Patricia Wuest
Vice President of Media Strategy, NAVC
Patricia Wuest was the Vice President of Media Strategy at the NAVC until retiring in 2022.
Read Articles Written by Patricia Wuest
Spring brings warm temperatures and, unfortunately, in many parts of the country, parasites that infect dogs, cats and other small companion animals with disease and parasite-related issues, from flea allergy dermatitis to more serious illnesses like canine heartworm (of course, in some parts of the U.S., these parasites are year-round pests). Spring is a time when pet-owner clients begin thinking about flea and tick prevention. It’s the perfect time to make sure your veterinary team is prepared to provide clients with the information they need. Why not schedule some parasite training sessions?
The Veterinary Internal Parasite Flash Card App is brought to you by the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC). The application is designed to help strengthen learned skills in the microscopic identification of fecal parasites in veterinary clinic settings or for individual study. It includes approximately 100 veterinary internal parasites found in dogs, cats, small mammals, reptiles and birds.
How to Use the App
• Select a species.
• Choose to study from a series of random cards, or from the most common to the least common internal parasites.
• Identify the internal parasite from a microscopic image and then flip the card to reveal the answer. The answer includes the common parasite name, the Latin name, an audio recording of the Latin name, and other details.
Benefits of the App
• Audio recording of the Latin name, if available
• Labeled images
• Magnification size
• Interesting points about each parasite
“The parasite ID app is actually designed for the veterinary nurse, technician and staff in the veterinary hospital,” says Craig Prior, B.V.Sc., C.V.J., immediate past president of the CAPC. “It’s designed to help them improve their skills in identifying internal parasites in dogs and cats. It’s set up so it can be used as a reference or as a flashcard-type concept. It’s meant to help educate staff.”
The veterinary nurse team and staff can brainstorm ideas to get out parasite educational messages to clients. Consider focusing on parasite prevention on your social media platforms, creating slideshows on exam room computers
or digital photo frames, creating a colorful waiting room bulletin board presentation or downloading handouts (see below) to give to clients. For example, you can post prevalence maps from the CAPC on bulletin boards and on Facebook.
All of this will not only help educate pet owners and promote compliance but will also reinforce the consistent, uniform message that you want your team to deliver.
To get the app:
For Android
For iPhone and iPad
Learn More
Go to the Parasitology section of Today’s Veterinary Nurse to stay current on issues in parasitology prevention and treatment.
Read the Top 10 Cities Report for Heartworm.
Download a client handout on canine heartworm.
Download a client handout on feline heartworm.