Anaesthesia: Back to Basics (June 2025)

Description

This course is aimed at nurses working in general practice

Week 1

Preparation and Premedication

Preparing for what may happen is the key to anaesthesia. We will discuss how to approach an anaesthetic and the difference premedication can have on the patient and the anaesthetic that follows.

Preparedness
Considerations
Safe and effective premedication
Calculations for anaesthesia
Fasting periods
Medication that may be given prior to the visit

Learning objectives
After completion of this week, participants should be able to:

List generalised considerations for preparing to anaesthetise routine cases
Confidently provide premedication prior to anaesthesia in a safe and controlled manner
Give advice on how long to withhold food before anaesthesia for a variety of different patients

Week 2

Induction

This week will cover the induction process, how to manage different case scenarios and guide you through intubation techniques.

Selection of an appropriate breathing system
Preoxygenation
Intubation for different cases

Learning objectives
After completion of this week, participants should be able to:

Select an appropriate breathing system and calculate the fresh gas flow required
Understand the physiology of preoxygenation, and how to do this effectively
Confidently approach intubation in both routine cases and those with anatomical variations

Week 3

Maintenance

For many, the maintenance phase of anaesthesia can be daunting, this week we will discuss monitoring and fluid therapy during anaesthesia.

Multiparameter monitors
Hypotension
Fluid therapy during anaesthesia
Low flow anaesthesia
Environmental considerations

Learning objectives
After completion of this week, participants should be able to:

Feel confident using multiparameter monitors and interpret the information given
Appreciate the physiology of and importance of monitoring blood pressure effectively
Select an appropriate fluid rate during anaesthesia
Select an appropriate fresh gas flow rate during maintenance of anaesthesia
Recognise some of the environmental impacts of anaesthesia

Week 4

Recovery

The recovery phase is an area with high mortality in small animal patients, this week will cover how to make this phase of anaesthesia both calm and safe.

Practicalities of recovery
Monitoring post-anaesthetic
Pain scoring

Learning objectives
After completion of this week, participants should be able to:

Understanding the risks associated with and the necessity for monitoring patients in recovery
Confidently perform pain scoring assessments on patients following surgery

The course will be fully tutored by William McFadzean and will consist of 10 hours of CPD and will be provided in various formats, including tutorials, tasks, case scenarios, forum discussions and quizzes. This course is tutored for 4 weeks, followed by a two week extension of untutored ‘catch up’ time, before the course officially ends.

All delegates will then have unlimited lifetime access to the learning material for future reference

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Speaker

Will McFadzean BVetMed, CertAVP(VA), DipECVAA, MRCVS
RCVS and European Specialist in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, Cave Veterinary Specialists

Will graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2010 and then completed an internship in a first opinion hospital in York. He then started a residency in anaesthesia and analgesia at Bristol University in 2014 which he completed in 2016 and finished his residency in 2017. Will joined Cave Veterinary Specialists in 2017 and passed his specialist diploma exam in 2019. Will was made Head of Specialist Services in 2021, leading the anaesthesia and imaging departments.

AVNAT

Australia and New Zealand

The Australian Veterinary Nurse and Technician (AVNAT) Regulatory Council has allocated 10 AVNAT CPD points to this continuing education activity.

This course is also recognised by the New Zealand Veterinary Nursing Association (NZVNA) as providing 10 CPD points.

CPD Hours

This online course is worth 10 hours of CPD.

A certificate will be available from the ‘My Courses’ section, for you to download and print, once you have completed the course. A permanent record of your total CPD hours will also be recorded in your account section.

Information

Upon purchase you will be registered to attend the course, for 4 weeks from the start date. The course will consist of various interactive tasks and lessons, including quizzes, case studies, forum discussions and further reading material.

The course is fully tutored, with new material will be provided each Monday morning, but the onus will be on the individual delegate to ensure that all tasks are fully complete. The certificate will only be issued at the end of the course when all tasks have been accomplished. Fewer CPD hours will be awarded at the the end of the course if there are unfinished tasks or there has been no contribution to the discussion forum, for example

The course is fully flexible, and there are no weekly ‘deadlines’ – the lessons and tasks may be completed whenever is convenient for each delegate, and any live lessons with be recorded and made available later that same day. Furthermore, all the course material will be available for a further 2 weeks, to allow delegates the opportunity to catch up on missed lessons and tasks, or to take the opportunity to delve further into the suggested reading texts. Please note however, that the course will not be tutored by the speaker during these final two weeks, but the time spent will count towards your CPD hours

After 6 weeks, the course will be complete and there will be no further opportunity to gain the certificate or CPD hours, however, you will have unlimited lifetime access to the tutorials, further reading and quizzes for future reference. If you make any personal notes during the course using the ‘take notes’ app, these will be saved, along with your certificate and CPD record for permanent access in ‘My CPD’

Levels

This course has been listed as ‘Introduction’ level

All of our courses are aimed at veterinary nurses in general practice, but everyone who works in the veterinary profession is very welcome to attend, whether you are a clinical receptionist, veterinary surgeon, student nurse or have been a qualified nurse for over 20 years!

The courses are not formally assessed for skill level, so the following CPD levels are just a rough guide to help you decide if a course may be more or less suitable:

Introduction
– maybe most suitable for qualified nurses in general practice approaching a new topic or looking for a refresher course

Intermediate
– maybe most suitable for qualified nurses in general practice along with referral / specialist nurses looking for a refresher course

Advanced
– maybe most suitable for referral / specialist nurses and highly experienced qualified nurses in general practice

Pawprints

You will earn 205 Pawprint Points (£20.50 website credit) when you purchase this course

Our loyalty scheme rewards you with 10% in website credit to spend on future courses. Choose pay with Pawprint Points during checkout.

Invoice My Practice

Invoice

Debit or credit card is the preferred payment method

Please ask your practice manager or accounts department to visit the website, register an account in their own name, and during checkout, complete the ‘delegate name’ and ‘delegate email’ sections with your personal details. We will then register you a personal account on your behalf, and transfer the course booking over to your new personal account. We will of course email you all the information you need to access this new account and your CPD course.

If you need an invoice and no other payment method is available to you, then please email [email protected] with all the following information:

Full name of delegate
Email address for delegate
Course(s) booking
Any discounts / promotions being redeemed
Practice name and address
Invoice name and address (if different)
Corporate group name (Linnaeus, IVC, Medivet, VetPartners etc) (if applicable)
Practice code (eg Vet4Pets practices)
Booking / invoice reference (if required)
Email address to send the invoice (practice manager, accounts department or head office – not your own email address please)

Please note the following:

Invoices must be requested a minimum of 4-6 weeks prior to a course starting, to allow time for the payment to be received
Delegates will not be allowed access to any course without prior payment
An invoice will be emailed to the contact provided and the course booking will be reserved for 7 days, whilst payment via debit / credit card or BACS is arranged
There will be an administration fee of £2.50 +VAT per invoice generated. You may book multiple delegates / multiple courses on a single invoice to the same practice

Tutored Online CPD