Key information
Provide better outcomes for all your surgical patients and enhance your confidence in tackling more complex surgeries.
This course offers a comprehensive overview of surgical practices, designed to refine your diagnostic and management strategies for surgical diseases. It covers essential principles, practical applications, and procedures. Each module includes a tutorial that provides immediate feedback and allows you to discuss key concepts and approaches with your tutor.
To support your learning, the course includes video clips that demonstrate how to perform various procedures, manipulations, and operations that can be implemented in your own practice. By the end of the course, you will have compiled a video library of common surgical procedures to consult before performing surgeries. Additionally, the course features a two-day workshop to enhance practical skills.
For experienced practitioners, this course serves as both a refresher and a confidence booster for handling complex surgeries. Beginners will gain a solid foundation, increasing their confidence in pursuing surgical cases. Moreover, this course is beneficial for those preparing for the Small Animal Surgery membership examination of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists.
Learning Outcomes
By successfully completing this course, you will:
- Have refreshed and updated your surgical knowledge through a comprehensive overview of small animal surgery.
- Improve your approach to the diagnosis and management of surgical diseases and advance your understanding of the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of surgery through case-based learning.
- Gain an increased understanding of both general principles and detailed techniques of surgery for each of the body systems.
- Increase your confidence about broadening your surgical endeavours
Modules
1. Principles of Surgery I – pre-operative evaluation of the surgical patient
- Intra operative and post-operative considerations
- Wound healing
- Factors affecting wound healing, including biomaterials
- Suture material
2. Principles of Surgery II
- Surgical sterilisation and asepsis
- Role of antibiotics in surgery
- Tissue handling
- Haemostasis
- Surgical oncology
3. Principles of surgery III – Wound Assessment & Management
- Patient assessment and stabilisation
- Wound classification
- Principles of open wound management
4. Principles of Orthopaedic Surgery
- Examination for lameness
- Principles of fracture management, biology and biomechanics in fracture repair
- Biology and biomechanics in fracture repair
- Complications of fracture repair
- Common surgical approaches to bones and joints
- Bone grafts
- Physiotherapy
5. Surgery of the Alimentary Tract
- Diagnostic methods
- The upper, middle and lower gastrointestinal tract
- The liver and biliary system
- The exocrine pancreas
6. Applied Orthopaedic Surgery
- Techniques of internal fixation of fractures
- Repair of long bone and joint fractures
- Repair of physeal and flat bone fractures
- Tendons and ligaments
- Selected conditions affecting bones/joints
7. Surgical Diseases of the Respiratory & Cardiovascular Systems
- The upper and lower respiratory tract
- Congenital cardiovascular problems
8. Surgical Conditions of the Spine
- Neurological examination and functional neuroanatomy
- Intervertebral disc disease
- Caudal cervical spondylomyelopathy
- Traumatic vertebral fractures/luxations
- Degenerative lumbosacral compressive disease (cauda equine syndrome)
- Atlantoaxial Instability
- Fibrocartilaginous embolism
- Discospondylitis
9. Surgery of the Skin, Eye, Ears, Haemolymphatic System & Endocrine System
- Selected skin, eye & ear conditions
- The lymphatics & spleen
- The adrenal gland, pituitary gland, thyroid gland, parathyroid gland and endocrine pancreas
10. Urogenital Tract Surgery
- Surgical anatomy
- Principles of urogenital tract surgery
- Urinary tract trauma
- Dysuria/haematuria
- Urinary incontinence
Course Delivery
This online course offers a comprehensive educational package that includes:
- Comprehensive Learning Materials: Participants will access a wide range of study resources including detailed digital notes, images, and recommended readings.
- Interactive Learning Opportunities: The course features self-reflection tasks for personal assessment, and active discussion forums for peer and tutor interactions, and to engage in debates and case discussions.
- Continuous Assessment: Monthly assignments are designed to assess and reinforce understanding, with personalised feedback provided by tutors to ensure comprehensive learning.
- Practical Workshop: A 2-day hands-on workshop allows participants to apply theoretical knowledge through hands-on practice, enhancing the practical learning experience.
Workshop/s
This Distance Education course includes an optional 2-Day Workshop in Sydney. The date of the workshop to be advised.
What is Distance Education?
Premium, intensive online veterinary CE
All CVE Distance Education (DE) programs are mentored by leading veterinary experts who will provide individual feedback and advice on completion of each monthly module. Each module may include written content, technique videos, self-reflections, quizzes and online submission of monthly assignments.
Maximise the opportunity to expand and consolidate your learning by participating in the tutor moderated group discussion forum and attending the optional 2-day practical workshop including a hands-on surgical practical session and in-depth discussion of key topics and cases.
Who should enrol?
This course is ideal for qualified veterinarians looking to refresh or expand their surgical skills.
Tutor
Chris Tan, Wendy Archipow, Bronwyn Fullagar & Mark Newman