Do you often wish you understood more about the drugs you administer to or dispense for your patients?

Veterinary nurses are closely involved with administering and dispensing drugs for animal patients. They are often field questions from pet owners about why a drug is being dispensed, whether their pet is suffering from an unwanted side effect and how to administer the drug effectively. Within the practice, they administer many drugs as directed by the veterinarian and are responsible for monitoring drug effects and possible side effect. This all means that vet nurses need to understand the fundamentals of clinical pharmacology including what patient factor will influence dosing and increase the risk of side effects, how drugs act therapeutically and what side effects can occur.

Through a series of lectures and online discussions we will explore the principles underlying drug action, understand how to improve owner compliance with administering medication and discuss the actions and salient features for several of the most commonly used drug classes – antimicrobials, anti-inflammatories and pain medications and drugs used in the management of GI clinical signs and disorders. 

Week 1: Pharmacological principles – the key to understanding why drugs work, why adverse drug reactions can occur and why clients don’t always follow our instructions
Week 2: Antimicrobial use in veterinary practice – enhancing antimicrobial stewardship for the benefit of animal and human health
Week 3: First do no harm – understanding anti-inflammatory and pain medications
Week 4: GI drugs – useful or useless

Why do this course? 
To enhance your understanding of drug uses and action which will improve your ability to communicate with the veterinary team and clients about the whys and wherefores of drug use in small animal patients.

The webinars will run on the following dates from 1pm to 2pm (London time):

Webinar dates:
Tuesday 3rd March
Tuesday 10th March
Tuesday 17th March
Tuesday 24th March