Medical Nursing Podcast | CPD for Veterinary Nurses

Picture this. You're working the Saturday morning shift, you're wrapping things up ready to close, and your vet brings through a patient from consults. The patient is a 6-year-old cocker spaniel, and they've got a history of lethargy and exercise intolerance, progressing to melena, haematuria and bruising in the last 2 days. You examine them with the vet and find they're dull, tachycardic and have...

When I say 'IMHA', what comes to mind? For me, it's the most challenging case I have ever cared for: a patient who had such severe anaemia that their jaundice made them neurological, earning them a few days on a propofol CRI due to seizures. Whilst not every IMHA case is like this—thankfully—these patients do need intensive nursing care and monitoring, and with this, there are many skills we can u...

Anaemia is probably the most common haematologic disease that we see - so it's vital we understand why it occurs, how it affects our patients, and what we need to do when nursing these patients. In episode 40 of the Medical Nursing Podcast, we're chatting all about what causes anaema, how we classify it, what changes we see in our results, and how we treat these patients - so that you can provide...

How often do you look at blood smears in practice - and how confident do you feel looking at what you see? Blood smears are an excellent skill for us to learn as nurses - there's no reason we can't look at these, identify normal and abnormal cells, and perform cell counts!  It's not 'just a vet's job', and the only way to feel more confident knowing what you're looking at is to look at more and mo...

Ever seen a patient present with collapse, disorientation and seizures which resolves almost immediately? There's a good chance they could have insulinoma - a pancreatic tumour causing sudden hypoglycaemia. So how do we treat and nurse these patients - and what complications do we run into during and after surgery? We're discussing it all in episode 38 of the Medical Nursing Podcast. --- 📲 Grab t...

Ever heard of a pheochromocytoma before? Nor had I before I walked into referral… but in all honesty, they're some of the riskiest cases we see. These can be scary, as they randomly secrete sometimes large volumes of adrenaline and noradrenaline - causing life-threatening tachycardia and hypertension. They're especially challenging cases when it comes to surgery - and we'll chat all about why that...

Today on the medical nursing podcast, we're talking all about parathyroid disorders - diseases of the parathyroid gland affecting calcium balance within the body.  Though we don't see these as commonly as other endocrine diseases, it's still really important we understand these disorders - especially hypoparathyroidism, which can cause life-threatening hypocalcaemia. By the end of this episode, yo...

If I say 'hypothyroid', what comes to mind?  For me, it's a vision of a quiet little mini schnauzer, with hair loss and awful skin - but the reality is hypothyroidism causes a LOT more changes for our patients. To understand how we treat and nurse our hypothyroid dogs, we first need to understand hypothyroidism and its impact on our patients—which is exactly what you'll find waiting for you in thi...

We've all seen those older cats who come in with the body condition score of a hat-rack and an appetite that rivals ours at the end of a busy shift. Yep, that's right - they're hyperthyroid. Hyperthyroidism is the most common endocrinopathy seen in cats, so we know we will be treating and nursing these patients very commonly. But to do that effectively, we need to understand what hyperthyroidism i...

Addison's, aka hypoadrenocorticism, isn't called 'the great pretender' for nothing. In fact, it's often missed until the patient presents in an Addisonian crisis.  These patients often need intensive nursing care and treatment, especially if they present as an emergency. But to deliver that care, we first need to know what Addison's is, how it affects our patients, and how we treat it—which is exa...

In this week's episode of the Medical Nursing Podcast we're chatting all about hyperadrenocorticism - aka Cushing's disease! This is one of the most common endocrine diseases we see in dogs - and we even sometimes see it in cats - and nurses are heavily involved in the investigation and treatment of these patients.  So what is Cushing's disease, and how do we treat and care for these patients? Let...

Today, we're talking all about the other diabetes - diabetes insipidus.  It might have the same name as 'traditional' diabetes, but the two diseases are very different. It's nothing like diabetes mellitus - and as nurses, we must understand the difference between the two conditions. In this episode of the Medical Nursing Podcast, I'll explain exactly what diabetes insipidus is, what changes it cau...

