The Role of the Veterinary Technician in the Pet Insurance Industry | VETgirl Veterinary Continuing Education Podcasts

In today’s VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we chat with Kristen Ward, BSN-RN (cardiovascular ICU), RVT-VTS (Anesthesia & Analgesia), Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Safe Pet Anesthesia about her unique perspective navigating between and among both the veterinary and human medical fields. Tune in to learn human nursing key takeaways that could benefit the veterinary profession!

In today’s VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we’re discussing the diagnostic utility of…sputum. Yep, you heard that right. While it may be a little gross, that glob of mucus your coughing patient just deposited on the exam table might actually be a hidden diagnostic gem. At least, that’s what Apelgren et al. investigated in their 2026 study, “Utility of Cytology of Spontaneously Expectorated Sputum Samples in the Diagnosis of Blastomycosis in Dogs.” Based on this report, the next time a dog hacks up a loogie in front of you, instead of backing away, you may want to grab a microscope slide.

In today’s VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we chat with Kate McLaughlin, CVT, VTS (IM-Cardiology), about the journey to becoming a Veterinary Technician Specialist in Internal Medicine. Learn key application requirements, case log tips, credential maintenance, and exciting career opportunities for vet techs.

In today’s VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review a 2025 study evaluating transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) for canine myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). Given the high incidence of MMVD in dogs, and the high degree of morbidity and mortality it can cause, efforts continue to focus on treatment strategies that can both delay the onset of symptomatic disease and prolong the overall survival of dogs who do develop clinical congestive heart failure (CHF). Tune in to learn more!

In today’s VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we’re exploring a scenario that comes up during staging of canine liver tumors: you identify one large hepatic mass, but then you also find a few smaller ones elsewhere in the liver. What should we make of those additional lesions? To help us better understand that gray area, we’re reviewing the findings of Burkhardt et al. in a 2025 article entitled, “In dogs with primary liver tumors, additional liver masses identified on preoperative imaging or surgical exploration are most often benign.” And spoiler alert, the title gives away some pretty reassuring news, but it’s worth diving deeper.