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How to Improve Your Anesthesia Knowledge

Last Updated: March 2, 2022 by Nancy Brock DVM

9 veterinary anesthesia continuing education resources

In this bulletin, I have assembled a list of anesthesia continuing education resources (including links) that I find well designed, with expert content, and relevant to clinical practice. I hope this list will help you navigate the ever-increasing amount of veterinary anesthesia information that is available. It is sometimes difficult to wade through all the options in order to find reliable and relevant information that is applicable to small animal practice. We, clinicians, have limited time to devote to anesthesia continuing education, so we need to be selective. Many of the sources listed below are based in the USA.

Canadian practitioners should keep in mind a few differences between anesthesia delivery North and South of the 49^th Parallel as these will be reflected in course content. Here are a few examples:

Alfaxalone is a more strictly controlled substance in the USA.
Injectable methadone (Comfortan) available in Canada costs about 1/4 of the USA price
Simbadol, a concentrated (1.8 mg/mL) buprenorphine formulation is not currently licensed in Canada
Telazol (tiletamine + zolazepam) is not available in Canada
Nocita, a log-acting, liposome-encapsulated bupivacaine formulation is not available in Canada.

I hope you enjoy these CE offerings:

1. Dispomed newsletters

Why a patient circuit alarm should be mandatory
4 Tips to Reduce Risk of Anesthesia
Risk Factors in Small Animal Anesthesia
How to Detect Soda Lime Exhaustion

2. VSPN (Support Personnel) Courses Open For Enrollment 2022:

TECH177-0222: Fundamentals of Small Animal Anesthesia Module 1
TECH178-0322: Fundamentals of Small Animal Anesthesia Module 2

3. VIN (Veterinarians) Courses Open For Enrollment 2022:

ANES116-0222: Anesthesia for the Small Animal Dentistry Patient
Low-Stress Handling™ and Restraint of Difficult Dogs and Cats (BHVR902) Self-Study

4. VETgirl on-demand webinars:

Multimodal Anesthesia: CRIs for the Anesthesia Patient
Anesthetic options for the canine C-section
Top 5 ways to improve your anesthesia & patient care
How to Beat Pain and Influence Animal Behavior using Local Anesthetics

5. ThinkAnesthesia on-demand CE by Jurox:

Article: Capnography – a summary of abnormal traces
Article: Capnography – not just a lot of hot air
Webinar: Don’t take my breath away: Anesthesia for Patients with Respiratory Disorders
Webinar: From home to the veterinary clinic and back – minimizing feline stress in the peri-anesthetic period
Webinar: Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff: When Not to Panic During Anesthesia
Webinar: Connecting the Dots Between Shelter and General Practice Anesthesia
Webinar: The Top Five Anesthetic Complications
Webinar: Balancing Anesthesia and Common Co-Morbidities
Webinar: Pregnancy, C-Sections, and Pediatrics
Webinar: Understanding Pain and Nociception: Pathway and Assessment
Webinar: Clinical Use of Alfaxan Multidose IDX

6. NAVAS (North American Veterinary Anesthesia Society) Blog:

I got a capnograph – now what?
Communicating Anesthetic Risk to Clients
Hot Cats, What Do We Know?
Dexmedetomidine in Detail
The Endothelial Glycocalyx: What is it and why should I care?
Fluid Therapy during Veterinary Anesthesia: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Is Maropitant Analgesic?
Calculating Infusions of Analgesic and Anesthetic Drugs
Opioids in Veterinary Anesthesia
Greyhound Anesthesia-associated Hyperkalemia
7 things to know about buprenorphine
Should I Be Using Alfaxalone?
Peri-bulbar Anesthesia In Depth
Anesthetic Management of the Dog with Mitral Valve Disease
A Quick Guide to Hypotension During Anesthesia
Mixing local anesthetics – yay or nay?
3 Easy Loco-regional Techniques You May Not Know
Handling “RUFF” Recoveries

7. NAVAS/VetBloom on-demand anesthesia courses NAVAS/VIN Rounds (upcoming):

February 2022
Sun Feb 20 at 9:00pm – 10:00pm
Anesthesia Management for Canine Dental Patients.

March 2022
Sun Mar 20 at 9:00pm – 10:00pm
Anesthetic Management of Brachycephalic Breeds.

Thu Mar 31 at 9:00pm – 10:00pm
Injectable-Based Anesthetic Protocols: Anesthesia with Less or No Inhalational Agents!

April 2022
Communicating Anesthesia Risk to Clients.

