Rabbit Nursing Care Plans

Tutored Online CPD

Round Up of Rabbit Care (Feb 2025)

£255.00 Ex VAT


Start: 
17th February 2025
CPD:    15 hours (UK), 15 points (AUS, NZ) over 6 / 8 weeks
Level:  Introduction / Intermediate

 

Description

This CPD course is aimed at veterinary nurses working in general practice

 

Week 1

Nutrition and Husbandry at Home
  • Dietary requirements
  • Environmental needs
  • Incorrect feeding problems
  • Obesity
  • Tempting rabbits to eat hay

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

 

  • Discuss the nutritional requirements of rabbits and why these are important
  • Recognise problems related to incorrect or poor diet and the implications these have on health and welfare
  • Appreciate that rabbits need large enclosures, which allow them to exhibit normal behavioural patterns.  These are important from a health and welfare perspective. We will examine what rabbits need to be happy
  • Understand obesity and how to implement a weight loss programme for rabbits
  • List various methods to encourage picky rabbits to eat hay!

Learning materials this week:
(released on Monday morning for on demand learning until the course ends – approximate timings)

  • Pre-recorded tutorial with Claire = 65 minutes
  • Further reading = 60 minutes
  • Forum discussion topic = 10 minutes
  • Crossword quiz = 10 minutes
  • Written assignment – rabbit enclosure design = 30 minutes  (to be submitted before 5pm Friday of week 6)

Week 2

Preventative Healthcare
  • Neutering – when and why
  • Vaccination – myxomatosis, RVHD1 and RVHD2
  • Endo and ectoparasites
  • Flea treatment
  • Worming treatment

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

 

  • Understand the best time to neuter rabbits
  • Appreciate why we should be neutering all rabbits – health, welfare and behavioural benefits
  • Know all the latest vaccination information and background on these fatal viruses
  • Know which endo and ectoparasites can affect rabbits and the clinical signs
  • Discuss if rabbits require prophylactic flea and worm treatment, and if so, when?

Learning materials this week:
(released on Monday morning for on demand learning until the course ends – approximate timings)

  • Pre-recorded tutorial with Claire = 50 minutes
  • Further reading = 60 minutes
  • Forum discussion topic = 10 minutes
  • Multiple choice questions quiz = 10 minutes

Week 3

Implementing Rabbit Clinics and Client Evenings in Practice
  • Setting up rabbit clinics
  • Running client evenings
  • What to discuss
  • Health checking
  • Benefits to the practice

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

 

  • Understand that client education is imperative but there is more than one way to deliver this
  • Discover the benefits of both rabbit clinics and client evenings
  • Know what should be discussed and the clinical examination to help detect problems
  • Appreciate why being a rabbit friendly practice is of benefit to you!

Learning materials this week:
(released on Monday morning for on demand learning until the course ends – approximate timings)

  • Pre-recorded tutorial with Claire = 50 minutes
  • Further reading = 60 minutes
  • Forum discussion topic = 10 minutes
  • Multiple choice questions quiz = 10 minutes
  • Written assignment – client information leaflet = 30 minutes  (to be submitted before 5pm Friday of week 6)

Week 4

Common Medical Diseases
  • Gastrointestinal stasis and blockages
  • Dental disease
  • Urinary tract disease
  • E. cuniculi
  • Myxomatosis and RVHD

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

 

  • Describe the common conditions that rabbits present to veterinary practices and require hospitalisation
  • Ascertain if a rabbit has gastrointestinal stasis or a blockage – differences and treatments
  • Identify clinical signs and causes
  • List the treatment options
  • Describe preventative measures to help ensure rabbits remain healthy

Learning materials this week:
(released on Monday morning for on demand learning until the course ends – approximate timings)

  • Pre-recorded tutorial with Claire = 70 minutes
  • Further reading = 60 minutes
  • Forum discussion topic = 10 minutes
  • Multiple choice questions quiz = 10 minutes

Week 5

Rabbits in the Practice
  • Reducing stress
  • Hospitalisation
  • Gold standard rabbit nursing
  • Medicating
  • Fluid therapy and blood sampling
  • Supportive feeding

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

 

  • Understand that everything that we do to rabbits whilst they are hospitalised induces some degree of stress.  Learn ways to reduce this, which are easily achieved in practice
  • Appreciate that hospitalised rabbits can require in-depth care which can be daunting. Learn how to effectively nurse rabbits to ensure optimum care
  • Learn how to medicate rabbits in an effective and safe manner is imperative, as well as how to syringe feed, deliver fluid therapy and acquire successful blood samples with minimal stress to the rabbit or nurse!

Learning materials this week:
(released on Monday morning for on demand learning until the course ends – approximate timings)

  • Pre-recorded tutorial with Claire = 60 minutes
  • Further reading = 60 minutes
  • Forum discussion topic = 10 minutes
  • Crossword quiz = 10 minutes
  • Written assignment – practice protocols = 30 minutes  (to be submitted before 5pm Friday of week 6)

Week 6

Rabbit Anaesthesia and Analgesia
  • Signs of pain
  • Analgesia options
  • Making rabbit anaesthesia safer
  • Monitoring under general anaesthesia

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

 

  • Review rabbit anaesthesia and learn how to build up your confidence, including pre op, intra op and post op care. Anaesthetising rabbits can be overwhelming but doesn’t need to be!
  • Know the clinical signs rabbits show when they are in pain, and learn how to use the Rabbit Grimace Scale
  • Review the analgesics available for rabbit medicine
  • Understand the parameters monitored during anaesthesia – including CO2, SPO2,reflexes, HR, RR and BP readings

Learning materials this week:
(released on Monday morning for on demand learning until the course ends – approximate timings)

  • Pre-recorded tutorial with Claire = 55 minutes
  • Further reading = 60 minutes
  • Forum discussion topic = 10 minutes
  • Crossword quiz = 10 minutes
  • Written assignment – anaesthesia guide = 30 minutes  (to be submitted before 5pm Friday of week 6)

 

The course will be fully tutored by Claire Speight and will consist of 15 hours of CPD given in various formats, including tutorials, tasks, case studies, forum discussions and quizzes.  This course is tutored for 6 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

21 reviews for Round Up of Rabbit Care (Feb 2025)

  1. Milla O

    really useful information to take back to practice

    Rated: Introduction level
    (Newly qualified (<2 years) - UK)

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Speaker

Claire Speight A1 Clinical Coach, C&G Cert Nursing Exotic Species, RVN
Kettering Vets4Pets

 

Qualifying as a veterinary nurse in 2007, Claire has always had an interest in rabbit nursing. She gained the City and Guilds veterinary nursing of exotic species certificate in 2009, and has worked as an A1 assessor and now a clinical coach within her practice.  Claire currently works in Kettering as a Senior Nurse in a practice with a high rabbit caseload, and also frequently lectures on rabbits to both veterinary professionals and owners. Claire has and continues to be a regular contributor to several publications including; LAPIS, Pet Gazette, Veterinary Nursing Journal, and Veterinary Nursing Times, and is also the editor of ‘Rabbiting On’ – the Rabbit Welfare Association’s quarterly magazine.

CPD Hours

This online course is worth 15 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.

AVNAT

Australia and New Zealand 

The Australian Veterinary Nurse and Technician (AVNAT) Regulatory Council has allocated 15 AVNAT CPD points to this continuing education activity.

 

This course is also recognised by the New Zealand Veterinary Nursing Association (NZVNA) as providing 15 CPD points.

 

Information

Upon purchase you will be registered to attend the course, for 6 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 8 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 / Intermediate’ 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 255 Pawprint Points (£25.50 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:

Please note the following:

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