Why a Veterinary CE Trip Beats a Conference Room

Earn RACE-approved veterinary CE credits on a multi-day whitewater rafting trip instead of a ballroom. 

Every veterinarian knows the drill: fluorescent lights, a stack of syllabus pages, a coffee urn that’s been sitting since 7 a.m., and a hotel ballroom. Rather, you might want to consider this: the credits count the same whether you earn them there or somewhere else.  The real question isn’t whether you need continuing education; it’s where you’d rather get it. 

Offering unique and vibrant continuing education opportunities, we partner with International Veterinary Seminars (IVS) to run RACE-approved CE programs. This is education built around one of the more unexpected classrooms in the profession: a raft on a Class III–IV river. 

If you’ve never considered white water rafting trips as a legitimate CE format, here’s how the accreditation, the credit hours, and the practice funding actually work. And why more practice owners are treating it as a serious alternative to the annual conference circuit rather than a novelty.

How Accredited CE Actually Works on a River

The structure is actually more conventional than it sounds. 

On a typical BBX/IVS itinerary, mornings are reserved for lecture and case-based discussion at camp or lodge. A licensed veterinarian presents on a clinical topic, just as they would at a conference podium. Afternoons, however, move outdoors into the trip’s core activity, often multi-day whitewater rafting trips down rivers like Chile’s Futaleufu. 

IVS has run these programs for close to three decades and is one of the largest small-group veterinary CE providers in North America, with seminars approved by AAVSB RACE. That approval is what makes the hours transferable: RACE-approved credit is generally accepted by most U.S. and Canadian veterinary licensing boards.*

What You Actually Earn

Credit hours depend on the itinerary and length of trip, but our programs award 12 hours of RACE-approved CE. Comparable to, or more than, a standard multi-day conference. 

Registration for the CE seminar itself is a separate line item from the trip cost, which matters when you’re itemizing what’s an education expense versus a travel expense. The trip cost covers lodging, meals, guiding, and the adventure activities; the CE registration covers the accredited coursework. 

Because the lecture hours are scheduled around excursions rather than replacing them, you leave with an attendance certificate documenting your CE hours and, depending on the destination, a passport stamp too.

Why It Beats the Ballroom

Veterinary medicine has some of the highest reported burnout rates of any licensed profession. CE requirements often land as one more obligation squeezed into an already full year. Moving the classroom beyond a traditional conference setting can make the CE experience feel more engaging and memorable.

Case discussions held over breakfast before a day on the water tend to turn into real conversations rather than passive note-taking, and the shared experience of running a rapid together builds the kind of peer network that a rented conference room rarely produces. 

Multi-day trips also mean the learning is spread out rather than crammed into a single dense day. Most itineraries also welcome a spouse or companion, so the CE requirement doesn’t have to compete with vacation time. It supports it. For a profession where PTO often goes unused because there’s nowhere it feels worth spending it, folding a license requirement into the one trip you were already trying to justify taking is, on its own, a reason to look twice at this format.

How Practices Fund It

Most practices already budget an annual CE allowance for associates, commonly somewhere between a few hundred and a few thousand dollars per veterinarian, along with a set number of paid CE days. That existing budget line is what typically covers the seminar registration fee for a trip like this; the adventure-travel portion of the cost is usually treated separately, the same way a conference trip’s optional excursions would be. 

Whether the full trip cost qualifies as a deductible business or professional-education expense depends on how it’s structured and your practice’s specific tax situation. It’s probably worth a conversation with your accountant or practice manager before booking rather than assuming. 

Many practice owners also view sponsoring these trips as a retention and recruiting tool: offering an associate a CE benefit that looks like this, rather than another hotel conference, is a differentiator in a competitive hiring market.

What Practice Owners Ask Before They Book

Will RACE-approved credits from a trip like this count toward my license renewal? In most cases, yes. RACE approval through AAVSB is recognized by the large majority of U.S. and Canadian veterinary boards. A handful of jurisdictions have additional requirements, so confirm with your board before you register.

How many CE hours can one trip actually provide? It varies by itinerary and length, but most BBX/IVS programs run 12 hours, on par with or exceeding a typical multi-day conference schedule.

Do I need rafting experience to join a multi-day whitewater rafting trip? No. Trips are professionally guided and itineraries note their activity level, ranging from easy to strenuous, so veterinarians and their guests can choose a trip that matches their comfort level.

Can my practice pay for this as a CE expense? Many do, typically by applying the practice’s existing CE stipend to the seminar registration fee. Whether the full trip qualifies as a deductible expense depends on your practice’s structure. Check with your accountant.

Ready to Trade the Ballroom for the River?

If your next CE requirement is going to happen somewhere anyway, it might as well be somewhere memorable. 

Browse our current RACE-approved veterinary CE itineraries, check upcoming dates and speakers, and see which multi-day whitewater rafting trip fits your license renewal timeline. 

*BBX and IVS both recommend confirming acceptance with your specific state or provincial board before booking, since requirements vary.