MSc (Clinical Management of Pain) - Free places for online CPD!

MSc (Clinical Management of Pain)

 

*** Limited numbers of places for free online CPD ***

A new module in the MSc (Clinical Management of Pain) programme is offered for the first time in 2016, “Veterinary Musculoskeletal Pain: Small Animals”. Now in its tenth year, the online programme is provided on the University of Edinburgh’s well-proven and intuitive platform. Three UK-based vets, who graduated with the MSc in 2014, wrote about their reflections on the programme.

 

OPTIONS FOR STUDY

1.    “Veterinary Musculoskeletal pain: Small animals” module has been approved for the MSc (Clin. Mgmt. Pain) programme (20 credits).

2.    The module can also be studied as part of Personal Professional Development (PPD). PPD students will also be awarded 20 credits at Masters level, which may be transferrable to another programme.

3.    As this is a new module, we want to obtain some feedback from participants who have an interest in pain management. To meet this need we are offering a limited number of free places to study the module, with the usual fees waived. The University of Edinburgh will issue a certificate for 200hrs CPD to participants, upon successful completion of the module.

 

TIMETABLE

The “Veterinary Musculoskeletal Pain: Small Animals” module runs for 15 weeks, from 25^th January to 22^nd May incl., with a two week break 4^th April to 17^th April incl.

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of the module participants are expected to better understand:

·         The epidemiology of musculoskeletal pain.

·         The critical appraisal of preclinical and clinical evidence relating to musculoskeletal pain.

·         The proposed pathophysiology and pain-generating mechanisms in musculoskeletal diseases affecting dogs and cats.

·         The influence of bio-behavioural contributors to animals’ pain experiences.

·         The critical appraisal and use of validated pain assessment tools.

·         The role of comorbidities in complicating therapeutic management.

·         The pharmacology of pain-relieving drugs and their implementation in a rational, multimodal approach to musculoskeletal pain management.

·         Ethical considerations when offering palliative care.

For further information, or to register your interest in one of the limited number of places for free CPD please contact Fergus Coutts BVM&S MSc MRCVS: fergus.coutts@ed.ac.uk. (Closing date 11^th January 2016).

Launch of the new MSc/Dip/Cert in Clinical Animal Behaviour

We are really pleased to announce the launch of this new MSc/Dip/Cert course via online distance learning, starting in September 2016.

 

 

 

For further information, please visit www.ed.ac.uk/vet/clinical-animal-behaviour.



Send a Vet Nurse to India update

Send a Vet Nurse to India

 

This month sees the return of the JMICAWE team from India where we’ve been hard at work to introduce the veterinary nursing profession to Indian vets.  JMICAWE veterinary nurse Hayley Walters, supported by veterinary surgeon Heather Bacon also of the JMICAWE and Edinburgh Napier University’s Andrew Coe and Karen Hibell,  led a team of 8 3^rd year student veterinary nurses to demonstrate the essential role of veterinary nursing within the veterinary profession. 

The ‘Send a Vet Nurse to India’ project was a collaboration between the JMICAWE, Kerala Veterinary Animal Sciences University (KVASU) and Edinburgh Napier University. The project involved fully integrating the student vet nurse team into the two veterinary teaching hospitals in Kerala and demonstrating the invaluable support a well-trained VN has to offer to vet in India, in not only improving animal welfare but also the smooth running of a hospital.



 

The students VNs were professional, hardworking, compassionate and despite being students themselves, developed the confidence to teach and explain to the vet students there what they were doing and why. The project gave student VNs a genuine insight into the challenges of working in a developing country and inspired them to develop practical solutions to dealing with the problems they faced.

Hayley said, “India has a few challenges when it comes to the veterinary profession: 1) they have a huge shortage of veterinarians. Last estimate revealed a shortfall of over 62,000 and 2) they don’t have trained, qualified veterinary nurses to provide the supportive care needed to ensure a high level of patient care. Many of the teaching hospitals have state of the art, expensive equipment in their operating theatres but no beds to recover their patients on and no staff dedicated to their daily needs”. 

