NAVC builds a year-round CE calendar beyond VMX: full analysis

NAVC’s latest events calendar is less about a single announcement than a broader signal: the group is trying to make continuing education a year-round habit, not a once-a-year trip to Orlando. In Today’s Veterinary Practice, NAVC spotlighted two near-term offerings, a free VetFolio webinar on reptilian CPR and HiVE Midwest, a continuing education event built for veterinary support staff. The timing matters because it follows VMX 2026, which NAVC said brought together almost 29,000 attendees, reinforcing the organization’s scale and its ability to keep professionals in its education ecosystem after the flagship meeting ends. (todaysveterinarypractice.com)

That year-round model has been building for some time. NAVC has expanded beyond VMX into a broader portfolio that includes HiVE, VetFolio, certification programs, and the newly branded SkillShop, formerly the NAVC Institute. In earlier coverage, Today’s Veterinary Practice described HiVE as part of NAVC’s effort to create more targeted experiences for different roles across the veterinary team, while SkillShop was positioned as a hands-on, small-group training format for clinicians and managers who want deeper practical instruction. (todaysveterinarypractice.com)

The current calendar centers on two kinds of access points. One is digital and relatively frictionless: a free webinar through VetFolio, in this case focused on reptilian CPR. The other is in-person and team-oriented: HiVE Midwest, held March 21-22, 2026, in Covington, Kentucky. According to NAVC’s event materials, HiVE Midwest offered up to 12 RACE-approved CE hours and was specifically designed for veterinary nurses, technicians, practice managers, and support staff, with sessions spanning clinical skills, professional development, and personal wellbeing. NAVC has already listed additional 2026 HiVE stops in San Antonio on May 30-31 and Charlotte on August 1-2, with a HiVE West event still to be finalized for October. (todaysveterinarypractice.com)

The programming itself gives a clearer picture of what NAVC thinks the market wants. The HiVE Midwest guide included sessions on shock recognition, CPR updates tied to the 2024 RECOVER guidelines, budgeting, training, critical thinking, mentoring, and suicide awareness. That mix suggests NAVC is deliberately blending medicine, operations, and workforce support instead of treating CE as purely clinical. The organization is making a similar bet with SkillShop, scheduled for May 24-28 in Orlando, where the 2026 catalog lists high-cost, hands-on courses in ultrasound, soft tissue surgery, dentistry, orthopedics, rehabilitation, and practice leadership. (navc.com)

Industry voices around these programs point to the same underlying pressure points. HiVE’s featured speakers include Alyssa Mages, a prominent advocate for technician empowerment and training, Elizabeth Stark, who advocates for technician utilization and title protection, and Maria Pirita and Susie Crockett, both well known for practice leadership and team development work. While these are speaker biographies rather than independent commentary, they underscore where NAVC is placing emphasis: stronger support for credentialed team members, better leadership infrastructure, and more practical management education. (navc.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this calendar is a useful read on where one of the industry’s biggest education providers sees demand heading. Large conferences like VMX still matter, but many practices are looking for more affordable, role-specific, and geographically closer CE options that can include the whole team, not just veterinarians. HiVE appears built to meet that need, especially for staff segments that have historically been under-recognized in conference programming. In a profession still grappling with staffing shortages, burnout, and retention concerns, education that combines clinical competence with leadership, communication, and wellbeing may be more relevant than another packed lecture hall alone. (navc.com)

There’s also a business angle for practices. When CE is tailored to technicians, managers, and support staff, it can help clinics improve workflow, delegation, and team utilization, all of which affect client experience and revenue. For pet parents, that may eventually translate into better communication, smoother visits, and more consistent standards of care. For employers, it may support retention by signaling that development opportunities aren’t reserved only for doctors. That’s especially notable as NAVC continues to frame itself as a provider for the full veterinary healthcare team, not just conference-going veterinarians. (navc.com)

What to watch: The next marker is whether NAVC can keep converting VMX’s scale into sustained participation across HiVE, VetFolio, and SkillShop through the rest of 2026, and whether competitors respond with similarly role-specific CE and workforce-focused programming. (navc.com)