BSAVA Congress on Demand – Anaesthesia and Analgesia Bundle

Nearly 20 sessions make up this practical bundle of CPD.  It covers a wide range of topics from neutering and arthritis to acupuncture to celiotomy. Here, some of our favourite veterinary professionals give an overview of the sessions they’ve viewed:

First up is Jennifer Marshall to review ‘Nerve blocks made easy’, ‘Identifying Anaesthetic Problems’, ‘Common Anaesthetic Complications’, and ‘Sedation Wars!’.  Jennifer is an anaesthesia nurse at The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies.

“Every lecture offers practical and accessible advice,” she says.  “I particularly enjoyed the session “Get the Suction! Regurgitation Under Anaesthesia” from Carl Bradbrook in Common Anaesthetic Complications. He discusses some recent evidence on measuring pH, whether or not we should be flushing the oesophagus, and drug management for a situation that is becoming all the more prevalent with a higher number of brachycephalic patients and longer anaesthetics for more advanced procedures.”

For veterinary surgeon Jim Hughes, the increase in BOAS patients is a particular concern.  He reviews Anaesthesia in BOAS patients: protocols and pitfalls with Liz LeeceSarah Gibson and Jen Busby.

“The advice for nurses was particularly useful here and will go a long way towards helping alleviate some of the anxiety felt in general practice when managing these dogs for any kind of surgery. The take-home message has to be one of ‘be prepared’ and have everything ready for all eventualities well in advance of them happening. Indeed, Liz stressed that, if anything, the preparation and post-op attention were of greater importance than during the procedure itself. After all, an ET tube is probably the best airway these dogs will ever experience.”

Taking on the challenge of reviewing ‘What can be achieved in a 10 minute consult’, ‘Owner engagement in chronic pain’, ‘Building a pain management plan: where to start’, and ‘Drug management in chronic pain: when basics are not enough’, is experienced veterinary surgeon, Kathryn Willis.

“Chronic pain is something we see most days in small animal practice and I found these sessions very informative with plenty of relevant, up-to-date information and tips for keeping owners on board and motivated in sharing the care of what can be a difficult long-term condition for their pets.”

“I enjoy the format of shorter talks with Q&A sessions; it gives a good balance of learning whilst breaking up the “screen time” with different faces and voices and styles of lecture,” she says.

If you like the sound of these sessions, you can find the Anaesthesia and Analgesia bundle in Congress on Demand, available in the BSAVA Library now.