Currently in India, trained veterinary surgeons are responsible for all veterinary duties, from basic techniques such as blood sampling or bandaging, to complex surgical procedures. The vast scope of this workload is a challenge to the development of the profession, as excessive time is taken up with minor procedures, basic animal management, and logistics such as stock control, which would, in other parts of the world, normally be the responsibility of the veterinary nurse.

The 8 student VNs fully immersed themselves in all aspects of hospital work including the inpatient area, anaesthetic monitoring, surgical patient preparation, handling, cleaning and physiotherapy. The afternoons were spent delivering workshops to students and faculty members, clinical skills practise on models and manikins and protocol writing to improve patient care and the running of the hospital.

KVASU were so impressed with what the vet nurses had to offer that all faculty members unanimously agreed to endorse a VN training programme and qualification. Building on this success Prof Nat Waran, who was also in India, met with the Indian Veterinary Council to discuss both veterinary and veterinary nursing education, and to propose the endorsement of a veterinary nursing training programme in India. Hayley has just finished writing a proposal and VN curriculum for the Veterinary Council of India and we hope to see India’s first ever Veterinary Nurse Training Curriculum and Associated Diploma Level Qualification very soon.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year - our festive round robin

We wish you a peaceful and restful

Christmas and New Year period,

wherever you are in the world

 

As we come to the close of 2015, we would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for all that you do to further animal welfare in your work. Without the support and collaboration of people like you, our team would not have been able to achieve what we have over the past year, and certainly the future of animal welfare would not have moved forward as it has.  Highlights of our year include a variety of different animal welfare education activities around the world:

        The success of the ‘Vet Nurse to India’ project, as well as collaborating with the Indian Government to run a production animal health and welfare workshop for veterinarians and researchers working in Animal Science and Veterinary medicine; 

        A working visit to Edinburgh by the Deans and representatives from Chinese veterinary schools to learn about international standards, innovation in veterinary teaching, integration of animal welfare and best practice animal care;

        A Chile Dogs and Society Workshop in collaboration with Chilean veterinary schools to discuss issues of managing dog populations;

        The success of our free online course (MOOC) in animal welfare, attracting more than 70,000 people from 167 countries and leading to publications and webinars to show how successful this has been for up-skilling people around the world in animal welfare;

        The making of the  ’Street Dog’ short video in India and its dissemination through Youtube www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-UEb9KOgpE, watched by 30,000+ worldwide and its uptake by Governments, including supporting the US Government’s Anti-Rabies campaign;

 

        The graduation of our first ‘online’ Masters students in Animal Welfare, Ethics and Law and an increase in our Animal Welfare Masters community to more than 150 each year;

    The development of a protocol to audit the welfare of street dogs in trap-neuter-return Programmes, enabling projects to monitor their own welfare standards, and to apply practical solutions to welfare problems that are detected. More info at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVwB3mAOOQg 

 

       Collaboration on the publication of two in-depth resources to improve animal welfare in zoos.  1: The World Association for Zoos and Aquaria’s ‘Animal Welfare Strategy’, and 2: The European Commission’s ‘Good practice guide for implementation of the EU zoos directive’. Both documents contain extensive practical information to support improvements in zoo animal welfare;

        The delivery of animal welfare education to multiple partners around the world including in China, Vietnam, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Poland, Turkey, and Portugal.

Finally,  we are extremely grateful to the Marchig Trust for providing the funding that supports the Centre’s work as an integrated unit within the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh, and for their continued faith in us by agreeing to provide us with continued funding to support our work over the next five years.

With best wishes and many thanks to you all,

from Prof Nat Waran and the team at the

Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education

 

 

Fermented Mare's Milk and Donkey Soup in Inner Mongolia

 





 

Just a couple of the unusual food choices found on the menu in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia!

