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.

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.

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.

Historically, domesticated ferrets were predominantly kept for hunting rabbits and rodents. Ferret ownership has changed considerably since their early days of domestication. Now, many households keep ferrets as much-loved pets and are considered cherished members of the family. With ferret ownership continuing to grow, this rising popularity and perceived value has naturally driven an increase in clients seeking high standards of veterinary care for these animals. As such, it is important for veterinarians to understand how to examine and provide care for ferrets and to be familiar with the common conditions encountered in ferrets, including diagnosis and management of such conditions.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Maximise the output of your clients’ operations and learn how to better manage nutritional problems.  This course aims to help you develop the knowledge and tools necessary to achieve optimal nutritional outcomes in beef, dairy cattle and sheep enterprises. A three-day interactive workshop will see you visiting dairies, feedlots, and grazing enterprises to bring your learning to life.

Provide better outcomes for all your surgical patients and boost your confidence to approach more complex surgeries. This course aims to present an overview of surgery and assist you to improve your approach to diagnosis and management of surgical diseases. The modules will cover key principles, practical applications and procedures. Each module will be supplemented with a tutorial to give you immediate feedback as well as the opportunity to discuss key concepts and approaches with your tutor.

Pet rabbits and rodents are increasingly presenting to veterinary practices. Embrace the surge in small pet ownership with guidance from Dr. David Vella, an authority in rabbit and rodent care. This detailed Rabbits and Rodents TimeOnline course bridges the gap between increasing client expectations and veterinary expertise.

Decision making in clinical cases is rarely black and white, often there isn’t one right or wrong decision. This is something that can be emotionally challenging when we are concerned with ‘doing the right thing’ and not being confident with what that is, is a common stressor in clinical practice. How do we decide what diagnostic tests to do and when, what treatments to use, whether the animal needs medical or surgical management, and whether they need to be hospitalised, managed as an outpatient, or referred. Further, how do we balance these decisions with other practical, owner and financial considerations to reach good decisions that we feel confident about! This webinar with Dr Andrea Harvey embraces the challenges of clinical decision making, and focusing on patient welfare illustrates how this can be a useful tool to aid decision making, providing clinicians with confidence in making the best decisions for their patients

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.

Seizures in pets are not just medical emergencies; they're deeply personal moments that require a vet's compassionate response. This course, led by Dr. Steven De Decker, a prominent figure in veterinary neurology, demystifies the complexities of epilepsy in cats and dogs. It focuses on practical decision-making, tackling common challenges, and incorporating the latest advancements in treatment. Dr. De Decker, whose exceptional work at the Royal Veterinary College has established him as a leading expert, brings his extensive knowledge directly to you. His guidance through this course will give you an unparalleled understanding of epilepsy, backed by the latest research and therapeutic approaches.

Improve your understanding and capabilities in veterinary ophthalmology! Join us for the return of Practical Ophthalmology Conference and Workshop in 2024. This program was designed to improve your understanding and capabilities in ophthalmology while also having fun. Mark Billson, Allyson Groth, and David Maggs 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. All 3 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') with the ultimate goal that you leave the course saying "I am going back to try this in my practice next week". Enrolling in this course will provide you with a full day of theory that you can put into practice in the following full day practical workshop. There will be opportunities for ophthalmic examination with live dogs and hands-on surgery in the wet lab using cadavers. You will unlock new knowledge and enhance your practical capabilities while immersing yourself in an enriching educational experience.

Take your dentistry to a more advanced level and improve the health and welfare of your patients. Dive into the wonderful world of dentistry to improve the quality of health and welfare in your patients! Veterinary dentistry is a broad, constantly expanding and highly progressive discipline in veterinary medicine which has seen many changes in the last 20 years. Likewise, client expectations regarding their pets’ oral health and treatment have also changed, with more and more clients being actively engaged, and wanting to ensure that they are making the best decisions for their pets’ health long term. This course is created for passionate veterinarians who have a sound fundamental knowledge base and some practical experience in dentistry and who want to further advance their skill set to ensure they are staying current and providing the best possible care for their patients.

