Continuing Education

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.

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

Rabbits and rodents are becoming increasingly common pets in today’s society. These patients have a profound, innate ability to mask signs of disease. The consequence of this is that they frequently present in a critical condition and require emergency care. This ability to hide clinical illness, combined with their small size and susceptibility to significant stress, can make them challenging creatures to treat.   This course aims to introduce the veterinary clinician to the principles of assessment, triage and stabilisation of rabbit and rodent emergencies. The first module outlines physical exam and diagnostic testing in critical patients. The second module discusses clinical consequences encountered in critical patients and their appropriate management.   The ultimate goal of this course is to improve the knowledge and confidence of veterinarians when faced with rabbit and rodent emergencies and empower them to provide a higher level of care to these species.

Develop a logical, problem-based approach to the investigation of pruritic skin cases. Skin problems are among the most common reason for presentation in everyday practice. The CVE Dermatology Distance Education program is a modular course that aims to provide you with the practical skills necessary to work-up and resolve these often recurrent cases with minimal frustration for both owner and clinician.   The Pruritic Skin Disease DE course will cover the various common causes of pruritus: including insect hypersensitivities, atopic and contact dermatitis as well as food allergies, Malassezia dermatitis and pruritic parasitic skin diseases.  The pathophysiology of pruritus, including neurogenic and psychogenic pruritus will be reviewed with an emphasis on current and upcoming treatment modalities.

Ultrasonography is a complex discipline to master. How do you use vasculature as a “road map”? How do you reliably find the pancreas and adrenal glands? How do you get the opportunity to image the “normal” to identify the “abnormal”?

In this practical webinar, Chris will review how to perform a thorough pain assessment in dogs and cats. We will also help you understand some of the common analgesic protocol used in everyday practice and why different options may be picked.

Don’t fall into the trap of mistaking spinal cord for peripheral nerve disease! Using videos of affected patients, throughout this webinar we will work through cases to differentiate between spinal cord and peripheral nervous system diseases and discuss the most common peripheral nervous system pathologies. Join Dr Thomas Flegel for this interactive opportunity to refine your approach to neurological examination.

This course will cover the common ocular presentations seen by general practitioners and will be particularly useful for recent graduates.

Delve into the evolving world of hyperadrenocorticism. Although this condition has been around for some time there is growing new information in the areas of presentation, diagnosis and treatment of hyperadrenocorticism. Luke will present the latest updates on the disease and its treatment to help you become the expert in your clinic when faced with a Cushing’s case in our feline or canine friends.

This program has been designed to improve your understanding and capabilities in ophthalmology while also having fun. David Maggs and Mark Billson will place special emphasis on performing a high-yield ophthalmic exam with the instruments already in your clinic, choosing the best diagnostic tests, perfecting ophthalmic surgical techniques, and discussing which drugs to use when. Both speakers work with referring vets on a daily basis and their philosophy is to emphasise a group of concepts that they call 'TIWIKIPS’ (or 'Things I Wish I’d Known In Practice’) where the ultimate goal is that you leave the course saying “I am going back to try this in my practice next week”.

In this course participants will gain understanding of the peculiarities associated with anaesthesia in species that may be relatively less commonly presented in general veterinary practice such as pet rabbits, guinea pigs, birds and reptiles, but may require anaesthesia to facilitate handling, and diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Participants will apply their fundamental knowledge and skills in anaesthesia to devise anaesthetic protocols by taking into consideration the risks associated with anaesthesia, the unique anatomy and physiology and responses to anaesthesia , and to be able to respond to common peri-anaesthetic complications.

Neurological presentations can be frightening – not just for the patient and client, but for you as the clinician with the responsibility for diagnosis and treatment. Which cases can you work up in house and which need referral for advanced imaging? How confident are you that your neurological exam is going to help with localising the problem and reliably inform your path of action? Can you reliably and confidently interpret reflex tests? How about those pesky cranial nerves? Join veterinary neurologist Thomas Flegel for a day focused on mastering the skill of a thorough neurological exam to assist you with accurate neurolocalisation. Using case studies and an interactive approach (get ready for audience participation!), Dr Flegel will cover the circling patient, intervertebral disc disease, other spinal disease and more, whilst Dr Stacey Brady will offer a local perspective on problems of the peripheral nervous system. Our speakers’ clinical expertise and experience as educators will ensure you leave armed with the tips and tricks you need to ensure you’re doing the best you can – without a feeling of panic – for your neuro patients.