 

Sampling some of the more interesting things that Mongolian food has to offer was just a part of the recent visit to the Inner Mongolian Agricultural University by Prof Cathy Dwyer, team leader in Animal Behaviour and Welfare at SRUC and Gemma Pearson, clinical behaviour resident at the Equine Practice, R(D)SVS. Cathy and Gemma spent two weeks in Hohhot as guests of the Agricultural University to give lectures on sheep and horse behaviour and welfare to students and industry. The trip provided a fascinating insight into the very modern (large scale industrialised dairy and sheep units managing thousands of animals) and the ancient (Buddhist temples and nomadic herdsman taking their animals out to graze on the Steppes) co-existing in China today.

 

Cathy Dwyer, second from left



The Chinese veterinary and agriculture students were interested in animal behaviour and welfare, and keen to discuss concepts and to be able to access other information or to attend Masters courses outside China. Animal welfare has only really be considered a subject in China for the last 10 years, and there is still some confusion over what it is and whether it is a subject of importance to agriculture. Sheep industry representatives, however, were of the belief that improving welfare would be important for the improvement in their profits. The manager of the Sino- sheep breeding farm was particularly taken by the fact that Cathy arrived in her farm boots and headed off to see the animals rather than spend the time sitting in the office drinking tea – the difference between UK and Chinese researchers he suggested!

 

Visits to the Technical University horse farm also revealed opportunities to help with education and training of students as the leisure horse industry is exploding in China. Mongolia has its own very special breed of hardy horses and a very old tradition of horsemanship. The horse is everywhere in Mongolia: from the horse-head guitars, statues of Genghis Khan to decorations in restaurants and homes. Scientists at the Agricultural University discussed plans to develop a stud book and preserve the unique character of this ancient breed, and the opportunity to provide a role for the horse for the Mongolian farmers was suggested through equine tourism – watch this space!      

 

This initial visit was characterised by cultural events, visits to important religious and cultural sites as well as academic activities. There are many opportunities for joint research and education activities with the University and hopefully this is just the start of many more visits and interactions between SRUC, University of Edinburgh and Inner Mongolia.  

 

 

CEVA Awards for Animal Welfare - nominations open

Now in its fifth year, the Ceva Awards for Animal Welfare recognises volunteers, charity workers ,and veterinary professionals who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to supporting and improving animal welfare around the world.

The two main veterinary categories are the Chris Laurence Vet of the Year and Welfare Nurse of the Year. Last year's Welfare Nurse of the Year was won by Hayley Walters of the JMICAWE.

Whilst both of these categories are open to large animal veterinary professionals, the addition of the Farm Animal Welfare Award allows specific recognition for people that work within the farming industry and strive to encourage high standards of ethical and compassionate farm animal welfare.

 

Anyone who knows of a veterinary professional, individual or team who goes that extra mile for animals is encouraged to nominate at  http://www.cevawelfareawards.com

The Award categories are:

Chris Laurence Vet of the Year Award ( Sponsored by Vet Times)

Welfare Nurse of the Year Award ( Sponsored by VN Times)

Charity Professional of the Year Award

Charity Volunteer of the Year

 

Farm Animal Welfare Award ( Sponsored by NADIS and R.A.B.I)

Charity Welfare Team Award Sponsored by

 International Cat Care Welfare Award

 

Deadline for nominations is January 11th 2016

Visitors from Indonesia

On Monday, we welcomed three academics from Universitas Nasional in Jakarta to the Vet School to discuss future possible collaboration on postgraduate research.  Dr Jito, Ms Inez and Dr Praptiwi had discussions with our animal welfare team about joint projects in the future.  We hope to conclude an MOU with UNAS in due course to support our students going to Indonesia who need an Academic Counterpart.

 

Here is Nat Waran with the delegation at the conclusion of the talks. They were then shown round the Hospital for Small Animals by Hayley Walters as part of their visit.  They pointed out some marked differences between our approach and theirs to post-op recovery, especially feeding and bedding.  Our thanks to Rio Setiawan, a current postgrad vet student at the Dick Vet, for facilitating during the visit and look forward to working with them in the future.

 



Our staff speaking at the recent BHS Conference on Horse and Rider Safety & Welfare

Follow the link below to hear Nat and Gemma speak about horse and rider safety and welfare at the recent BHS Conference in Birmingham

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAJGdU4L1VQ

Misbehaving or misunderstood?

