A Proactive Approach to Canine Osteoarthritis

Ms. Mossor is a Registered Veterinary Technician living in Southport, North Carolina. She has enjoyed a diverse career in small animals, large animal, mixed practices, management, private consulting, and academia.

Ms. Mossor is currently the program director for the Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts new program in development. Additionally, she is cofounder of Veterinary Advancements, a private consulting firm providing services to industry nonprofit and state organizations, industry start-ups, and practice teams. When possible, she deploys with the ASPCA Disaster Recover Team.

As for passion projects, Ms. Mossor is thrilled to be one of the minds behind Vet Team Global Stream Online Veterinary Team Conference, as well as the Veterinary Industry Giving Tree, founded to help her colleagues during the holidays. She is also cohost of the Veterinary Viewfinder and Making Sense of Pets podcasts.

Course Outline:

As a veterinary technician, you play an important role in helping to recognize the early signs of osteoarthritis (OA) in your canine patients as well as educating dog owners about this common joint disease. By proactively observing our patients and engaging with clients, you can help dog owners understand why routine OA exams are essential and help more dogs get the treatment they need. This session will pair technical information on the disease state with communication tools and techniques so that veterinary technicians will leave this presentation feeling empowered in their observations and conversations with the veterinarian and pet owners.

Learning Objectives:

1. Review the stages of osteoarthritis (OA), the cycle of untreated OA, and goals and considerations regarding the multimodal management of OA
2. Understand the importance of an early assessment and address the common misconceptions about OA (e.g., age, breed, clinical signs).
3. Recognize best practices for being proactive in OA assessment – what to look for, what is commonly missed, and tips to excel.
4. Learn communication techniques to project a consistent message and appropriately deliver the relevant information about OA to dog owners.