Click here to register and purchase this course

Course Description

As of January 1, 2011, the State of California has mandated that all veterinary hospital workers receive radiation safety training. Additionally, all clinics are now required to keep safety and technique training records of all staff for Veterinary Medical Board inspection review. We are pleased to offer the first ever online training module for California veterinary professionals to understand and fulfill these two requirements.

Taught by nationally recognized RVT, Candi Stafford, our Radiation Safety and Techniques Course includes two training videos on radiation safety and animal positioning in addition to Ms. Stafford's Animal Positioning in Veterinary Radiology downloadable manual. Each participant must complete a quiz after viewing the videos to test their knowledge and receive a certificate of completion. 

Tuition is $50 and participants may enroll at any time.

Ms. Stafford's course does not offer any CE credits at this time. 

If you are looking for CE credits, consider registering online for this Veterinary MRI course. Upon completion of the MRI course,  RVTs can earn 14.5 CE credits.

To take the Radiation Safety course, follow these simple steps:

If you haven't already done so, create an AAVR username and password. (You cannot enroll in the course without an AAVR username and password.)

Once the registration is completed, you will be directed to the available course listing. Select the course and then pay the $50 tuition through a secure PayPal interface. Once the payment is made, your account will automatically be updated and you will have full access to the course.

If you have already paid for the course, you can log in and view it here.

Once you have passed the quiz, you will be able to download and print your certificate, however, no continuing education credits are associated with this course. 

Please Contact Us if you have any questions. (858) 634-5430

Course Topics

• Maximum permissible dose
• ALARA
• Time-distance shielding
• Proper radiographic positioning
• Radiographic positioning aides
• Radiation safety examination (fulfills State of California requirements)

Value Added

• NO Continuing Education credits
• Record keeping of course certification
• Copy of "Animal Positioning in Veterinary Radiology" manual by Ms. Candi Stafford

Candi Stafford Bio

Candi Stafford, RVT received her BS in Animal Science from Fresno State in 1974. In 1977, she began her veterinary career in private practice and became a licensed RVT by 1979. Candi accepted a role at the UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine in 1986. She spent two years focusing on ICU and Small Animal Medicine before making the transition to SA Radiology. In 2010, Candi retired from her position at UC Davis, only to begin a new career as a Digital Applications Specialist for VetRay by Sedecal USA. Her family has 3 children, 5 grandchildren, 8 four-legged cat children, 4 four-legged dog children, and 1 bird.

Click here to register and purchase this course

Enroll in the Nation's First Online CE Veterinary MRI Course!

This innovative and comprehensive online course features 13 videos created by John Posh, R.T. (R)(MR), Director of the MRI Internship Program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The course is designed for veterinarians, licensed veterinary technicians as well as human trained technicians. The tuition is $1,500 and participants may enroll at any time and work at their own pace. The course consists of 13 video lessons. Each video lesson is followed by a short exam.  Students must complete and pass all 13 exams and complete the technical portion to receive 14.5 CE credits approved by RACE. Upon completion of the course, the veterinary professional is registered with the American Association of Veterinary Radiologists as a Registered Veterinary Magnetic Resonance Imager (RVMRI).

Realize the Potential of Veterinary MRI

Course Topics

• The introduction, history and potential of MRI, positioning and anatomical challenges, imaging process, and the principles of magnetism and its role in the imaging process.
• The role of hydrogen in imaging, excitation and relaxation, image contrast mechanisms, pulse sequences, MRI parameters, coils, gradients, k-space, contrast agents, and MRI safety.
• To view the entire list of Course Topics, please click here.

Course Technical Portion Requirements:

• The technical portion of this course requires each applicant to independently perform and submit MRI studies.
• All MRI studies submitted must be complete (see AAVR MRI guidelines).
• All studies must be done independently by the applicant and obtained after starting the online course.
• A boarded specialist selected by the AAVR will assess the studies for completeness, image positioning, and proper sequence technique.
• Assessment of each series will be given an overall pass/ no pass and each applicant must receive a pass for the study to count towards the AAVR technical requirements.

Value Added

• 14.5 Continuing Education credits, RACE approved
• Record keeping of course certificate
• Enroll in nation's only online CE Veterinary MRI course
• Become a Registered Veterinary Magnetic Resonance Imager (RVMRI)

 Click here to learn about the new 2013 CE regulations for California Veterinary RVTs

To take the course, follow these simple steps:

• If you haven't already done so, create an AAVR username and password. (You cannot enroll in the course without an AAVR username and password.) 
• After registering, select the course you would like to take and use a secure PayPal interface to pay for and obtain full access to the course. 
• If you have already paid for the course you can log in and view it here. 
• Please Contact Us if you have any questions. (858) 634-5430 (Pacific Time)

About John Posh R.T. (R)(MR)

Veterinary MRI with John Posh, RT (R)(MR)

RACE Program Agenda

Requirements for Course Enrollment and Completion:

Veterinarians and licensed veterinary technicians will enroll for the program through the AAVR website (www.aavr.org). The cost for the program is $1,500, and participants may enroll at any time. There is no timeline to finish the course, and students may work at their own pace.

This online course will feature 13 videos created by John Posh, RT (R)(MR) for students to watch, followed by a 10- to 15-question exam (30-minute max given to finish) at the completion of each video. In order to advance to the next video, students must pass an online test with a score of 70% or higher, per RACE standards, for each video. They must complete and pass all 13 exams in order to receive CE credit for this course. Based on the length of videos and time allotted for taking each exam, this course takes approximately 16 hours maximum to complete. (Applied for 14.5 hours due to the rounding up or down of hours to meet RACE minimum CE credit time requirements.)