FREE THE BEARS - Founder Mary Hutton wins prestigious Jeanne Marchig Trust Award 2015

A press release from a fellow animal welfare organisation we work with regularly...

 

Mary Hutton Recipient of the Jeanne Marchig Animal Welfare Award 2015

In more than 20 years since Free the Bears was established by Perth grandmother Mary Hutton, there have been very few moments where the focus has been away from our precious bears. But today there is a spotlight shining brightly on the greatest hero in this story, our dedicated Founder Mary Hutton. And we are besides ourselves to share such exciting news!
This week we were informed that Mary has been declared the winner of the prestigious Jeanne Marchig Animal Welfare Award 2015.  This award by the UK-based Marchig Animal Welfare Trust recognises individuals working in the field of animal welfare resulting in significant improvements for animals either nationally or internationally. The award was established in 1989 by Madame Jeanne Marchig of Geneva (pictured left), who personally had a deep concern for nature and animals. The objects of the Trust are to protect animals and to promote and encourage practical work in preventing animal cruelty and the relief of animal suffering.
In announcing the 2015 winner of the award, Chairman of the Marchig Animal Welfare Trust, Les Ward, describes Mary as a standout choice on behalf of their board of Trustees.
“There was a large volume of nominations from all over the world, with many worthy candidates. However, in the end it was a unanimous decision that Mary Hutton receive this year’s award. Through Mary’s voluntary leadership, Free the Bears has grown into one of the world’s most effective international bear rescue organisations. Mary’s journey with Free the Bears is an inspirational one, built from the start and throughout on compassion, hard work, sheer determination, tireless dedication and a genuine desire to bring about change for suffering bears around the world.  The Trustees believe that her journey will inspire others harbouring similar desires to effect change.  Both Mary and her organisation Free the Bears are worthy recipients of this award and the Trustees send them our sincere congratulations, as well as our grateful thanks for all they have done and continue to do for the animals.”
Normally working behind the scenes from her home office in Perth, Mary rarely accepts credit for her work alone without giving recognition to the support of her dedicated Free the Bears team. Mary has described it as an honor for her team to receive such a prestigious award for animal welfare.
“How privileged I feel to receive recognition for such an admired award all over the world on behalf of our organization. I’d like to personally thank everybody at the Marchig Animal Welfare Trust for acknowledging our work in such a marvelous way. I sincerely hope that in accepting this award it inspires more people to act on behalf of our beautiful animals. I feel lucky to be recognized amongst many others who have made a difference to preserve and enrich the lives of animals throughout the world. That is just such a great thing to be acknowledged for.”
The award takes the form of a US$20,000 grant towards an animal welfare project of Mary’s choice. Mary says that the grant couldn’t have come at a better time with the need to urgently expand our bear sanctuary in Laos.
“We’ve had eight new bears rescued in Laos in the past few months and our existing sanctuary is bursting at the seams with growing numbers of bears. This much-needed grant will enable us to purchase new land to expand our sanctuary facilities and care for many more bears who are currently being exploited and need a safe and loving home in Laos.” 
HELP US TO EXPAND

With 8 new arrivals to our sanctuary in 2015, this has been our busiest year ever in Laos- and the need for a second sanctuary is growing more urgent by the day. You can help us by donating or purchasing from our online store and we'll make sure that these bears and any others in need of a safe home are given everything they need to enjoy a second chance at life.

Graduation! MSc International Animal Welfare, Ethics & Law

We are very pleased to announce our first ever Masters graduates from our online MSc programme International Animal Welfare, Ethics and Law. Graduation for the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine of the University of Edinburgh took place on 27^th November 2015. Of our 11 new graduates, 7 were able to come to Edinburgh to the ceremony in the Usher Hall. We also had one student graduating with a Post Graduate Certificate. The ceremony was wonderful and everyone really enjoyed it. After the ceremony was over, we made our way to the Caledonian Hotel for a celebratory lunch for all of the Post Grad graduates of the Dick Vet.

 

We look forward to hearing updates from our new graduates as their careers continue.

