Behaviour at the Beach 2025 – Save the Date!
A data and case-based, intensive immersion course in behavioural medicine organized by the Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI)
4.5 days of lectures, discussions, cases, demos, Q & A! 36 HOURS OF RACE CE CREDIT! Come build your community of veterinarians passionate about evidence-based, humane, forward thinking behavioural medicine and caring for the mental health of your patients in veterinary medicine!
Do you want to practice the best preventative behavioural medicine possible? This course is for you! Do you want to give the best, evidence-based advice to stop and treat the most common behavioural problems? This course is for you! Do you want to go further and make behavioural medicine a core part of your practice? This course is for you! Our goal is to give you the tools to help care for your patients’ mental health as well as you do their physical health, throughout their lifetimes. Behavioural complaints and problems remain the biggest cause of pet death and relinquishment. Early intervention at both the general practice and specialty practice level is essential, but you have to know what to do.
This course is geared to both practitioners with no-to-little experience in the field and those with a lot, some of whom are working towards becoming specialists. Because of the unique team and immersive teaching style the course use – everyone is comfortable is asking to have their needs met and with discussion participation during or after the first day. We have a syllabus and provide notes, but we also encourage targeted questions that may alter schedules. No other course offers access to specialists and integrated knowledge and viewpoints as does this one.
We expect ~half of the participants to have taken an earlier version of this course so book early because we can accommodate ONLY 40 participants.
Dates
Course -7.00A Monday 2 June 2025 through 5.30P Friday 6 June 2025 (Arrival Sunday 1 June 2025; Drinks and food reception Sunday 1 June 2025, 6-9P in the Penthouse Suite of the Holman Grand Hotel; Departure – Friday night 6 June 2025; optional later departures at discounted price).
Faculty
Three internationally recognized experts in the field:
- Karen L. Overall, MA, VMD, PhD, DACB, Professor, AVC, UPEI, Charlottetown, PEI Canada (Course Leader)
- Goncalo da Graça Pereira, DVM, MsC, PhD, Dip ECAWBM (BM), Instituto Universitário Egas Moniz, Charneca da Caparica, Portugal, Escola Superior Agrária de Elvas, Instituto Politécnico de Portalegre, Elvas, Portugal, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Évora, Portugal
- Kersti Seksel BVSc (Hons), MRCVS, MA (Hons), FANZCVS, DACVB, DECAWBM FAVA, Registered Veterinary Specialist in Behavioural Medicine; Adjunct Associate Professor Charles Sturt University, Adjunct Professor University of Queensland, Australia
Location
Holman Grand Hotel – Charlottetown, PEI, Canada (https://www.theholmangrand.com/en/ ).
- Luxury, eco-conscious, boutique hotel with a wonderful restaurant and a fabulous bar.
- Pet friendly and at no additional charge.
- Pool, hot tub, fitness centre, spa (services listed online) on premises. Book spa services early – their schedule fills
- Hotel-wide complimentary broadband WiFi access.
- Walking distance to everything in town, across the street from the Confederation Centre art gallery, theatre, et cetera (https://confederationcentre.com/ ) , and connected to Confederation Court Mall for shopping( https://confedcourtmall.com/ ). Bridges and tunnels available for very wet days.
- Valet parking @~ $20 per day.
- Minutes to City Cinema (https://www.cinemaclock.com/theatres/city-cinema ), the Trailside Music Hall (https://trailside.ca/ ) and dozens of fabulous and varied restaurants and bars.
- Minutes to major city parks, the harbor, the yacht club and similar facilities.
Rooms
All rooms are deeply discounted for this meeting. A hotel room for 5 nights (Sunday check-in; Friday check-out) is included in the cost of the meeting. The hotel will extend the same deep discount for additional rooms or dates on either side of the meeting for people who wish to vacation with their families. Please note on the registration form if you need any of these add-ons.
Airport
Charlottetown International Airport (YYG), 15 minutes by taxi or car from the Holman Grand Hotel. Most flights and almost all international flights, will connect through Montreal or Toronto.
Cars
If you are bringing family, extending your stay, or planning to travel on your afternoon off, it is almost mandatory that you rent a car. There are numerous car rental facilities at the airport. If you even *think* you might take this course and need a car – book it NOW. This is a small island, rental cars sell out, and you can always cancel later for free, but you cannot book what they do not have.
Costs
Thanks to the generosity of the hotel the costs in 2025 rose very little. The cost for the 2025 course is $4,780 CDN/~$ 3,450 USD. Hyper-local people – please note – there is a separate rate that includes in-course meals, but excludes hotel rooms. Reach out to me if this is you. Breakfast starts at 7A and the lectures start at 8A.
What’s included in the cost?
- 5 nights, standard luxury hotel room at the Holman Grand Hotel with option to extend at discounted conference rate
- 5 breakfasts
- 5 morning breaks
- 4 lunches
- 4 afternoon breaks
- All lectures
- 36 hours RACE CE credit
- All notes – which will be sent to you electronically before the course
- One of the most amazing educational and networking experiences you will ever have!
What’s not included in the cost?
- You will be responsible for the cost of your own travel and any additional days, rooms, or upgrades. We can facilitate the additional days, rooms, and upgrades but you will pay the hotel directly for those, only. Book early for best access and fares, especially if you are travelling internationally.
- Dinners. We did not include dinners so that, if people wished, they could bring family and be a tourist or just have a night off. This way people can order exactly what they want, experience some of Charlottetown’s excellent restaurants, and budget their own time and finances.
HOWEVER, in the past we have had a Professors’ Table dinner on 3 course nights where we chose 3 different restaurants. All attendees paid for their own meal and drinks, which allowed people to budget their own money, but the restaurants accommodated the big group and conversation. This has always been a great experience! We are doing it again!
*All dinners are on your own, but Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 10-12 attendees can sign up to join the 3 faculty members for dinner at a Professors’ Table. We will choose 3 different restaurants. Attendees pay their own costs. Sign-up sheets will be posted during the meeting. If there is space, partners are welcome to attend, also!
Planned timeline
Program Schedule (click for pdf)
- It’s here!!! Full schedule and announcement with costs sent out by mid-November
- NOW – If you know that you or think that you might take this course – please complete and return the registration form NOW. Once we hit 40 people, we are at the capacity of the course room. I will keep people updated about how the course is filling and people can then pay, but if you are serious, please hold your spot. We turned away a dozen people last year.
STEPS:
1. Download the registration form (fillable PDF).
OR
Email me (koverall@upei.ca) to tell me you are interested. I shall send you the form.
2. Complete the form and send it back to me.
3. Pay for the course. The Eventbrite site will be up soon. If you are using bank transfers and need to pay in installments, let me know and we can set this up.
If you think that you might take this course – please complete and return the registration form NOW so that I have at least a rough estimate. I will hold forms where people have not paid and as the course fills tell you when you have to commit. Once we hit 40 people, we are at the capacity of the course room. I will keep people updated about how the course is filling and people can then pay, but if you are serious, please hold your spot. We turned away a dozen people last year.
Please share this announcement and let me know if you have any questions. Looking forward!
Dr. Karen Overall (koverall@upei.ca)