Congress 2023- Thursday

Ageing clinics

• Key aspects of an ageing clinic
• How to make them successful
• Importance of owner education

This presentation will consider the range of behavioural change in older pets which is reported by their caregivers and explore the potential physical, emotional and cognitive health factors involved in these cases. The impact of this information on the detection and management of age related behavioural change in the context of patients in a general veterinary practice setting will be discussed.

Venous blood gas

• Indications for venous blood gas analysis
• The clinical effect of acidosis
• When and how do we treat acidosis

When to use arterial gases

• Indications for arterial blood gas analysis
• How to interpret oxygenation
• What does carbon dioxide do

Controversies in fracture management

• Humeral intracondylar fissure and condylar fractures
• MIPO – is this just fashion or are there real benefits?
• Locking versus non-locking systems, polyaxial, etc

Cancer is the leading cause of death in 45–47% of dogs over the age of 10 years old. About one third of these incidents are related to subcutaneous or dermal neoplasia. Cancer diagnosis at an earlier stage is key in treatment planning. Furthermore, the ability to easily diagnose early-stage neoplasia in general practices should improve patient welfare and prognosis dramatically.

Skin and subcutaneous masses very widely in size, location, and severity. The key differential diagnoses for these masses include cysts, abscess, scar tissues and cancer, which can either be benign or malignant.

The current guidelines for cancer diagnosis emphasise the need for a diagnostic plan rather than choose the ‘wait and see’ approach. Currently, the two key invasive diagnostic methods available for clinicians are Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) and biopsy. In this lecture we will also introduce a new non-invasive innovate decision making modality, using Heat Diffusion Imaging (HDI) and an AI-based analysis, which empowers vets and nurse to rule out cancer on-the-spot in their own practice.

Condylar fractures: risks and diagnosis

• Signalment
• Role of HIF and current thinking
• Imaging including radiology and CT

Condylar fractures: management

• HIF
• Single condylar fractures
• Brief mention of dicondylar fractures

A panel discussion on environmental modifications for the geriatric patient

Why lists may not be your best friend after all…

• Review commonly used methods of organising and recording tasks
• Understand the impact of lists on your brain and how you feel
• Explore more effective ways of managing and organising your to do’s

Time targets: how to hit the bullseye more often

• Explore how the concepts of urgency and importance affect your behaviour
• Explore simple hacks to help you free up your time
• Learn why it is important to be able to say no sometimes

Useful diagnostics for suspected heart disease

• Identify the diagnostic options available for the diagnosis of heart disease in cats
• Demonstrate the common heart diseases in cats
• Understand the benefit of echocardiography in feline heart disease

Therapeutic options for heart failure

• Identify the main medications available for heart disease in cats
• Understand a suitable monitoring protocol for cats with chronic heart failure
• Discuss the options for heart failure that is refractory to the standard medical management

The hip joint: clinical assessment

• Clinical assessment: Key features of gait examination and movement characteristics of dogs with hip conditions
• Clinical palpation of the hip joint
• Clinical tests for hip pathology

The hip joint: imaging

• Radiological features of the healthy hip
• Radiological features of hip dysplasia and other development hip conditions
• Brief mention of imaging for breeding programmes

Brucella: epidemiology and zoonotic concerns

• Observe basic biology of brucella canis
• Interpret screening test results and explain their significance
• Recognise the challenges of evaluating predictive value of tests and public health risk

Brucella : classical presentations and sensible diagnostics

• Recognise clinical signs of Brucella
• ACV
• Explore prognostic factors related to Brucella infection

Imported dogs: ethical considerations

• Evaluate the animal welfare aspects of importing dogs to the UK
• Become aware of the public health issues of importing dogs into the UK
• Consider methods to alleviate welfare and public health concerns with imported dogs

A presentation in association with VetPlus.

Are you productive or just busy?

• Understand why busyness can be counter-productive
• Learn how to identify the difference between busyness and genuine productivity
• Learn why setting key priorities helps keep you on track

Get in the zone

• Understand the concept of flow
• Learn the importance of identifying peak flow activities
• Learn how team flow can positively impact performance and job satisfaction

Patient centric analgesia: individualised care plans

• he benefits and how to approach making individualised tailored anaesthetic plans
• How to safely include sedation agents withing your anaesthetic and hospitalisation plans
• What options do I have for analgesia?

A session about the RCVS Knowledge Canine Cruciate Registry with Mark Morton.

The ethics of managing heart failure in cats

• Explore different opinions on the impact of managing cats with heart failure on owners and their pets

X-rays in the vomiting dog

• Understand which non-obstructive causes of vomiting might be identifiable on x-ray
• Demonstrate the common radiographic findings in pancreatitis
• Identify common errors in abdominal radiograph interpretation

Ultrasound in the vomiting dog

• Discuss a methodical approach to the use of ultrasound in the vomiting dog
• Demonstrate the appearance of gastroenteropathies on ultrasound
• Identify the appearance of extra-gastrointestinal causes of vomiting e.g. pancreatitis or biliary disease

Looking after your most precious resource - your time

• Explore the importance of good time management
• Understand why making time management a conscious area of focus can improve productivity and reduce stress
• Explore why taking time to look after yourself is key to long-term health and success

Why you may need more tech not more people…

• Explore the reality of current practice delivery and the challenges being faced
• Understand the opportunities to automate key processes to free up your team to deliver better care and service
• Understand the importance of making your team part of the process

Most TECAs are avoidable: here is how; surgical treatment of the ear.

Performing a basic exlap; stress free splenectomy.

Shoestring medicine: the guiding concepts

• Define contextualised care
• Recognise most appropriate care option will vary in different disease, patient, resource and owner contexts
• Identify the need for collaborate decision making in order to provide optimum care

Shoestring medicine: hyperthyroidism in cats

• List treatment options for hyperthyroidism in cats
• Identify concurrent factors that may influence treatment decisions (comorbidities, behaviour, resources available, owners wishes)
• Formulate a welfare appropriate plan for a hyperthyroid cat considering its context

Get off the hamster wheel!

• Understand the importance of prioritisation of tasks
• Learn the importance of self care in being more productive and effective
• Explore why it is important to lead by example

Using technology wisely: where to start?

• Understand how technology can help to manage your time more effectively
• Explore simple hacks to help you free up your time
• Learn the key first steps to introducing technology