 

 

 

L-R  Top row: Fritha, Jill, Emma, Brian (Digital Education Unit), Louise, Liz, Angela

Middle row: Becky, Brooke

Bottom row:  Heather, Tish, Nat and Wendy

(not pictured Sarah, also graduated)

 

 

 

Would you eat an alien?

What a great idea by Prof Christine Nicol of Bristol University.

Time to see whether making a 'comedy' series about animal ethics and welfare was a good idea - BBC Radio 4 Wednesdays 9pm, or listen online to the first of four

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06s5zjp

Which one would you eat.......?

 

Animal Welfare: Science, Values & Action - John Webster

Follow the link below to a really thought-provoking presentation on the  Animal Welfare Science Centre website by John Webster, University of Bristol.

http://www.animalwelfare.net.au/article/scientific-seminars

JMICAWE at The Veterinary Council of India

Last week, our own Prof Nat Waran was in India meeting with The Veterinary Council of India and The Ministry of Agriculture to discuss animal welfare education and research. This follows on from various previous interactions and activities to highlight the importance of an evidence-based approach to dealing with animal welfare issues, and the need for capacity-building for vets working as veterinary lecturers and researchers. The outcome of last week's meetings was very positive with commitments being made by the Veterinary profession and requests from the Indian Government in relation to animal welfare training to achieve international standards. The Jeanne Marchig International Animal Welfare Centre will be providing support for capacity building activities over the next year. 

 

 

Prof Nat Waran with Dr Umesh Sharma, Hon. President of The Veterinary Council of India

Nat in India

The Jeanne Marchig office has been unusually quiet for the last few days, which has let Jill and our new administrator Lucy sort out a few wee things on our social media pages. But why has it been so quiet? Well most of the team has been out in India working on the great animal welfare initiatives over there. There has been some amazing stories coming from the work that Indian vets are doing getting animal welfare embedded within the veterinary curriculum.

Remember you can follow us on twitter @JMICAWE and @ProfNatalie

We're particularly excited to tell you more about Hayley's trip with the student vet nurses from Edinburgh Napier, so stay tuned for that, but you can get a little sneak preview by reading Nat's tweets below . . .




You can see some of the highlights of Nat's trip on our Storify!

A new app to boost equine welfare

AWINHorse app

AWIN researchers are very excited to launch the new AWINHorse app, available to download now on Google Play Store at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.daia.awinhorse&hl=itBe .

Be sure to download it and share it and inspire your colleagues and friends and let AWIN know what you think by sending your feedback to imiuvezo@unimi.it

The AWINHorse app is the first tool developed to assess welfare of horses on-farm. It enables farmers, veterinarians and technicians to collect, store and download the indicators included in the "AWIN welfare assessment protocol for horses" (first level welfare assessment): 10.13130/AWIN_horses_2015 .

Check out this video to see an overview of the AWIN welfare assessment protocols for horses and donkeys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBP_f_J626Q

The AWINHorse app was developed within the frame of the AWIN FP7 EU project ( www.animal-welfare-indicators.net) by researchers of Università degli Studi di Milano (Italy) and implemented by Daia Intelligent Solutions (www.daiasolutions.com).

Looking for knowledge about the AWIN welfare assessment protocols for equines or the AWINHorse app? We can help you! Please contact us at imiuvezo@unimi.it

Horse welfare high on the agenda at the British Horse Society welfare conference held at Aintree

Last month Programme Co-ordinator for the MSc in Applied Animal Behaviour & Animal Welfare, Dr Tamsin Coombs attended the BHS Welfare Conference 2015: Unlocking the Secrets of Horse Behaviour at Aintree racecourse. The conference was chaired by Professor Natalie Waran, Director of the Jeanne Marchig Centre and hosted an interesting panel of speakers.

•    Dr Matthew Leach of Newcastle University’s Centre for Behaviour and Evolution presented work on the development of ‘The Horse Grimace Scale’ as a tool to assess pain in horses.

 

•    Dr Joe Pagan of Kentucky Equine Research was the keynote speaker and talked about the science behind feeding to prevent behaviour issues.

