When cardiac-related emergencies come through the hospital doors, the veterinary technician is often charged with the administration of antiarrhythmics, a powerful and life-saving platoon of medications. We’ll review the four classes of antiarrhythmic drugs, the mechanism of action for the ones we commonly use, and which cardiac conditions we may treat with these drugs in the emergency clinic.

The majority of anesthetized patients that are provided a balanced anesthesia drug protocol will wake up smooth from general anesthesia. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, there will be times when a patient wakes up and displays a rough recovery. This lecture will discuss the three main causes of a rough recovery, how to distinguish between each cause and treatment options available.

Love gossip? Tolerate coworkers showing up late? Welcome high turnover? No one does. This lecture gets to the route of some of the most important topics no one wants to talk about; the negative team. It will review how to foster the best team and create a welcoming and productive team environment.

This lecture will review the definition and pathophysiology. of shock. Discussion will be on the pharamcology related to the various shock types and states. Emphasis will be on the use of oxygen, IV fluid resuscitation, hypertonic saline, and vasopressor agents.

There are no bad cats, just good cats having a bad day! Nursing care for the feline patient can be a challenge, but the reward is purrfect. Often misunderstood, some feared and many are non-compliant. This may be what you love about them or why you avoid them at all costs. This session is for both and everyone in-between. How to think like a cat, medicate, feed, and care for these patients that may be having a bad day. Tips and tricks cats have taught me over 20 years of caring for them.

This lecture will discuss the difficult task of managing patients in a diabetic crisis. We will discuss the chemical aspects of insulin deficiency and why these patients become hyperglycemic, ketotic, and acidotic. We will discuss treatment plans for these patients and give technicians an understanding of what their role is in treating patients in a diabetic crisis.

I will be covering requirements, advantages and disadvantages of the job. I will be discussing how to gain a position in leadership. We will be discussing individual situations faced by those in leadership in the audience. I will be covering appropriate behavior of a leader. We will discuss job descriptions of a lead technician. We will discuss the creation and implementation of a job description. I will cover working with difficult personalities and influencing team culture.

We give medications to our patients every day, but do we understand what we are giving and why? By understanding the pharmacology of drugs we administer to our patients, veterinary technicians can provide more focused nursing care. We can look for possible side effects, be prepared for adverse reactions, and help to monitor the efficacy of therapy. Through client education, we can provide owners with the information they will need at home to help better provide care for their pets and ensure appropriate follow-up/monitoring. In this lecture we will review some of the common drug classes that are prescribed for our cardiac patients including diuretics, RAAS inhibitors, inotropes, and antiarrhythmic drugs. We want to develop the relationship between what is happening to our patient and why we are administering the medications we do so we can provide the best nursing care possible.

Effective evaluation of patients presenting for emergency is crucial to ensuring timely initiation of care. This precious minutes may mean the difference between full recovery and permanent damage to organs or even death. Having a system for triage and initial evaluation and interventions of the emergency patient will help decrease time to effective treatment. The nurse/technician should play an important role in triage and initial evaluation and this role will be discussed.

We can all learn from each other victories and failures. This lecture reviews several ER cases where nursing care played a key role in the outcome of the patient. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how to monitor and care for patients of any hospital.