Continuing Education

Dental health is an important issue for all members of the veterinary practice. As nurses, you are at the forefront of communicating with owners about their pet’s health and need a solid understand of dental disease to be able to off er appropriate recommendations. This course will empower you to apply these skills confidently and competently.

This course will look at what is needed to operate a successful dentistry unit. As well as practical oral anatomy knowledge, dental nomenclature and dental equipment and instrumentation, the course covers how to take a whole mouth series of dental radiographs. An important focus isthe management of the most common disease in dogs: periodontal disease - from the consulting room to the surgery and then back to the home including treatment, homecare advice and disease prevention.

Pre-existing respiratory compromise and some conditions like the brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome can make airway management challenging in small animal anaesthesia. Increased vigilance following premedication and after tracheal extubation is required.  The first module aims to provide practitioners with the information needed to optimise preparation, equipment, time line and sequence of events during induction of anaesthesia and recovery in those cases. The second module focuses on anaesthetic safety of brachycephalic dogs and on the measures that can be implemented to reduce their risk of death.

Make the most of in-house clinical pathology and achieve accurate, rapid diagnoses. Do you want to maximise the benefits of your bench-top analyser and in-house pathology? Achieve rapid, cost-effective diagnoses with increased confidence? Ensure that your bench-top analyser is providing accurate information? This course will expand and refine your diagnostic skills across a range of modalities including biochemistry, haematology, acid-base balance, endocrinology, blood smear evaluation and cytology. You will be guided through a range of practical techniques that will grow your confidence and ensure you are getting the best out of your in-house machines, as well as from external pathology services.

Develop your capacity to treat small animal emergency and critical care cases confidently and maximise your patient outcomes. This course aims to develop your practical skills and techniques for the treatment and monitoring of critically ill animals. Triage, fluid therapy, analgesia, acute abdomen, respiratory distress and multisystem trauma are all covered with an emphasis on case-based problem solving. Up to date theoretical information is put into practice in a cadaver-based workshop making this an essential course for veterinarians in all small animal practice situations.

Three enthusiastic and knowledgeable tutors guide you through 10 modules designed to increase your confidence in your ability to diagnose and treat your small animal patients. Using a system-oriented method, the aim of this updated course is to assist you in developing a structured approach that can be applied to any internal medicine problem. Such a framework can be a powerful navigation tool to aid in more rapidly and reliably reaching a diagnosis and developing a treatment protocol, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

Improve your diagnostic skills and avoid common mistakes in thoracic diagnosis. Thoracic radiography is one of the most useful clinical tests undertaken in clinical practice and yet one of the most frequently cited areas of confusion. This course aims to increase your ability to take optimal thoracic radiographs and to interpret them confidently. The modules focus on radiographic interpretation, with incorporation of complementary imaging modalities, particularly CT and sonography, to assist in explanations of the radiographic pathological patterns present. Dogs, cats and exotics are all discussed with tutor -written notes, case studies, self-assessed quizzes and individual feedback enhancing the application of your learning. Make the most of the online forum to ask questions and share cases. Get to know your tutor and colleagues at the one-day face to face workshop.

Take your dentistry to a more advanced level and improve the health and welfare of your patients. Periodontal and dental diseases are arguably the most common issues seen in small animal practice, yet many vets feel intimidated or inadequate when faced with a complicated case that may require more than a scale and polish. This course is designed at an intermediate level for those veterinarians who have had experience in performing dental procedures. It aims to help you understand how to plan and perform efficient, atraumatic (for both you and the patient) extractions, where to place local anaesthetic nerve blocks, and how to take and interpret dental radiographs. Together, these skills will help you to avoid the common pitfalls that lead to complications such as lost roots, fractured roots and fractured jaws. Additionally, you will learn about the treatment options for traumatic malocclusions.

Do you find yourself craving a little creativity in your life? Turns out, engaging in creative behaviours improves brain function, mental health, and physical health. Do you wish to improve your creative writing skills in a fun and engaging way? Join Tracy Sorensen, renowned Australian novelist, for this 2-day writing workshop which will take place over two evenings in March. The emphasis in the first workshop is on writing tips and hints with lots of on-the-spot writing exercises. The second workshop will focus on issues and trails raised in the first workshop, responding to participants' interests and needs.

There are numerous myths surrounding canine aggression. Many veterinarians do not feel confident providing advice to owners about an aggressive dog. Without appropriate advice, owners may seek help from the internet or other sources that may be unreliable or not evidence based. As a result, animal welfare can be severely compromised, and human and animal safety can be at risk.

This course aims to give general practitioners the tools to confidently formulate a diagnostic when presented with an anaemic dog or cat.