 

•    Dr Sebastian McBride presented his research on equine stereotypic behaviour.

•    Welfare veterinary surgeons Nic De Brauwere and Roxane Kirton of Redwings Horse Sanctuary talked about the risk to welfare from the development of behavioural problems before discussing the practical solutions which included the application of learning theory in training and retraining welfare cases.

 •    Horse trainer Jason Webb provided a practical demonstration focusing on the retraining of racehorses.

Tamsin, an Equine Science graduate herself, is working to increase the emphasis on equine behaviour and welfare within dissertation projects available to the MSc students. She found the day to be both interesting and informative and was particularly encouraged by the positive reaction from the BHS members who had attended. She noted that there appears to be an appetite for information on the behaviour and welfare of horses so it is important that we find a way to disseminate our research to horse owners.

 

A great day of talks on behavioural and physiological studies demonstrating the importance of applying an evidence based approach to equine welfare.

 

 



WAZA Conference launches animal welfare strategy

World Association of Zoos and Aquaria launches strategy for animal welfare

This month the World Association for Zoos and Aquaria (WAZA) launched two innovative new strategies at its annual conference in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. Heather Bacon of the JMICAWE was pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to both the animal welfare and conservation strategies, and was also delighted to represent the JMICAWE as an invited plenary speaker on the topic of animal welfare, at the WAZA conference.

The new WAZA animal welfare strategy focuses on providing optimal welfare in the captive setting, using David Mellor’s Five Domains framework to support positive animal welfare.

 Both strategies may be downloaded at

http://www.waza.org/en/site/conservation/animal-welfare-1439197763

http://www.waza.org/en/site/conservation/conservation-strategies

Animal Behaviour Society guest lecture - 18th November @ 1pm

JMICAWE is delighted to announce the Animal Behaviour Society's next guest lecture.

We will be joined at The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies by Pippa Hutchison, MSc, Dip(AS), CCAB, for a talk on small animal behaviour. The talk, Human-Animal Interaction: Maintaining the bond, will look at owners and their pets and will examine common cases of problem behaviours in cats and dogs, such as aggression and anxiety.

The talk is on Wednesday, 18th November, at 1pm in Lecture Theatre 1. There will also be free chocolate!

Pippa Hutchison is a clinical animal behaviourist accredited by the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) and is RCVS recognised as a Certified Clinical Animal Behaviourist. She has a particular interest in the reinstatement and improvement of the human-animal bond through behaviour modification programmes.

Bringing International Bear-Care to Vietnam

Last week allowed JMICAWE's veterinarian Heather Bacon to get back in the field with work at the Hanoi zoo, Thu Le wild animal park, and Animals Asia Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre (VBRC).  At the Hanoi zoo, she teamed up with a vet and nurse from VBRC to perform dental extractions on two bears with horribly fractured teeth. We ran the session as a teaching exercise, involving the eleven Hanoi zoo vets in various clinical procedures and discussing our approach to anaesthesia, analgesia and dental extractions with them.

 

The Director of the Zoo, Chairman Dang commented “On behalf of the board of management and staff of Hanoi zoo, I would like to express our sincere 'Thank-you' to the team who performed the health check on our bears yesterday, for the meaningful and hard works for the sake of our two bears. Through this workshop, our vets and keepers at the zoo have learnt a lot about practical skills.”

Next it was up to the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre, an incredible sanctuary where bears rescued from trade and bile farms are rescued and rehabilitated after extensive medical and behavioural therapy.  Here we anaesthetised three bears all with gallstones inside painful and inflamed gall bladders – a legacy of the horrific bear bile trade. Fortunately bears cope very well without their gallbladders and Heather was able to train the VBRC vets in this uncommon surgery to remove the gallbladders, all of which showed signs of repeated bile extraction.

Back in Hanoi we welcomed over 70 International delegates to the Advancing Bear Care workshop (www.bearcaregroup.org ) focused specifically on the care and rehabilitation of bears in the Asia region, and including delegates from Vietnamese rescue centres and zoos. The workshop featured presentations from a variety of organisations in the region and highlighted the need for collaborative strategies to address the welfare and conservation issues generated by the illegal wildlife trade.

