Pain And Analgesia
Excel CPD - Vet Nurse CPD
10 months ago 
338 views
Date: Monday 3rd March, 2025 - Friday 28th March, 2025
Start time: 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Duration: 10 hour(s)
Cost: £205
As veterinary nurses, we want to provide our patients with the best possible care that we can and it’s hard to see our patients suffering and in pain. Luckily our profession allows us to prevent this in many ways, but are we tackling pain the right way and making the best choices for analgesia? Can we make improvements to help our patients remain pain free and reduce side effects of the therapies we choose – whether that’s for our patients in the clinic or at home?
In order for us to treat and manage pain in our patients, we first need to understand the physiology behind how animals feel pain. We will start by expanding our knowledge and understanding of the pain pathway, before moving on to the different analgesia options for acute and chronic pain conditions. We will finish the course with pain scoring. By the end of the 4 weeks, we will have overviewed pain and the different treatment options available with the hope, that alongside the veterinary surgeon, we can build patient specific multi-modal analgesia plans for all our patients.
Week 1: The Physiology of Pain
Pain definitions
The mammalian pain pathway
Different types of pain
Principles of analgesia
Learning objectives
Outline the definition of pain and associated terminology
Describe the different stages of the pain pathway and sites for analgesia intervention
Understand the concept of multi-modal analgesia and pre-emptive analgesia
Week 2: Analgesia for the In-patient
Review the analgesia agents used to treat acute pain conditions:
Opioids
NMDA antagonists
Local anaesthetics
Alpha 2 agonists
Learning objectives
Be familiar with the different systemic and local options for treating acute pain
Discuss balanced multi-modal analgesia plans for patients in the veterinary practice
Understand the mechanisms of action, effects and side effects of the listed analgesic agents
Week 3: Analgesia for the Out-patient
Review the analgesia options for managing pain on a longer term basis:
NSAIDs
Paracetamol
Tramadol
Gabapentin
Alternative therapies
Learning objectives
Be familiar with the different systemic and alternative therapies for treating chronic pain
Discuss balanced multi-modal analgesia plans for patients at home
Understand the mechanisms of action, effects and side effects of the discussed analgesic interventions
Week 4: Pain Assessment Methods
Review the different pain scoring options for both in-patients and out-patients
Canine pain scales
Feline pain scales
Grimace scales
Chronic pain scales
Pitfalls and problems with pain assessment
Learning objectives
Have a better understanding of the different pain assessment types
Appreciate where pain assessments can be beneficial for managing conditions and allowing for appropriate analgesia interventions in the hospitalised patient
Provide owners with the tools to monitor and assess their pet’s pain and quality of life at home
Describe the indications and contraindications for pain scoring
Tutor: Lisa Angell
Date: 3rd March - 28th March 2025
Cost: £205 +vat
Length: 4 weeks
CPD: 10 hours
Level: Intermediate
Who is it for?
Veterinary Nurses
The Speakers
Lisa Angell VTS (anaesthesia and analgesia), PgCert Vet Ed, FHEA, RVN<br /> Head Anaesthesia Nurse, Royal Veterinary College
Number of CPD hours this event can be recorded as
10 hours
Registration and Booking
Click here to reserve your place
More from Excel CPD - Vet Nurse CPD