As veterinary surgeons, we’re responsible for helping people make choices on behalf of vulnerable animals. An informed choice to neuter requires a high degree of confidence that the long-term benefits outweigh the costs. To date, every published neutering risk study involves retrospective analysis of hospital records. These so-called observational studies are limited by one irrefutable fact. Although they can highlight correlations, observational studies cannot prove a causal relationship – and so far, dog neutering hasn’t received a fair trial because it hasn’t been afforded a proper defence. The highest profile observational study assessing neurtering is entitled Assisting Decision-Making on Age of Neutering for 35 Breeds of Dogs: Associated Joint Disorders, Cancers and Urinary Incontinence  Dr Farrell decided to tackle the assumptions made in this study based on his expertise as a specialist surgeon, his experience as a clinical researcher, his statistical literacy and the fact that working in referral practice, he has a level of independence given that he doesn’t perform neutering surgery. In this webinar, Dr Farrell will present an unbiased evidence-based risk-analysis of canine neutering. Don’t miss what promises to be an enlightening – and potentially controversial – event.

This TimeOnline course is intended to provide participants with a set of skills to improve their capacity to conduct in house cytopathology as an adjunct to canine and feline case management. You will be taken through a transitional and streamlined program starting with cytopathological specimen collection and preparation; how to establish a common sense approach to examining and interpreting cytopathological smears; and application of that approach to the diagnosis of common degenerative, inflammatory and neoplastic diseases affecting skin and lymph nodes. The course is designed to gradually and surely build confidence and cytopathological experience so that you can more effectively reach a diagnosis and apply that to case management.

Develop a logical approach to disease investigation and management of a range of complex dermatological cases, particularly immune-mediated and systemic diseases

What are the differences between dogs and cats in their nutritional requirements? How can you use this knowledge to better advise owners about how to feed their animals?

Ophthalmic surgery is often put in the too hard basket and referred on to specialists. This course is designed to give you a better understanding of the principles and practicalities of performing eye surgery with the aim of expanding the range of procedures you can confidently offer your clients. The course will feature a number of video procedures to help guide your learning. Veterinary nurses with a special interest in the topic are welcome to enrol in this course. Please be aware that the course is designed for qualified veterinarians and you should consider this in light of your knowledge and experience before you register.

This course focuses on practical wound management in busy small animal clinics. We will discuss wound management from acute traumatic to chronic non-healing and multidrug resistant infections. Our focus will not be on complex surgical skin grafts but on methods that can be performed by any vet in practice, without the use of restricted antimicrobials. Wound cleaning, multi-drug resistant wound infections and managing healing without skin grafts will be covered, and case studies will be used to demonstrate the differences between wound healing and management in dogs and cats.

Guinea pigs are a common and much-loved pet around the world. Although much of the earlier veterinary focus on guinea pigs was as a laboratory animal, their popularity as pets has seen this focus shift towards the provision of veterinary care for a companion pet.

This course will provide practical guidelines that will enable you to achieve successful outcomes for your diabetic patients. Learn about protocols that are easy to follow, new improved treatment and monitoring tools such as insulin dosing pens and flash glucose monitoring, and tips on how to take the stress out of the management of diabetic dogs and cats with concurrent illnesses.

Unlike heart disease, chronic renal insufficiency and arthritis, cancer is potentially curable. Advances in chemotherapy and other treatment options have increased the options for palliative care, so that animals can have a prolonged life rather than a prolonged death. This course provides an overview of cancer biology, common chemotherapeutics, other therapies including surgery and radiation, paraneoplastic syndromes, lymphoma, sarcomas, round cell tumours and the complete approach to the cancer patient. Develop the skills to obtain a tissue diagnosis without compromising the patient, tailor  treatment plans for patients with co-morbidities and curate comprehensive palliative care protocols where the emphasis is on quality of life. Know that you are offering your patients – and their people – the most contemporary options and maximising the patient’s welfare.

Perennially popular tutors Jill Maddison and Sue Bennett present this course where the learning begins the way it does in the clinic: with a focus on the presenting problem. This 8-module course will advance your problem-solving skills to develop a rational, pathophysiologically-based approach to diagnosing and managing internal medicine cases. An emphasis on reflection and self-analysis of the way you process and work up cases will challenge you and help you to improve your approach in practice. In this way you will be able to develop a logical problem-solving framework that will carry through into more successful and rewarding management of your patients. The workshops will provide an opportunity to interrogate your methodology and discuss approaches with your peers and tutors. If you are interested in sitting the small animal medicine membership examinations for the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists (ANZCVS), this is a wonderful preparation for you.

Behaviour problem or problem behaviour? Learn to differentiate and maximise treatment success. Improve your ability to help your clients better understand their pets’ behaviour and learn to best manage anxiety, aggression and other common behavioural problems. Discover the latest updates in behavioural pharmacology – the when, why, how and which of psychotropic medications. A knowledge of behaviour is integral in maximising patient welfare. A positive experience in your practice for both patient and client will enhance satisfaction for pet, vet and the owner!

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, urinalysis, endocrinology, blood smear evaluation, urine sediment 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.