Session 1           Introduction to MRI, Part I (1h:10m video + 0h:30m test) 1.50 CE Credits

                             Objectives: 1) Understand the history of MRI, 2) Understand the typical exams that can be done for the brain, spine, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, musculoskeletal (MSK), 3) Realize the potential of veterinary MRI.

Session 2           Introduction to MRI, Part II (1h:00m video + 0h:30m test) 1.50 CE Credits

                             Objectives: 1) Understand the evolution of veterinary MRI, 2) Learn the similarities and differences between human and veterinary imaging, 3) Understand the positioning challenges, 4) Know the positioning challenges, 5) Know the anatomical differences and challenges with MRI, 6) Realize the range and type of patients we are able to scan.

Session 3           What We Need to Perform an MRI (1h:01m video + 0h:30m test) 1.50 CE Credits

                             Objectives: 1) Understand basic magnetism and the role it plays in the imaging process, 2) Learn why we use hydrogen for imaging and how the hydrogen is manipulated for our use, 3) Understand the basics of resonance, the transfer of energy from one item to another, 4) Learn the basics of the gradient and RF systems and why we need them, 5) Realize that the signal generated must be manipulated and analyzed in order to be useful.

 Session 4           Principles of Magnetism (0h:35m video + 0h:30m test) 1.00 CE Credit

                             Objectives: 1) Understand the history of magnetism, 2) Understand the types of magnets available, 3) Realize the benefits and drawbacks of the different types of magnets, 4) Understand the magnetic properties of matter and their relevance to imaging.

Session 5           Excitation/Relaxation (0h:28m video + 0h:30m test) 1.00 CE Credit

                             Objectives: 1) Understand atomic structure and why we use hydrogen for clinical imaging, 2) Understand how hydrogen is bound in the body, 3) Understand how we organize the protons for imaging, 4) Understand the mechanisms of excitation and relaxation, 5) Basic understanding of T1 and T2 and how they are controlled

Session 6           Image Contrast Mechanisms in MRI (0h:45m video + 0h:30m test) 1.00 CE Credit

                             Objectives: 1) Understand what image contrast is, 2) Understand contrast mechanisms in MRI, 3) Understand how contrast is controlled, 4) Understand the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters.

Session 7           MRI Pulse Sequences (0h:39m video + 0h:30m test) 1.00 CE Credit

                             Objectives: 1) Understand what a pulse sequence is, 2) Understand the components of a pulse sequence, 3) Realize how pulse sequence choice affects imaging.

Session 8           MRI Parameters (0h:56m video + 0h:30m test) 1.50 CE Credits

                             Objectives: 1) Understand contrast parameters (repetition time (RT), echo time (TE), flip angle, inversion time (TI), B-value, velocity encoding (VENC)), 2) Understand image quality parameters (frequency matrix, phase matrix, field of view, slice thickness, interslice gap, NSA (NEX), receiver bandwidth

Session 9           Coils (0h:19m video + 0h:30m test) 0.50 CE Credit

                             Objectives: 1) Understand the basics of coils and how they are used, 2) Understand the types of coils available for veterinary use, 3) Know how coil choice affects image quality.

Session 10         Gradient System and Spatial Localization (0h:38m video + 0h:30m test) 1.00 CE Credit

                             Objectives: 1) Understand what gradients are, 2) Learn how gradients control slice thickness, 3) Learn how gradients facilitate spatial localization, 4) Understand how gradients are measured in terms of power and quality.

Session 11         Introduction to K-Space (0h:31m + 0h:30m test) 1.00 CE Credit

                             Objectives: 1) Understand what k-space is, 2) Learn what k-space represents, 3) Learn how k-space is filled, 4) Understand the role k-space plays in imaging.

Session 12         Contrast Agents (0h:48m + 0h:30m test) 1.00 CE Credit

                             Objectives: 1) Understand why contrast agents are used, 2) Understand the mechanism of action of contrast agents, 3) Learn how contrast agents affect image contrast, 4) Learn the different types of contrast agents, 5) Learn the risks associated with contrast agents.

Session 13         MRI Safety (0h:48m + 0h:30m test) 1.00 CE Credit

                             Objectives: 1) Understand the reasons for MRI safety, 2) Understand the bio-effects associated with the three magnetic fields, 3) Understand how the magnetic fields affect implants and foreign bodies, 4) Know what it means to have a safe facility.

Technical Portion:

The technical portion of this course requires each applicant to independently perform and submit MRI studies.All MRI studies submitted must be complete (see AAVR MRI guidelines).  All studies must be done independently by the applicant and obtained after starting the online course. Studies will be assessed by a boarded specialist selected by the AAVR for study completeness, image positioning and proper sequence technique. Assessment of each series will be given an overall pass/ no pass and each applicant must receive a pass for the study to count towards the AAVR technical requirements.  To arrange for the image sending procedures, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (858) 634-5430.

Small Animal/ Exotic

Brain- 10 cases

Orthopedic- 5 cases

Nasal/ Orbit/ Brachial Plexus/ Abdomen- 5 cases

Spine- 10 cases

Large Animal

Brain/ Nasal/ Orbit- 5 cases

Carpus/ Tarsus / Elbow/ Stifle- 5 cases

Distal extremity (fetlock and distal)- 15 cases