberg, DVM, PhD – “Why Active Learning and How to Incorporate it into Your Teaching” 

4:00 pm PST: Break

4:30 pm PST: Innovation Session – Session Chair: Maria Fahia (WUHS)

  1. Implementing a Skills Passport for Equitable Feedback and Deliberate Practice in Surgical Skills – Presented by Jodi Boyd, DVM (CSU) & Dean Hendrickson, DVM, MS, DACVS (CSU)
  2. Microaggressions Effects on Learning – Presented by Naomi Nishi, PhD (CSU)
  3. Bridging Academia and Practice: Unlocking Alumni Expertise Through Collaboration and Engagement – Presented by Rachel Halsey, DVM, GCertEdRes (WSU) & Jeffrey Abbott, PhD, DVM, DACVP (WSU)
  4. Incorporating climate action in veterinary medicine into veterinary education- Presented by Samantha J.M. Evans, DVM, PhD, DACVP, DACVM (CSU) 
  5. Visual Art in Medical Education –Presented by Visual Art in Medical Education (MW)

5:30 PM PST: Poster Blast

6:00 PM  – 7:30 PM PST: Social & Dinner Event 

June 25, Wednesday:

6:00 am PST: Fun Run/Walk

8:15 am PST: Scholarship Session– Peer reviewed (podium presentations of accepted abstracts) Session Chair: Maria Fahia (WUHS)

  1. Ableist Manifestations in Veterinary Medical Education. Presented by Naomi Nishi, PhD (CSU)
  2. IMPROVing Veterinary Student’s Odds of Achieving Professional Success. Presented by Jeff Thoren, DVM, PCC, BCC; Rachael Kreisler, VMD, MSCE, DACVPM (Epidemiology) (MW)
  3. Outcomes of required attendance using iClicker Cloud in a large clinical pathology course. Presented by Samantha J.M. Evans, DVM, PhD, DACVP, DACVM (CSU)
  4. Does Bullying Exist in Veterinary School? Presented by Karen Boudreaux, Ph.D (UC-Davis) & Munashe Chigerwe BVSc, MPH, PhD, DACVIM, MScVetEd (UC-Davis).

10:00 am PST: Wellness Keynote Workshop: Lauren S. Grider, DVM, MA, ALC, NCC, CCFP  “The Perfectionism Problem.”

11:00 am PST: Community Engagement Workshop – Session Chair: 

12:00 pm PST: Lunch

1:00 am PST: External Peer Review of Teaching Workshop – Crafting a Teaching Philosophy: Aligning Values, Educational Philosophies, and Best Practices – Session Chair: Maria Fahia (WUHS)

2:15 pm PST: Break

3:00 pm PST: Sharing High-Quality Educational Materials Workshop: Sharing High-Quality Educational Materials: Building Collective Impact Across Institutions – Facilitator – Holly Bender (UA) & Jonathan Cox (UA)

4:15 pm PST: Break

4:45 pm PST: Clinical Teaching Workshop – Facilitator – 

June 26, Thursday:

7:30 am PST: Activity

8:30 am PST: Wellness Keynote Workshop: Lauren S. Grider, DVM, MA, ALC, NCC, CCFP  “Building Better Boundaries.”

9:30 am PST: Break

1:00 pm PST: Keynote Workshop: Dr. Katherine Fogelberg, DVM, PhD – “Qualitative Research in Veterinary Education” 

12:00 pm PST: Lunch

1:00 pm PST: Student Assessment Workshop – What types of assessment are being used in Veterinary Medicine Education and How Do We Feel About It? Session Co-Chair: Zachary Boeder (UA) & Christopher Hauser (UA) 

2:00 pm PST: Break

2:30 pm PST: Teaching Innovations

  1. Incorporating mindfulness in a didactic teaching setting. Presented by Mara S. Varvil, DVM, MSc, PhD, Dipl. ACVP (Clinical) (WSU)
  2. Making Renal Physiology Memorable: The Renal Science Fair. Presented by Jennifer Bouschor, DVM, DACVP (UA), Sallianne Schlacks, DVM, DACVIM (UA), Lisa Viesselmann, DVM, MS, DACVP (UA), Dan Johnson (UA), & Zachary Boeder, M.Ed. (UA)
  3. Introducing assessment and records early in the curriculum. Presented by Jessie Ziegler, DVM, MS, DACVIM (LAIM) (MW), Jeff Thoren, DVM, PCC, BCC (MW), & Ileah Kretsch-York, DVM, MS, DACVIM (LA) (MW)
  4. Introduction of a pseudooral (short written response) anatomy examination. Presented by Thomas Marino, Ed.D., M.S. (WUHS)
  5. Bridging the Gap Through Standardized Medical Documentation: Unifying Pre-Clinical and Clinical Training. Presented by Krista Kline, DVM (UA), Brisa Hsieh, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM) (UA), & Christy Martin, DVM (UA)
  6. What Can We Learn about Teaching from Language Teachers? Presented by Daniel Johnson, MA (UA)

4:30 pm PST: Conference Wrap-up & Reflection (everyone is encouraged to take part) – RTA Steering Committee – Holley Bender (UA)

5:00 pm PST: Conference Conclusion & Thank you