Description
Evidence-based care is central to the growing stature of the veterinary nursing profession. However, such care can be a challenge in the ward area, if your practice is still “settling” for barren, unenriched hospital cages. For example:
• Think of the clients who say `S/he used to love coming in here, until after s/he came in to be “done”’.
• Then there are the in-patients that won’t eat, urinate or defaecate. Those responses create extra nursing work and may necessitate further owner consent and costs e.g., for use of off-label drugs to stimulate appetite.
• Other in-patients are a risk to themselves or staff e.g., they chew out their drip lead or catheter, or show aggression. Anecdotally, injuries to nurses from feline in-patients are common entries in the Incident Report File.
This lunchtime intensive offers some simple solutions.
Join us as we look at evidence-based stress management for in-patients!
• Get clear about what “stress” really is, and how it relates to our patients’ sensory faculties;
• Catch up on the latest research; and
• Put it all together, to help your practice ensure its in-patient housing is as evidence-based as its clinical care.
After six years in UK practice, Caroline Hewson did a PhD and was Research Chair in Animal Welfare at the Atlantic Veterinary College, Canada from 2000 to 2006. Her work there included teaching client communication and she created a related teaching video that five other vet schools bought. Returning to UK practice, Caroline created The Loss of Your Pet client-support packs and The Loss of Their Pet team training to help practices bridge the bereavement support gap without needing more time or personnel. In 2014, she has written eight papers (published or in press) on the academic and practical aspects of client-care during animals’ end-of-life, and written the relevant section of the BSAVA Petsavers Senior Dog Guide. In addition to providing full-day conference-style CPD for the practice team, Caroline is an invited speaker at veterinary and veterinary nursing meetings across the UK and is speaking at VPMA / SPVS annual congress in 2015. Website: www.thepetlossvet.com