 

Animal Welfare high on the agenda for student vet nurses travelling to India

 

Having a well-trained and compassionate vet nurse working in a clinic is important for both the smooth day to day running of the practice and also patient welfare. We are fortunate in the UK that veterinary nursing is a recognised profession, has a solid training programme in place and that the protected title is, hopefully, on its way. But what happens when a country has no such dedicated nursing support in place in its clinics?

JMICAWE veterinary nurse Hayley Walters has lived and worked in several developing countries and visited numerous vet schools, teaching hospitals and first opinion practices and noted that while many of the staff are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about their patients and profession, there can often be a noticeable difference in the level of care an animal receives during surgery and in the recovery period after. Basic nursing, such as providing a comfortable bed, maintaining a good hydration status or being able to recognise and treat pain, is often absent and animals can be left compromised through benign neglect. With a lack of training or understanding of patients’ needs and few staff solely dedicated to inpatient care, the problem can be seen in even the most well-meaning of practices.

On the 11^th of November this year Hayley and Heather Bacon will be teaming up with VN Karen Hibbel and vet Andrew Coe from the Edinburgh Napier University and taking 8 student veterinary nurses to India for two weeks to Kerala Veterinary Animal Science University, one of India’s most respected veterinary universities.  This will be the first time this has ever happened and will be mutually beneficial for the British SVNs and the Indian vet students, technicians and lecturers who are currently responsible for inpatient acre. The British SVNs will get the opportunity to experience a different culture whilst nursing in challenging situations often with limited resources, and the Indian vet students will learn the newest nursing techniques, pain recognition and how to implement an inpatient care plan.

Dr David Smith, Veterinary Nursing Programme Leader at Edinburgh Napier University, said: “Developments within veterinary training institutes across the world have often concentrated on investments in technologically advanced equipment and training of veterinary surgeons. However, good welfare of hospitalised animals starts before the consultation room and long after medical or surgical intervention; this is the domain of the veterinary nurse.”

The 8 SVNs had to go through a Dragon’s Den style interview process and have been fundraising hard to pay for the trip. One of those going is Kirsty Dougherty. “Being able to enhance the lives of the individual animals we meet, even in a small way, will be incredibly rewarding. Being able, through education and collaboration with the Indian veterinary profession, to improve the lives and welfare of many animals into the future, in a long-lasting and sustainable way, would be an unbelievable privilege”.

The objectives are to improve patient welfare through the nursing profession and ultimately collaborate on India’s first ever veterinary nurse training programme. They will be working in the veterinary hospital every day and giving nursing workshops and lectures in the evening to all staff and students. We hope that when they leave they will realise just how invaluable VNs are to the clinic, how fundamental they are to improving patient welfare and hopefully miss them desperately!

Visit the blog on https://sendavn.wordpress.com/author/sendavn/

Improving welfare in Vietnamese Veterinary Education

Last week Heather of the JMICAWE made a return visit to the Hanoi National University of Agriculture, a longterm collaborator with the JMICAWE.  Heather first visited the University in 2012 to co-deliver a National workshop on Veterinary Education alongside Professor Natalie Waran and RVN Hayley Walters of the JMICAWE, and funded by Animals Asia. Since them she’s also visited to discuss curriculum reviews and the use of animals in education.  This visit included discussion of ongoing animal welfare research at the university on different housing systems for pigs, and delivery of Animal welfare lectures to over 200 veterinary and animal science students. Heather also met with lecturers who are currently proposing a curriculum review and wanting to move away from traditional didactic learning to more innovative methods, including, where possible, phasing out the use of animals in teaching.

Speaking from Vietnam Heather said “It’s been really exciting to see the developments at HNAU over the past few years. The progressive and collaborative approach of the staff here mean that effective animal welfare education is a reality for many Vietnamese veterinary and animal science students, and I look forward to the proposed changes and future research and educational collaborations”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rare native breed ‘Dragon’ Chickens so called for their large feet at HNAU

Heather with students at HNAU