The Conundrum Of Chronic Pain: If Only They Could Talk

Can you tell when an animal is suffering from chronic pain?
What do you do when standard treatments fail?
How do you answer when the client asks 'What more can be done for my pet?'

Course overview

There are increasing numbers of geriatric patients for whom pain is a cardinal pathology, but it need not be this way.  Many patients can be kept relatively pain-free well into old age.  Previously, where the animal's signs may have resulted in euthanasia, owners now request that more should be done.  In some animals, the cause of chronic pain may be identified but incurable; alternatively animals may require symptomatic treatment for signs occuring in the absence of obvious pathology.  We can humanely extend the lives of our patients and relieve the worry and frustration of many of our clients by understanding and dealing successfully with the conundrum of chronic pain.

Who should do this course?

This course will appeal to companion animal veterinarians who are faced with a number of challenging questions and scenarios that involve chronic pain.  These include assessment of the degree of pain and suffering in a patient, additional therapies for when the usual ones don't work, and effective and practical client communication.

Benefits

For you: Treating chronic pain successfully is hugely rewarding, both emotionally and professionally.  Once clear outcome measures are identified, the positive welfare benefits of treatments can be readily appreciated.

For your practice: Clients worry about their pet's pain. Understanding and relieving these concerns helps to bond clients to the practice in ways few other treatments can achieve.  From a practical business perspective, clients will visit a practice more frequently because the follow-up visits become more meaningful as they can take advantage of the additional services you offer.

Tutor - Samantha Lindley BVSc MRCVS

Samantha qualified from the University of Bristol in 1988, then completed an internship at University of Glasgow followed by four years in practice in Ayrshire before moving to Surrey to join Dr Roger Mugford's Animal Behaviour Centre as a veterinary consultant.  Here she developed an interest in the clinical causes of behaviour problems and the welfare of captive wild animals, as well as becoming involved in many legal issues involving animals, and in a wide variety of radio and TV work.  She moved back to Scotland in 1997 and currently runs the pain management services at Glasgow and Edinburgh Vet Schools and Broadleys Veterinary Hospital in Stirling, offers behavioural consultations at Glasgow Vet School, across Central Scotland and beyond.  She lectures widely to veterinary undergraduates, veterinary nurses and veterinary surgeons on animal behaviour, chronic pain, and veterinary acupuncture.

Pain management is a key WSAVA incentive for 2013 (WSAVA Global Pain Council). ‘Assessing and managing small animal pain is an issue of global significance. Pain accompanies many common ailments but its treatment has not kept pace with its incidence, leading to what we believe is a treatment gap.’ (Prof K Mathews, Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Ontario Vet College.) For more information see the following websites: http://www.wsava.org/ IVAPM.htm; http://www.ivapm.org/

Topics

Topic 1: Understanding chronic pain

Topic 2: Recognising and assessing chronic pain

Topic 3: Treatment of chronic pain

These topics are covered in more detail in our downloadable flyer.

When

16 July - 26 August

CPD points

This course qualifies as continuing veterinary education (CVE).  One hour = 1 point under the VCNZ framework. Participants should gain 3 - 6 points.

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