Sometimes, what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas. When it comes to the Western Veterinary Conference (WVC), attendees take home a lot of knowledge and free stuff from the exhibit hall. And the exhibit hall (with over 500 exhibitors!) is where many attendees found MSU’s Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health (DCPAH). 

Exhibiting at conferences like WVC helps DCPAH connect with and expand its nationwide client base. Did you know that DCPAH has clients in all 50 states, Washington DC, US territories, and more than 20 foreign countries? At WVC last week, DCPAH spoke with veterinarians, technicians, and practice managers from 30 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada. You might think that WVC primarily attracts attendees from western states, but there is a wide range of states represented. In fact, DCPAH saw nearly as many people from Michigan as California!

MSU CVM was well-represented in those 60 hours of food animal sessions. Dr. Dan Grooms presented four hours of Beef Cattle/Bovine-General/Dairy sessions and Dr. Tom Herdt presented another four hours of Bovine-General/Dairy sessions.Grooms’s sessions covered HoBi-like Viruses, The Changing Veterinary Pharmaceutical Landscape, BLV in Beef Cattle, and BLV in Dairy Cattle. Herdt’s sessions focused on Non-esterified Fatty Acids (NEFA) & Beta-hydroxybutyrate Testing, Other Tests for Application in “Metabolic Profiling” Type Testing Strategies, Hypocalcemia, and Evaluation of Trace Mineral Nutritional Status. On the small animal side, there were 14 endocrinology sessions and Dr. Kent Refsal attended most of them. In the last year, DCPAH’s endocrinology section was responsible for more than a third of the testing ordered lab-wide. Because of the high volume, we always get questions about endocrinology tests or cases. 

DCPAH had not exhibited at WVC since 2008, and this was my first time attending this meeting. It definitely has its own flavor. I saw more cowboy hats, and got to meet these dogs decked out in Vegas attire. One of my favorite parts of attending conferences is meeting MSU CVM alumni and handing out Spartan stickers for them to add some spirit to their badges. You can’t imagine how excited Spartans are to get an MSU sticker—or maybe you can. I lost count of how many times we got a “Go Green!” as someone was leaving the booth.

Based on how many times I heard someone say something like, “I’m going to implement that when I get home,” and our conversations with visitors in the booth, I would recommend WVC to anyone looking for a conference to attend in 2017.