Evidence-based approach to dealing with heart murmurs in dogs and cats you have been looking for. Led by Dr Fleur James, a specialist in internal medicine, alongside specialist radiologist Dr Zoe Lenard, this course offers an evidence-based strategy for understanding and diagnosing heart murmurs and cough-related conditions in dogs and cats with the tools readily available in a clinical setting.

Gain mastery over diabetes management in Dogs & Cats. Lead by Dr Linda Fleeman, this comprehensive program is meticulously designed to enhance your clinical approach to diabetes management in small animals. Learn about protocols that are easy to follow, new improved treatment and monitoring tools such as insulin dosing pens, long-acting, ‘basal’ insulin treatment that does not need to be matched with meal feeding, and continuous glucose monitoring, as well as lots of tips on how to take the stress out of the management of diabetic dogs and cats with concurrent illnesses.

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) helps us make better clinical decisions, faster. In human patients, diagnostic confidence increases in 89.2 % when general practitioners add bedside POCUS to patient evaluation! By asking clinically relevant, often binary yes/no response questions, veterinary POCUS can be rapidly and efficiently learned and applied by anyone in any setting. Delivered by an internist and a criticalist (who share different perspectives and experiences but share the same great sense of humour), this course will familiarise you with the indicators for a POCUS exam and the key protocols used for abdominal, pleural, lung, vascular and cardiac imaging.

Master backyard poultry care with our expert-led online course.  Elevate your veterinary skills with our comprehensive Backyard Poultry course, curated by the esteemed Dr. Bob Doneley. This course empowers veterinarians with in-depth knowledge in pet chicken medicine, tackling infectious diseases, anaesthesia, and surgery.  As the number of backyard chickens presenting at veterinary clinics continues to rise, gain the confidence to manage these cases effectively. We cover everything from introductory care to complex disease treatment, ensuring you're equipped for the demands of modern avian medicine.  Veterinary nurses passionate about poultry care are welcome to enrol. While the course is designed with veterinarians in mind, it presents a valuable learning opportunity for nurses ready to deepen their avian expertise.  Ready to become a go-to expert in backyard poultry? Join us and bring advanced poultry care to your practice.

In this course, participants will apply their foundational knowledge in anaesthesia to planning and administering anaesthesia and analgesia in patients presenting with comorbidities such as impaired renal and cardiac function, diabetes, as well as patients presenting with conditions requiring emergency surgery. Learners will be encouraged to utilize a problem-based approach to create individualized protocols that reduce complications and improve outcomes. Prerequisite: participants are assumed to have a sound knowledge of anaesthesia foundational principles (including drug physiology and anaesthesia equipment).

Beyond broken bones - Increase your diagnostic accuracy and confidence. This comprehensive course will take your understanding of musculoskeletal imaging and pathology to a new level. Learn to refine the quality of your digital images and enhance your interpretation of radiographs of the appendicular and axial skeleton and joints.

Delve into the evolving world of hyperadrenocorticism with our expert-led online course. This condition, known as Cushing's disease, may not be new, but the wealth of fresh insights emerging in its presentation, diagnosis, and treatment continues to expand our understanding. Led by Dr Luke Johnston, an expert in the intricacies of endocrine disorders, this course is designed to bring you up to speed with the latest advancements in managing Cushing's disease. As you progress, you'll become the resident expert in diagnosing and treating this condition in both dogs and cats within your veterinary clinic. This course offers a deep understanding of a complex disease, bolstering your confidence and competence in managing Cushing's cases with the latest evidence-based approaches.

Confident you have a sound understanding of the differences between dogs and cats in their nutritional requirements? There is diminished awareness in the veterinary profession of the special nutritional characteristics of dogs and cats due to the widespread feeding of commercial foods to dogs and cats over the last four decades. Despite commercial foods having been formulated to meet the known nutrient requirements of dogs and cats which has ensured good nutritional health, there are still circumstances where malnutrition of these species can occur.