8. NAVAS/VIN Rounds (archived):

VIN/NAVAS Rounds:

Anesthetic Management of Patients with Cardiovascular Disease. January 28, 2022
Anesthetic Management of Patients with Intracranial Disease. January 10, 2022
Risk Versus Benefit: Sedation and Anesthesia for Grey-Muzzled Canines. December 2, 2021
Special Considerations in Anesthesia and Perioperative Pain Management in Cats. November 22.
Solutions for Dilutions: Veterinary Mathematics. November 12, 2021.
Porcine Anesthesia: How Does One Anesthetize Snoop Hoggy Hogg? November 3, 2021.
Inducing Change: How to Add Alfaxalone into Anesthesia. October 25, 2021.
Perioperative ECG: Diagnosing and Treating Arrhythmias. October 15, 2021.
Anesthesia Machine: How Gasses Go Through the Machine. September 27, 2021.
No Blood Work! Turning a Bad Hand Into a Good One! September 10, 2021.
Leadership and Communication for Veterinary Nurses. July 30, 2021.
Practical Approach to Anesthesia in Pet Rabbits. July 15, 2021.
Equine Pain Management Modalities and Techniques. June 14, 2021.
A Practical Approach to Capnography Tracings. May 28, 2021.
Locoregional Anesthesia in the ER. May 7, 2021.
Approaching the Foal: Restraint? Sedation? Anesthesia? April 26, 2021.
Equine Patient Monitoring. April 2, 2021.
The Hows and Whys of Positive End Expiratory Pressure (PEEP). March 22, 2021.
Incorporating New Anesthesia Methods Into Your Practice. March 12, 2021.
Dexmedetomidine: Why, When, and How. February 22, 2021.
Anesthesia Mistakes Awareness. February 22, 2021.
Anesthesia of Wildlife and Feral Horses. December 3, 2020.
Serenity Now: Sedation Options for Dogs and Cats. November 19, 2020.
Perioperative Use of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs. November 8, 2020.
Ketamine: Review and Upcycling an Old Agent. October 29, 2020.
Tiny but Challenging: Anaesthetic Considerations for the Neonate and Pediatric Small Animal Patient. October 8, 2020.
Anesthetic and Analgesic Strategies for Feline Urinary Tract Obstruction. September 27, 2020.
The Epileptic Needs a Dental: Anesthesia for Neurologic Patients in General Practice. September 3, 2020.
Anesthesia for Patients with Comorbidities. August 13, 2020.
Tips for a Successful Anesthesia for Dentistry and Oral Surgery Patients. June 24, 2020.
Coping with Anesthetic Adverse Events: What to Do When Things Go Wrong. June 18, 2020.
Serotonin Syndrome. May 17, 2020.
Roundtable Discussion: Anesthesia Drug Shortages During the Coronavirus Pandemic. April 19, 2020.
Liposomal Bupivacaine (Nocita®) in Clinical Practice: What Do We Know and Where Are We Going? April 16, 2020.
Can Fish Feel Pain? March 22, 2020.
Anesthesia Concerns and Tips for Thoracic Procedures in Dogs. February 6, 2020.
Communicating Anesthesia Risk to Clients. January 12, 2020.
Intravenous Anesthesia in the Field Setting. November 24, 2019.
Managing the Difficult Airway: When Orotracheal Intubation Is Challenging. October 24, 2019.
Anesthesia for the Small Animal Patient with Endocrine Disease. September 22, 2019.
Acute Hyperkalemia in Anesthetized Greyhounds. August 15, 2019.
Handling Ruff Recoveries: Recognizing Pain vs. Dysphoria in the Post-operative Period. July 21, 2019.
Anesthesia for Anxious/Fractious Dogs and Cats. June 20, 2019.
Troubleshooting your Anesthesia Machine. May 30, 2019.
Anesthetic Management of Diaphragmatic Hernia Repair. April 25, 2019.
Euthanasia: The Ultimate Anesthetic. March 31, 2019.
The Role of an Anaesthesia Technician. February 21, 2019.
Standing Chemical Restraint of the Adult Horse. January 20, 2019.
Intraoperative Blood Pressure Monitoring and Management. December 9, 2018.
Common Anesthetic Complications and How to Fix Them. October 21, 2018.
Regurgitation Under Anesthesia in Dogs. September 30, 2018.
Anesthesia for Patients with Cardiac Disease and Troubleshooting Cardiovascular Depression under Anesthesia. July 29, 2018.
High-Quality Anesthesia Care: It’s Not About the Drugs. June 28, 2018.
Strategies for Coping with Opioid Shortages. January 25, 2018.

9. Gasman

Gas Man® is a unique computer tool for teaching, simulating, and experimenting with anesthesia uptake and distribution. It combines an award-winning tutorial book with powerful, easy-to-use software.

About the author

Nancy Brock DVM

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