Small Animal Veterinary Acupuncture Workshop
IVAS Small Animal Veterinary Acupuncture Workshop: Advancing Exam,
Clinical Reasoning & Treatment Skills
Sunday, January 10, 2027
1:00 to 5:00 pm
Embassy Suites by Hilton San Antonio Brooks Hotel & Spa
7610 S New Braunfels Ave
San Antonio, TX 78235 USA
4 hours & 2 Hourse Online Prep Lectures IVAS & RACE CE Pending | Maximum 20 veterinarians
Presented by Dr. Nell Ostermeier, DVM, CVA, FAAVA
You know the foundations. Now it’s time to refine how you use them.
Designed specifically for veterinarians who have completed an acupuncture certification course, this 4‑hour, small-group workshop focuses on taking your existing TCM and acupuncture skills to the next level.
The emphasis is on refining the clinical skills that connect examination, TCM diagnosis, and treatment—from getting more information out of palpation and pulse evaluation to organizing diagnostic clues, prioritizing patterns, and translating those findings into a focused treatment strategy.
Through hands-on work with live dogs, we’ll explore:
- Refining the TCM exam and palpation – Improve exam flow, sharpen Shu/Mu and trigger-point palpation, and get more clinically useful information from your hands.
- Advancing TCM pulse evaluation – Practice assessing rate, level, force, and quality and integrating those findings into the larger clinical picture.
- Strengthening pattern differentiation and clinical reasoning -Learn a practical approach to organizing diagnostic clues, identifying the dominant pattern, recognizing secondary or emerging patterns, and determining what deserves treatment priority.
- Turning diagnosis into a treatment “to-do list” – Move more fluidly from pattern identification to treatment principles and intentional acupoint selection.
- Refining treatment technique – Strengthen practical needling skills and explore techniques for acupuncture, electroacupuncture, and laser acupuncture.
This is not an introductory acupuncture lab. It is an opportunity to build on your existing training, refine your diagnostic process, and become more deliberate and efficient in how you approach TCM cases.
4 hours | Maximum 20 veterinarians | Hands-on, small-group format hours | 2 hours online prep lectures
Come ready to palpate, practice, troubleshoot, and take your TCM diagnostic and treatment skills to the next level!
Cost of the Small Animal Veterinary Acupuncture Workshop is US$595.00 For IVAS members and $695.00 for nonmembers.
10% early registration discount for those who register by Sunday, November 1st. Use Code SMAW27
Participation is limited to just 20 attendees and the deadline to register is January 4th, so reserve your spot before it’s too late!
About The Presenter
Dr. Nell Ostermeier grew up on a small farm in Central Illinois and graduated from the University of Illinois in 2004. She then moved to the West Coast with her husband Preston and founded a small companion animal/exotic companion animal hospital in Portland, Oregon. Nell began integrating acupuncture into practice while becoming certified through the IVAS course in 2010. Practicing integrative medicine made such a difference for her patients and practice that she wanted to help more veterinarians implement acupuncture successfully. She returned as a TA to the IVAS program in 2014, then became the small animal lab coordinator, an instructor and is now the Course Coordinator for the IVAS U.S. Course. One of her most proud moments was receiving the IVAS volunteer of the year award in 2019.
Nell more recently founded a solo, mobile style acupuncture practice so that she has more time to focus on developing online continuing education options for integrative veterinarians. She is the creator and moderator of the private Facebook group “Every Day Acupuncture for Veterinarians” which brings together vets from all over the globe who are interested in sharing and learning more about this amazing modality. Her mission is to make acupuncture more accessible to veterinarians and animals worldwide.