Have you ever seen one of those diabetic cats that, try as you might, just WILL NOT respond to treatment? Well, if the answer's yes, there's a good chance your patient is one of many cats with acromegaly! This disease affects around 25% of ALL cats with diabetes - and whilst it can be cured, it's not a quick or easy fix. The good news? We can give these patients a TON of intensive nursing care dur...

DKA patients vary from patients with mild ketosis and dehydration all the way to collapsed, severely unwell patients in shock, with marked acidosis and needing intensive nursing care. However these patients present, one thing remains true - there is a LOT of nursing care we can provide.  But to do that, we need to understand how DKA works and what care our patients need - and that's exactly what w...

Ever felt unsure about giving advice to diabetic cat clients? Felt confused about what to feed? Or wondered why we tend to use specific types of insulin for our cats? Felt boggled by the new oral treatments available and how they work compared to insulin? Well, in today's episode of the Medical Nursing Podcast, I'm diving DEEP into feline diabetes - so you'll leave this episode with all your quest...

In today's episode of the Medical Nursing Podcast, we're diving into diabetes mellitus in dogs! Diabetics are some of the most common endocrine patients we see, and the good news is they benefit from SO much nursing care - but to give the best care we can, we need to understand how diabetes affects our patients, the signs we see, and how we manage it.  If you want to feel more confident advising y...

Today I'm VERY excited, because in this episode of the Medical Nursing Podcast we're starting a brand new series, all about the endocrine system.  If hormones give you a headache and you just can't quite make sense of all of those glands, you'll leave today's episode with a much clearer understanding of how this fascinating system works. --- 📲 Grab the show notes and references from today's episo...

In episode 25 of the Medical Nursing Podcast I'm answering your burning questions on renal and urinary disease! If you want to know more about the practical skills we can perform with these patients, dive into interpreting tests in more detail, or want hands-on tips for managing things like urinary catheters, you'll find it all in this episode! --- 📲 Submit your questions for the next episode htt...

In this week's episode of the Medical Nursing Podcast we're talking all about urinary incontinence. This is a really common urinary disorder and it's not just our older dogs who are affected by it - it's seen commonly in younger patients, too, and nurses are often heavily involved in their diagnostics, treatment, and ongoing care. If you've ever thought that managing these cases is as simple as 'd...

Urinary tract tumours are a common cause of lower urinary tract signs in older patients, and these patients benefit from extensive nursing care—not just at the time of diagnosis but for the rest of their lives, too, to give them the best possible quality of life for as long as possible.  On this episode of the Medical Nursing Podcast, I'm joined by Inge Breatnach, aka @oncologyrvn . Inge and l loo...

In this week's episode of the Medical Nursing Podcast, we're chatting all about prostatic disease!  Prostatic disease is a common cause of stranguria, haematuria and even recurrent UTIs, especially in older male dogs, especially entire males.  And there are many nursing skills we can use in the diagnosis and treatment of prostatic disease. Today, we'll look at them all, what prostatic diseases we...

Urinary stones are a common cause of lower urinary tract disease in cats and dogs.  From catheterising obstructive uroliths to performing contrast imaging studies to advising clients about dissolution diets, nurses can use so many skills when caring for these patients.  But to successfully treat them and plan great care, we need to know exactly what urolith our patient has and the treatment they r...

What if your blocked cat doesn't have a "real" reason for being blocked?! If they've not got a stone, stricture, plug or a mass… chances are they've got feline idiopathic cystitis, aka FIC. These cats account for more and more of the obstructions we see - with FIC now being the most common feline lower urinary tract disorder. FIC cats can be really tough to manage as they're often incredibly stres...

In today's episode of the Medical Nursing Podcast, we're chatting about feline urethral obstructions, also known as the dreaded blocked bladder cat! Feline urethral obstruction is a very treatable emergency condition, with survival rates above 90%.  However, it can be life-threatening, especially where that obstruction has been present for some time - with patients at risk of severe acute kidney i...

In this week's episode of the Medical Nursing Podcast, we're chatting about an increasingly common condition - ureteral obstruction. These patients present often markedly painful and with post-renal AKI, which can be life-threatening if bilateral obstructions are present and often require intensive treatment and nursing care. They're being diagnosed more and more often now than ever, particularly...