Essentials of Emergency By Dr Rebecca Walton DACVECC

Course overview

Course Format: A six-week, self-paced online program offering approximately 12 hours of structured video lectures, downloadable notes, drug charts and case workbooks. Learners receive 12 weeks of access and may complete modules at their own pace. Target Audience: Veterinarians and final-year veterinary students seeking to improve confidence and competence in small-animal emergency and critical-care management, including general practitioners, emergency clinicians and new graduates. Course Overview: Emergency and critical care are among the most high-stakes areas of veterinary practice, requiring rapid decision-making, sound protocols and confident execution. Essentials of Emergency provides a structured, evidence-based approach to key emergency workflows: from triage and shock recognition, through point-of-care diagnostics, fluid therapy and real-world case management. With guidance from a board-certified ECC specialist, the course bridges theory and clinical application via case-based scenarios and practical protocols. Learning Objectives: By the end of this course, participants will be able to: Conduct efficient triage (including phone triage, front-desk screening and in-clinic primary/secondary survey) and identify life-threatening conditions. Recognise and differentiate types of shock (hypovolaemic, distributive, cardiogenic, obstructive), interpret key clinical signs and initiate appropriate stabilisation. Apply point-of-care diagnostic tools (PCV/TS, lactate, blood smear, POCUS) to derive rapid, actionable information in unstable patients. Select and administer appropriate fluid therapy (crystalloids vs colloids, calculate doses and rates, recognise adverse effects) tailored to emergency patients. Develop and adjust comprehensive emergency plans (fluid/drug/diagnostic strategy) in complex, evolving cases using case-based learning. Demonstrate safe and effective communication with veterinary clients under emergency conditions and set realistic expectations for prognosis and cost. Educational Methods: Short focused video lectures (5 to 20 minutes each), downloadable workbooks, drug/diagnostic charts, interactive quizzes and realistic case-study modules. Each week begins with a short quiz, then instructional videos followed by workbook exercises and end-module quizzes; final module includes a comprehensive online MCQ exam (minimum 70% pass mark). Relevance to Veterinary Practice: Effective emergency/critical-care response significantly influences patient survival and clinical outcomes in veterinary practice. This course equips veterinarians with structured frameworks, decision-making tools and applied protocols that can be directly integrated into general or emergency veterinary practice, enhancing both service quality and practitioner confidence. Outcomes and Assessment: Participants demonstrate competence via completion of all modules, quizzes, case studies and the final online exam. Successful participants receive a personalised certificate of completion suitable for CE documentation.