PAIN MANAGEMENT: WIND DOWN PAIN IN COMPANION ANIMALS BY WINDING UP PROTOCOLS

Course Overview
For almost 2 decades there has been increasing recognition of the importance of properly assessing and managing pain. A fundamental part of practicing good medicine, human or veterinary, is recognizing and treating pain. Society has an increased concern for the ethical and compassionate care of humans and animals suffering from pain and distress. Making pain management a priority in your practice means that every person on the team has an important role to play in identifying pain in every animal. Relieving pain is compassionate care at its best, and compassionate care is both a quality-of-care and a quality-of-life issue. The pain management team consists of veterinarians, credentialed veterinary technicians, veterinary technician assistants, kennel staff, groomers, receptionists, and practice managers. Effective management of pain requires ongoing diligence on the part of the entire veterinary team. Pet owners need to be educated regarding pain, what to look for, and, once a pain management plan has been made, the team must maintain consistent contact with pet owners to assess the animal’s status to adjust management plans accordingly. Delegating specific tasks to each team member will help ensure this happens. Through a variety of educational modalities, the veterinary team has the opportunity to improve their understanding of pain, and to incorporate this new found knowledge into their day-to-day practice. *Pain Management: Wind Down Pain in Companion Animals by Winding up Protocols* is a 8-week course that focuses on the physiology of pain and the development of acute pain to chronic and neuropathic pain. Recognition of pain and development of a pain scale to use in your practice or facility will be strongly reviewed. Pharmacologic management of pain for companion animals will be studied in detail. Multimodal analgesia will be discussed extensively since this has been designated as the most effective way to manage pain. Physical medicine issues such as acupuncture and rehabilitation will be briefly discussed. Cancer, Quality-of-Life, Hospice and Palliative Care will be topics of discussion and study. Finally, participation in detailed case studies will enable the student to be a valuable, contributing member to the veterinary health care team in the welfare of their animal patients. Participants are not required to work in practice to complete this course. This course was previously titles Advanced Concepts of Pain Management: Companion Animals.

Course Overview

For almost 2 decades there has been increasing recognition of the importance of properly assessing and managing pain. A fundamental part of practicing good medicine, human or veterinary, is recognizing and treating pain. Society has an increased concern for the ethical and compassionate care of humans and animals suffering from pain and distress. Making pain management a priority in your practice means that every person on the team has an important role to play in identifying pain in every animal. Relieving pain is compassionate care at its best, and compassionate care is both a quality-of-care and a quality-of-life issue.

The pain management team consists of veterinarians, credentialed veterinary technicians, veterinary technician assistants, kennel staff, groomers, receptionists, and practice managers. Effective management of pain requires ongoing diligence on the part of the entire veterinary team. Pet owners need to be educated regarding pain, what to look for, and, once a pain management plan has been made, the team must maintain consistent contact with pet owners to assess the animal’s status to adjust management plans accordingly. Delegating specific tasks to each team member will help ensure this happens. Through a variety of educational modalities, the veterinary team has the opportunity to improve their understanding of pain, and to incorporate this new found knowledge into their day-to-day practice.

Pain Management: Wind Down Pain in Companion Animals by Winding up Protocols is a 8-week course that focuses on the physiology of pain and the development of acute pain to chronic and neuropathic pain. Recognition of pain and development of a pain scale to use in your practice or facility will be strongly reviewed. Pharmacologic management of pain for companion animals will be studied in detail. Multimodal analgesia will be discussed extensively since this has been designated as the most effective way to manage pain. Physical medicine issues such as acupuncture and rehabilitation will be briefly discussed. Cancer, Quality-of-Life, Hospice and Palliative Care will be topics of discussion and study. Finally, participation in detailed case studies will enable the student to be a valuable, contributing member to the veterinary health care team in the welfare of their animal patients. Participants are not required to work in practice to complete this course.

This course was previously titles Advanced Concepts of Pain Management: Companion Animals.

Continuing Education Credits
Course meets the requirements for 25 RACE hours of continuing education credit for veterinary technicians and veterinarians in jurisdictions which recognize AAVSB's RACE approval. However, participants should be aware that some boards have limitations on the number of hours accepted in certain categories and/or restrictions on certain methods of delivery. This course is an interactive online course that meets RACE requirements; program number 57-9766.

Continuing Education Credits

Course meets the requirements for 25 RACE hours of continuing education credit for veterinary technicians and veterinarians in jurisdictions which recognize AAVSB's RACE approval. However, participants should be aware that some boards have limitations on the number of hours accepted in certain categories and/or restrictions on certain methods of delivery.

This course is an interactive online course that meets RACE requirements; program number 57-9766.

Course Content
This is an advanced level course. Assignments in this course are challenging, designed to bring the learning experience into your everyday practice. The instructor will guide the student to an understanding of the role of pain management, either as the diagnosing and treating veterinarian or as the practice staff involved in assisting the veterinarian with managing companion animal pain.

