Fluid Therapy in Small Animal Practice
This course will help you solve your fluid therapy problems! You’ll review all of the essentials of fluid therapy - from fluid types, administration rates and how to effectively monitor your patient - so that your fluid therapy is as effective in practice as it can be.
- Vet Nurse/Tech
- Starts May 12, 2025
- 19:30 AEST
- 4 Weeks
- RACE-Approved (Interactive)
- 20 Structured CPD Points
COURSE FEE
AUD 386
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Training 5 or more people?
Enroll 5 or more members of your practice and avail a special discount on the course fee!
This course includes:
- Live Online Weekly Tutorials
- Access to Tutorial Recordings
- 20 Structured CPD Points (RACE-Approved)
- Protocols For Your Practice
- Graded Course Assessment
- Discussion Forums
- Comprehensive Learning Resources
- Extra Course Resources
What you'll learn
But with so many fluid choices and recommendations available, it can be challenging to select the right fluid therapy prescription for your patient – especially as no two patients are the same – even if they have the same condition – such as parvovirus enteritis! This course will help you solve your fluid therapy problems! You’ll review all of the essentials of fluid therapy – from fluid types, administration rates and how to effectively monitor your patient – so that your fluid therapy is as effective in practice as it can be. We will cover fluid dynamics, creating a fluid plan for your patient, shock, transfusion therapy, and fluid therapy in different disease states – such as diarrhea, renal failure, heart disease, cesarean and more!
Our patients are approximately 70% water! Cleverly though, not all of the water is in the one place – we have fluid compartments, such as blood, interstitial fluid, and intracellular fluid compartments. This week, you’ll learn the characteristics of these fluid compartments, and how our fluid therapy interacts with them – both in health and disease. You’ll also get an overview of the controversy of colloid fluid therapy in critical illness, as well as an insight into the dangers of fluid overload – as well as excessive fluid restriction!
Time: 19:30 AEST [Sydney] | 21:30 NZST [Auckland]
Time: 05:30 EDT
This week we’ll look at how to accurately diagnose and manage different types of shock – including hypovolaemic, anaphylactic, cardiogenic and septic shock – using what we have learnt about body fluid compartments and fluid types! What’s more, we’ll also look at what to do in the scenario that occurs when our patient doesn’t respond to our treatment with intravenous fluids!
Time: 19:30 AEST [Sydney] | 21:30 NZST [Auckland]
Time: 05:30 EDT
This week, we will look at ECGs! We’ll look at how an ECG is formed, how to take a good ECG, and how to interpret what you are looking at on an ECG tracing – and more importantly, what it means for your patient – along with some medications you should know about in the treatment of abnormal heart rhythm!
Time: 19:30 AEST [Sydney] | 21:30 NZST [Auckland]
Time: 05:30 EDT
This week is all about the application of what we’ve learnt in the course to real-life cases. You’ll develop fluid therapy plans for patients with pancreatitis, parvovirus, urethral obstruction and more. We’ll talk about electrolyte abnormalities and blood lactate as well, and how knowledge of these parameters can help with fluid choices, and other management strategies.
Time: 19:30 AEST [Sydney] | 21:30 NZST [Auckland]
Time: 05:30 EDT
Transfusion therapy is a critical part of fluid therapy in many patients. In this special topic, you will learn the essentials of transfusion medicine, from blood typing and crossmatching to transfusion delivery and monitoring. Know when patients need a transfusion, know how to calculate transfusion blood volumes, how to collect blood from dogs and cats safely, and what to do when a transfusion reaction occurs!
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of this course, the participant will have a sound knowledge of the following:
- The principles of fluid therapy in dogs and cats, including the following
- Types of intravenous fluid, and their impacts on fluid compartments within the body
- The concept of fluid overload, its clinical implications, diagnosis and treatment
- The diagnosis and treatment of shock in the dog and cat, and how to effectively treat and monitor response to therapy
- How to develop a fluid therapy plan that follows 10 key rules or concepts, including the treatment of shock, electrolyte disorders, rehydration, and maintenance
- The fluid requirements in a range of different disease conditions, including gastrointestinal disease, sepsis, acute haemorrhage, kidney disease, and poly-trauma, among others
- The indications and administration of blood products/transfusion therapy as an adjunct to the treatment of various diseases in the dog and cat
Course Tutor
BVSc MVS PG Cert Vet Stud MACVSc (Vet. Emergency and Critical Care; Medicine of Dogs)
