Volume 12 Issue 5
Turning surviving into thriving
Are you coping, surviving or thriving at work? Are you aware of what makes a good day for you and what drains your energy? This article offers models to help you practically work through the elements of your day that you can influence to set yourself up for a good day regardless of the cases you see and the challenges you face.
How debriefing post cardiopulmonary arrest and resuscitation can be used to improve training
Debriefing is a form of discussion used in human medicine following significant events, such as cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) and resuscitation. There are no studies in veterinary medicine specifically exploring the benefits of debriefing post CPA, showing known knowledge gaps. However, there are studies in training for resuscitation and staff resilience that mention debriefing as tools, and there are studies in human medicine that look at different types of debriefing and benefits. This literature review discusses ways in which debriefing may be implemented into a veterinary environment as well as the impact it could have on staff training, wellbeing and patient outcome.
The importance of lavage in wound care
Open wound management in veterinary practice is commonplace, with the aim to provide the optimum wound condition to help aid healing and closure of the wound. There are four main principles of wound management needed to provide a healing environment. There needs to be identification and control of any infection and contamination, and wound necrosis needs to be controlled, any ongoing deterioration in the wound controlled and acted on and any further damage to the wound needs to be prevented. This article looks at lavage, one of the most important firstline methods in controlling infection and discusses how it is performed.
Fibroadenomas in rats
This article looks at one of the most common reasons for presentation to practice in rats, mammary fibroadenomas. There is an extremely high incidence of this disease process in rats over 1 year of age and veterinary nurses have a duty of care towards these patients to provide up-to-date nursing techniques and engage in clinical discussions with veterinary surgeons to implement appropriate treatment plans. Surgical and medical options are explored along with tips for successful anaesthetic management of these patients. Although these neoplasms are benign, they are often fast growing and can significantly affect quality of life in rat companions.
Corneal ulcers part 1: aetiology and management of superficial corneal ulcers
Corneal ulceration is one of the most common ocular problems presented in first opinion practice. Ocular diseases in dogs can be distressing for both the patient and the owner, registered veterinary nurses can provide advice to distressed owners and ensure that patients are provided with evidence-based and holistic care. Part one of this two-part series discusses the aetiology and management of superficial corneal ulcers. The second part of this article will discuss deep corneal ulcers and will explore the role of registered veterinary nurses within ocular diseases.
Anaesthesia for head trauma patients
There are many reasons anaesthetising a patient with head trauma may be required. These include for diagnostic imaging, surgery, or it may be required in severe cases to control the patient's ventilation. Many anaesthetic agents cause changes to the blood flow to the brain and therefore may cause further detriment to the patient. Thus, the veterinary nurse assisting the veterinary surgeon with these cases requires a thorough understanding of the physiology of head trauma and the effects of anaesthetic agents on cerebral blood flow, intracranial pressure and the cardiac and respiratory systems, as well as possible neuroprotective benefits that can be gained from the use of some agents.
An evaluation into the effectiveness of surgical safety checklists in veterinary procedures
Background: Extensive research has been conducted evaluating surgical safety checklists in human medicine, but comparative research is lacking within veterinary medicine. Aim To evaluate the possible benefits of applying a surgical safety checklist to veterinary procedures. Methods: The checklist, created by the Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists (AVA), was applied to roughly 50% of patients undergoing surgical procedures in a veterinary practice in Edinburgh, Scotland during an 8-week period in 2020. The remaining 50% was not subjected to a checklist and was therefore used as a control group. Results: With the application of the checklist, the practices participating in the study experienced a 4% decrease in postoperative complications, although this was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The frequency of postoperative complications after surgical procedures reduced following the introduction of surgical safety checklists.
Summer parasite update 2021
Following a tumultuous 2020 which could not have been predicted, it was expected that 2021 would have returned to ‘normal’ by now. However, 2021 is still far from normal and we have the added complications of Brexit legislation now live in the UK. Drawing from information published in the ESCCAP UK & Ireland Parasite Forecasts and the ESCCAP UK & Ireland quarterly enquiry data, this article takes a look at how 2021 is progressing to date and identifies some of the similarities and differences compared with 2020.