Course Focus and Learning Objectives
Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to: Use and understand pain terminology Understand the physiology of pain Recognize the signs of pain Develop strategies for pain management Identify analgesic drugs, their usage, contraindications and interactions Describe and understand analgesic techniques Describe and understand pain management for specific conditions and procedures Describe and understand chronic pain and its management

Course Focus and Learning Objectives

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

Use and understand pain terminology
Understand the physiology of pain
Recognize the signs of pain
Develop strategies for pain management
Identify analgesic drugs, their usage, contraindications and interactions
Describe and understand analgesic techniques
Describe and understand pain management for specific conditions and procedures
Describe and understand chronic pain and its management

Participation Access Parameters
The design of this course allows participants to enroll at any time. After enrolling, please allow up to 48 hours for course activation. Each participant will have a personal start and end date that begins upon activation.

Participant Feedback
...I liked the format of the assignments. I liked the case studies because they forced me to learn about pain management with conditions I may not have dealt with before, and I also liked the assignments that asked me to review what my practice does because they were a good refresher and somewhat eye opening. Mary Ellen is clearly not only knowledgeable about pain management but passionate about it. She was great at explaining things and providing additional resources for me to bring back to my practice. This was an excellent course and I am very grateful for what she has taught me. ...I found the whole course interesting and would highly recommend it. Learning to understand the medication uses and how they work is probably the most beneficial to me for helping clients understand why the doctors have chosen what they have. If I'm confident explaining things the clients will be more receptive. ...The dialog back and forth about there being different approaches to cases helped me to feel connected to the veterinary community. Pain management is an art, not a science. Differences in settings, availability of drugs, staffing, and patient responses must be acknowledged. I was pleased that the instructor had both strong opinions and an open heart. It is easy to recall the classic joke: The only thing you can get two veterinarians to agree about is that the third veterinarian is wrong. I hope that we can agree that an open mind is more likely to find the best past to recovery for our patients. ...I enjoyed the case studies especially as they helped me apply what I had learned. Some of the drugs I learned about in this course were new to me so referring back to the text book and rereading about their usage was very helpful especially when applying it to a case study. The case study keys were wonderful at fully describing a pain management approach for ash case and very informative. I am moving from general practice to hospice so I would have benefited from more hospice specific case studies but I know that does not apply to everyone. ..Information on Pain assessment, Quality of life assessment, General anatomy and physiology of pain and pain management. The fairly comprehesive review of medications available in the different categories.

Participant Feedback

...I liked the format of the assignments. I liked the case studies because they forced me to learn about pain management with conditions I may not have dealt with before, and I also liked the assignments that asked me to review what my practice does because they were a good refresher and somewhat eye opening. Mary Ellen is clearly not only knowledgeable about pain management but passionate about it. She was great at explaining things and providing additional resources for me to bring back to my practice. This was an excellent course and I am very grateful for what she has taught me.

...I found the whole course interesting and would highly recommend it. Learning to understand the medication uses and how they work is probably the most beneficial to me for helping clients understand why the doctors have chosen what they have. If I'm confident explaining things the clients will be more receptive.

...The dialog back and forth about there being different approaches to cases helped me to feel connected to the veterinary community. Pain management is an art, not a science. Differences in settings, availability of drugs, staffing, and patient responses must be acknowledged. I was pleased that the instructor had both strong opinions and an open heart. It is easy to recall the classic joke: The only thing you can get two veterinarians to agree about is that the third veterinarian is wrong. I hope that we can agree that an open mind is more likely to find the best past to recovery for our patients.

...I enjoyed the case studies especially as they helped me apply what I had learned. Some of the drugs I learned about in this course were new to me so referring back to the text book and rereading about their usage was very helpful especially when applying it to a case study. The case study keys were wonderful at fully describing a pain management approach for ash case and very informative. I am moving from general practice to hospice so I would have benefited from more hospice specific case studies but I know that does not apply to everyone.

..Information on Pain assessment, Quality of life assessment, General anatomy and physiology of pain and pain management. The fairly comprehesive review of medications available in the different categories.

Required Materials
*Handbook of Veterinary Pain Management - second edition* James Gaynor, DVM, MS, DACVA, DAAPM and William Muir, DVM, MSc, PhD, DACVA, DACVECC Important Text Information: It is mandatory that each participant has access to this textbook as the content of the book is not reproduced within the course. It is up to each person to determine the best way to acquire the text. Some will already have the text in their library and, therefore, will not need to purchase another copy. The text is available as a print publication and as an eBook. Where to purchase and in what format is totally up to the participant. The text is not included in the fee for this course. USA residents: Elsevier texts, both print and eBook, are available via the *VetMedTeam Elsevier Text Portal* at discounts off regular retail of 25 - 35 %. If you would like to visit the portal to take advantage of the discount please use this link: VetMedTeam's Elsevier Text Portal Important: Regardless of which option the participant chooses, access to a copy of the textbook is mandatory. Without the text, the student will not be able to complete the assignments, case studies and examinations. If enrolling close to or beyond the course start date, it is recommended that the text be purchased as an eBook to prevent text acquisition related delays. VetMedTeam has no control over shipping delays and other related problems.

