Why do I need to have my own VIN membership?
I was told that this is a clinic account. What gives?
I’m very busy and don’t have time to spend posting on VIN. What’s wrong with having someone post for me?
I’m "technologically challenged" and don’t know how to post pictures and radiographs to the message boards. Can I have my staff do that for me?
Can I post my colleague’s cases on VIN?
We share a computer at the clinic. How can I tell who is logged in?
How do I form a payment group?
How do my staff members join VSPN?
What are the consequences of letting others use my account?   

Why do I need to have my own VIN membership?

VIN is more than a website. VIN is a community of veterinarians who have come together to share information, to help one another practice better medicine, and to deal with the difficulties that come our way in this unique profession. As with any relationship, the cornerstone must be mutual trust. VIN members need to be able to trust that VIN will always strive to be a safe place to come for help. In turn, the VIN community needs to be assured that its members will reciprocate this caring attitude toward colleagues here in the community.

As with relationships in general, there may always be issues upon which all do not wholeheartedly agree. Everyone can agree, however, that the relationship is bigger and more important than any single issue, so we accept this and compromise for the good of the relationship. Please consider this in regard to the Membership Terms of Service for the good of the entire VIN community.

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I was told that this is a clinic account. What gives?

There are no "clinic accounts." VIN memberships are licensed to individual veterinarians—not to computers, hospitals, e-mail addresses or other locations. Item 2 of the VINners’ Oath addresses the responsibility VIN members have toward the integrity of the community.  Sharing your access to VIN negatively impacts the integrity of the VIN community and allows others to view and change your private personal information, charge VIN purchases to you, and make posts in your name that could be embarrassing or damaging to you. Payment groups are available if there are multiple VIN members working in the same practice.

Payment groups allow colleagues in the group to:

• Personalize VIN
• Obtain credit for Continuing Education
• Post and interact on VIN under their own names
• Keep their usernames and login information secure
• Minimize the risk to their VIN memberships if colleagues or staff members leave the practice.

For details see the section on How do I form a payment group? below.

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I’m very busy and don’t have time to spend posting on VIN. What’s wrong with having someone post for me?

Your VIN membership is licensed for your use only. If you and another VIN member within your practice are sharing a case, then either of you may post that case to the message boards, but you must do so using your own log-in information. Non-veterinarian staff members are not permitted to have access to VIN.

In the Ten Commandments of VIN, the first commandment says: "VIN shall always be For Veterinarians, By Veterinarians and other colleagues who support the development of veterinarians and veterinary students." A summary of who is eligible for VIN membership can be found here.

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I’m "technologically challenged" and don’t know how to post pictures and radiographs to the message boards. Can I have my staff do that for me?

Instructions for posting pictures and radiographs are found in the Message Boards FAQs. If needed, you can contact VIN and receive assistance in learning the process—like all new things in life, it’s much less intimidating after you’ve done it once or twice!

It is recognized that some people will still have difficulty with this process. If you do request help from someone else, please log in yourself (do not disclose your secure log-in information!), supervise as the images are posted, then log out again once the posts are complete.

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Can I post my colleague’s cases on VIN?

If you are working on a case in conjunction with a colleague, you may post that case on VIN. However, please do not post cases for nonmembers. The Consultants and Associate Editors have their hands full keeping up with the daily needs of VINners, and these additional cases create a burden for them while taking time away from the needs of members.

When posting for others, you may not have complete information about the case, which means that you may not receive good, accurate advice and the patient may suffer. It also takes more time when going back and forth on the message boards trying to get complete, accurate information from a second-hand source.

Nonmember veterinarians who wish to use VIN are encouraged to sign up for a free 30-day trial to see if they would like a continuing membership.

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We share a computer at the clinic. How can I tell who is logged in?

In the upper right corner of most pages on VIN, you’ll see Hi along with the name of the individual who is logged in. If you’re on the message boards, the Post New and Reply windows will say Logged in as… with the member’s name.

Most VIN pages have a Logout option under the Hi account menu. Logging out when you finish a session will keep you and your colleagues from accidentally impersonating each other. If you are composing a new post or replying to an existing one, you have an option at the top of that window to sign out and log back in with your own account.

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How do I form a payment group?

Designate one member of the group as the group head, the main contact for membership and billing purposes. The group head is the only person who is authorized to make changes to the group. To add associates, call or email VINgram@vin.com with a list of names, email addresses, positions (owner, associate, staff), and veterinary school information (school name, degree earned, grad month and year).

If you would like to authorize an additional individual (such as practice manager or owner) to be able to administer and change the group, please contact VINgram@vin.com or call 1-800-700-4636. If you do so, please remember that the VIN community is limited to veterinary colleagues and, even if they are designated as group administrators, non-veterinarians are not allowed to access the VIN community using a veterinarian's credentials. See: Membership Eligibility Group Summary.

Click here to read information about groups and pricing.

If you open the MyVIN console and click on the Membership tab, you can access Group Info. If you don’t have a group yet, you will see information regarding forming a group. If you are the head of an existing group, you will see the list of group members along with instructions about how to make changes to your group. If you are a group member, you will see your group number and group head’s name.

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How do my staff members join VSPN?

VIN doesn’t want your staff to feel left out. Although VIN is for veterinarians and currently enrolled veterinary students, VSPN exists to fill that niche for your support staff, and membership is free! Send them to https://www.vin.com/vspn/ and have them register for membership today.

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What are the consequences of letting others use my account?

VIN members who allow others to use their accounts are first contacted by e-mail with an explanation of the rules.  It’s often a simple misunderstanding that is easily corrected.  Those members are asked to change their passwords and not allow anyone else to have access to their login information in the future.  Information about payment groups is provided, and members are encouraged to form groups within their hospitals.

If pirating persists after the password change and education e-mail, members are contacted by phone.  This phone call is made directly to the member to ensure they understand that continued sharing of login information with others can result in permanent loss of their access to VIN.  The phone call is followed immediately with an e-mail which asks the member to reply directly confirming they will abide by the second part of the VINner’s Oath and promise to keep their login secure in the future.

If further violations of the VINner’s Oath occur, members risk the loss of VIN membership not just for themselves, but for their entire practice.  No one at the practice, including future colleagues, will be permitted access to any VIN-hosted materials.  These include anything that requires a VIN login—for example VIN, VSPN, CE courses, conference proceedings, private areas, etc.

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