Veterinary Anesthesia Nerds

Does team culture play a role in patient safety? The research may surprise you! Dr. Cyndie Courtney is back for round 2 helping us dive into the research on how teams work together and what that means for patient safety. Dr. Cyndie Courtney is a small animal veterinarian and recovering toxic team member. She speaks, writes, and consults internationally using peer-reviewed research and real-life experiences to improve individual/organizational performance/wellbeing by addressing workplace conflict. She was awarded the World Small Animal Veterinary Medical Association’s Next Generation Award in 2019 and her veterinary alma mater’s Outstanding Recent Alumni Award in 2021 for her service to the profession.

You've probably seen a study referenced in lectures or online forums as a way to present evidence-based theories. But have you ever wondered what all those terms in the studies mean? How does sample size affect the quality of the study? What is in-vivo vs in-vitro and how do these things affect the quality of information you are receiving and making patient decisions based upon? Today I am joined by Dr. Cyndie Courtney, a DVM who also happens to study why people do the things they do at work. Dr. Cyndie Courtney is a small animal veterinarian and recovering toxic team member. She speaks, writes, and consults internationally using peer-reviewed research and real-life experiences to improve individual/organizational performance/wellbeing by addressing workplace conflict. She was awarded the World Small Animal Veterinary Medical Association’s Next Generation Award in 2019 and her veterinary alma mater’s Outstanding Recent Alumni Award in 2021 for her service to the profession. The study we were talking about in this episode: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32301662/

Darci Palmer, a credentialed veterinary technician with 21 years of experience and a specialist in anesthesia and analgesia, shares her insights on managing post-anesthesia recovery. She clarifies the distinctions between dysphoria, emergence delirium, and pain, providing key strategies for smoother recoveries. Exploring medication options, she discusses the challenges of using reversal agents and emphasizes the importance of comfort and environmental control in optimizing recovery. Her real-world case studies highlight the critical need for effective pain management in veterinary care.

You know I love my ventilator... see the photo for how I reacted when we got the new Mindray Veta 5 in-house! But when using a ventilator in anesthesia, what do those modes even mean? Volume control, Pressure control, PEEP...it can get a bit confusing, so we have Glynis here to make sense of it all. Today we talk to Glynis Wileman. She has a PhD - AG Med, while she did not stay in that field, she has worked clinically for 13 years in STARS - specializing in Infant transport/ ECMO, and ventilation / Surfactant studies under Dr. Neil Finer, at RAH. Then onto Siemens/Draeger for Product development in Anesthesia / Ventilation platforms. She is a wealth of information when it comes to anesthesia and ventilation.

As you all know recovery from anesthesia and surgery is an integral part of the process. In today's episode, we talk with Feliza Lopez a VTS ECC technician in NYC who explains what makes an optimal recovery. This one is for you nutrition nerds because guess what??? it plays a huge role in recovery for some of our ICU patients. Feliza Lopez is a speaker, educator, and the Director of Emergency and Critical Care at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in New York City.

When it comes to onboarding your new hires what's the one thing that seems to inevitably get messed up? Training! Especially in surgery and anesthesia. In this episode, we talk to Clair Sauer, MSEd, CVT about ways we train folks (hint...there are best practices) ways we test folks on knowledge, and ways to make sure we are setting new employees up for success. Clair Sauer started her career as a High School Science teacher. After teaching in the USA and Japan over the span of a decade, she earned her MSEd from West Chester University in 2004 . Since then, she has been involved in developing and spreading awareness of inclusive science programs for urban youth and under represented communities. Upon leaving formal teaching, she worked extensively shelter medicine, animal welfare and public resource management. Working in shelter med led her to pursue her CVT, which she received in 2018 from Harcum College. She loves being a CVT in both anesthesia and critical care while integrating her education background into her current role in academia. As well as still growing as a tech and becoming more aware of her own neurodivergence, she makes time to stay active in improving education and access to veterinary medicine for all. She has been nominated and recognized for her achievements and leadership, most recently in 2022, receiving the VECCS Steven Haskins Scholarship. She lives in Philadelphia with her 2 Doberman Pinschers and 2 kitties. Most of all, Clair likes going dancing with other nerds in vet med and riding bikes in the woods. You can find her on IG @thevettechteacher and she is currently exploring life as a lecturer and consultant in education-based initiatives in our field. Email her at Clair.cvt@gmail.com with questions, comments, hellos, and content requests.

We've all been there...the patient comes to our surgery service with buprenorphine on board. Now what do we do? Can we give pure mu opioids? Is buprenorphine enough for pain? How long do we have to wait for efficacy? Today we are talking with anesthesiologist Bryce Dooley about buprenorphine and why we may judge this molecule harshly. Buprenorphine is a great drug when used appropriately and a mainstay addition to many analgesic plans.

Worlds collide on this episode of the VAN podcast! We are joined by CRNA known as "AnesthesiaGawd" on the socials. We talk about becoming a CRNA, differences in human vs vet med, drug pharmacology, and why I love a Macintosh blade! Look for Anesthesia Gawd on Instagram to follow along.

There one drug class that can strike fear into the hearts of veterinary professionals: NMBA or muscle relaxers. This drug class is often used in optho patients however can prove to be beneficial in many other patient presentations. On today's podcast we talk to Rian Ashmore a VTS Anesthesia about what NMBA's are, how they function, and how you can utilize them in your practice. Rian graduated from Minnesota School of Business in 2012 and worked in private practice for several years before joining the University of Minnesota in 2014. In 2016 he began doing anesthesia full time and in 2021 he obtained his VTS in Anesthesia and Analgesia. Last year he transitioned to a teaching position where he works with fourth year students in their clinical anesthesia rotation by giving topic rounds, helping them work up cases, inducing and maintaining anesthesia, etc. Rian's biggest interests are in teaching and treating patients with cardiac disease, especially patients referred for interventional radiology cases.

Your mission should you choose to accept it...anesthetize this old cranky cat with kidney disease. There are many variables to consider and VTS Anesthesia Elizabeth Hart is here to help us through. What drugs should we avoid? What monitoring is the most important? Elizabeth explains what things to prepare to make anesthesia for the kidney dz patient a breeze! Elizabeth graduated from Michigan State University (GO SPARTANS!!!!) in 2003 with her BS in Agribusiness, she obtained her VTS in 2022 and currently works for a large specialty and emergency center in Lebanon, NJ.