Required Materials

Handbook of Veterinary Pain Management - second edition James Gaynor, DVM, MS, DACVA, DAAPM and William Muir, DVM, MSc, PhD, DACVA, DACVECC

Important Text Information:

It is mandatory that each participant has access to this textbook as the content of the book is not reproduced within the course. It is up to each person to determine the best way to acquire the text. Some will already have the text in their library and, therefore, will not need to purchase another copy. The text is available as a print publication and as an eBook. Where to purchase and in what format is totally up to the participant. The text is not included in the fee for this course.

USA residents: Elsevier texts, both print and eBook, are available via the VetMedTeam Elsevier Text Portal at discounts off regular retail of 25 - 35 %. If you would like to visit the portal to take advantage of the discount please use this link:

VetMedTeam's Elsevier Text Portal

Important: Regardless of which option the participant chooses, access to a copy of the textbook is mandatory. Without the text, the student will not be able to complete the assignments, case studies and examinations. If enrolling close to or beyond the course start date, it is recommended that the text be purchased as an eBook to prevent text acquisition related delays. VetMedTeam has no control over shipping delays and other related problems.

Course Completion Requirements
Completed students are awarded a certificate of completion. Completion requirements include: Instructor Graded Interactive Module Assignments: Designed to help the participant reinforce newly learned material Instructor Graded Interactive Case Study Assignments: Designed to help the participant apply the newly learned skills and knowledge though patient and practice based scenarios Examinations: All examinations must be submitted with a score of 80% or better Course survey

Course Completion Requirements

Completed students are awarded a certificate of completion. Completion requirements include:

Instructor Graded Interactive Module Assignments: Designed to help the participant reinforce newly learned material

Instructor Graded Interactive Case Study Assignments: Designed to help the participant apply the newly learned skills and knowledge though patient and practice based scenarios

Examinations: All examinations must be submitted with a score of 80% or better

Course survey

Course Instructor
Mary Ellen Goldberg LVT, CVT, SRA, CCRVN, CVPP, VTS-lab animal medicine (research anesthesia-retired), VTS-Physical rehabilitation-retired, VTS-H (anesthesia/analgesia) Mary Ellen Goldberg is a graduate of Harcum College and the University of Pennsylvania in 1976. She worked at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Division of Animal Resources and for Research Scientists advising on their choices for anesthesia and pain management on their protocols. She was a member of VCU’s IACUC for 10 years. She has been the instructor in Anesthesia and Pain Management at VetMedTeam since 2003. She is a Certified Veterinary Pain Practitioner through IVAPM. Mary Ellen is retired as a Surgical Research Anesthetist certified through the Academy of Surgical Research. Currently, she is a staff member at the Canine Rehabilitation Institute since 2012, as a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Veterinary Nurse. (CCRVN) where she is the examination coordinator. She is a member of the IACUC at the Manheimmer Foundation, Inc. Mary Ellen was chosen NAVTA’s Veterinary Technician of the Year 2017. In 2019, Mary Ellen received the VTS-anesthesia, analgesia – honorary title from the Academy of Veterinary Technician Anesthesia and Analgesia. Mary Ellen has written several books, and contributed to numerous chapters regarding anesthesia, pain management and rehabilitation. She has worked in various aspects of veterinary medicine from small animal and equine to mixed practice, coccidiosis research for a pharmaceutical company,zoo animal medicine and laboratory animal medicine since 1976.

Course Instructor

Mary Ellen Goldberg LVT, CVT, SRA, CCRVN, CVPP, VTS-lab animal medicine (research anesthesia-retired), VTS-Physical rehabilitation-retired, VTS-H (anesthesia/analgesia)

Mary Ellen Goldberg is a graduate of Harcum College and the University of Pennsylvania in 1976. She worked at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Division of Animal Resources and for Research Scientists advising on their choices for anesthesia and pain management on their protocols. She was a member of VCU’s IACUC for 10 years.

She has been the instructor in Anesthesia and Pain Management at VetMedTeam since 2003. She is a Certified Veterinary Pain Practitioner through IVAPM. Mary Ellen is retired as a Surgical Research Anesthetist certified through the Academy of Surgical Research. Currently, she is a staff member at the Canine Rehabilitation Institute since 2012, as a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Veterinary Nurse. (CCRVN) where she is the examination coordinator. She is a member of the IACUC at the Manheimmer Foundation, Inc.

Mary Ellen was chosen NAVTA’s Veterinary Technician of the Year 2017. In 2019, Mary Ellen received the VTS-anesthesia, analgesia – honorary title from the Academy of Veterinary Technician Anesthesia and Analgesia. Mary Ellen has written several books, and contributed to numerous chapters regarding anesthesia, pain management and rehabilitation. She has worked in various aspects of veterinary medicine from small animal and equine to mixed practice, coccidiosis research for a pharmaceutical company,zoo animal medicine and laboratory animal medicine since 1976.

Upcoming Sessions

Pricing
Price: $211.00 USD This course is eligible for the 10% Multi-course discount. To learn more about the discount please visit the Multi-Course Discount page.

PAIN MANAGEMENT: WIND DOWN PAIN IN COMPANION ANIMALS BY WINDING UP PROTOCOLS

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