Veterinary Technology - Continuing Education Association
Friday October 24th and Saturday October 25th
Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture
Curtis, Nebraska
16 hours of C.E.
Your $150 registration fee includes:
Friday = 6 hours CE
Saturday = 10 hours CE Credit
Light meals included (see registration)
A fun painting project for you too!
Vendors are welcome! There is no charge to set up a booth!
Friday
| Time | Topics and Speaker |
| 7:00 – 7:45 AM | Registration Location: NCTA Campus – Veterinary Technology Building Coffee and pastries for breakfast then head to the Education Center amphitheater. |
8:00 AM to 6:00 PM
| Dr. Tom Noffsinger – Understanding the Harmony Between Stockmanship, Horsemanship, and Health. Animal Handling and the fundamentals of low stress techniques. The health implications of low cattle handling techniques. Ground safety with cattle and horses. |
| Lunch and Dinner | Lunch provided. Dinner on your own and a free evening to enjoy visiting with others. |
Saturday
| Time | Topics and Speakers |
| Location for all Saturday presentations will be the Vet Tech Building | |
| 7:00 – 7:45 AM | Registration - NCTA Campus – Veterinary Technology Building Coffee and pastries for breakfast in the Vet Tech Building |
| 8:00 – 9:50 | Dr. Rhine – The emergence of Tularemia |
10:00 AM – 11:50
| Dr. Cooper – Anaplasmosis, Asian longhorn tick and the New World Screw worm |
| Noon – 12:50 | Lunch – Pizza – Visit with friends and classmates! Walkabout and see the best teachers on campus and your old friends – the critters! |
| Nebraska Wildlife Rehab – Laura Strasty - Executive Director – opportunities, mission, medical and research endeavors. |
3:00 PM-3:50
| Hailee Lynn - Veterinary Emergency Services - Utilizing technicians in the emergency clinic. |
4:00 PM– 4:50
| Samantha Gierhan – US Meat Animal Research Center - A Technician’s Role in Food Animal Research. |
5:00 PM – 5:50 PM
| Dr. Alejandro Casella – Veterinary Practices – Differences and Commonalities |
| 5:50 – 6:00 PM | Grab a drink and some pizza and join Dr. Hecox’s discussion |
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
| Dr. Hecox - Critical Care in foals, IV catheters, nursing care, signs, and symptoms of ill foals. Chiropractic and acupuncture medicine in horses. Lecture and demo. |
| 8:00 – 8:30 PM | VTCEA business meeting – bring your suggestions for future CE meetings. |
A LITTLE ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Samantha Gierhan LVT
Samantha is a Nebraska native and 2012 NCTA graduate of the veterinary technology program. After graduation she accepted a position in private practice where she worked for seven years. The second half of her career has been spent in animal food research at the US Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, NE. This is a unique position as a veterinary technician, and Sam is excited to her experience.
Alejandro C. Casella DVM
Dr. Alejandro was born in Argentina. He is married with 5 children. Dr. Alejandro received his veterinarian degree in 1983 “Medico Veterinario” from the University of Buenos Aires where he had a large and small animal vet clinic in Buenos Aires. He received his master’s degree in animal science from South Dakota State University. In the United States he has worked in the veterinary industry since 1993 with Pfizer Animal Health, Elanco Animal Health and Bayer Animal Health as Sales Rep and Technical Support. He was the feed lot manager at the Experimental Feedlot of the University of Nebraska in Scottsbluff before joining NCTA in February 2025.
Crystal Rhine DVM
Dr. Rhine graduated from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 2005 with a bachelor's of science in Biology and attended Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, graduating with her DVM in 2009. She spent the first 14 years as a small animal practitioner in the eastern portion of the state before she joined the faculty here at NCTA in Fall of 2023. She enjoys teaching Anesthesia, Surgery Prep, Dentistry, Pain Management, and Clinical Practices.