Feature Topic for Veterinary Assistants: Challenges in Emergency Care – We Are There for Our Patients!
Emergency cases present particular challenges for staff working at veterinary clinics. The feature topic for veterinary assistants at the 2024 Leipzig Veterinary Congress will be "Challenges in emergency care – we are there for our patients!" The topic will focus on how various emergency cases can be assessed and how appropriate initial treatment can be provided. There will also be lectures on how to make a diagnosis and what to be particularly aware of when doing so.
Successfully dealing with emergency patients requires rapid assessment and evaluation. This is the prerequisite for initiating correct diagnostic and therapeutic measures, so patients can be treated as soon as possible. Veterinary assistants are usually the first to see the injured or sick animal before the vet undertakes an examination. Furthermore, assistants are often involved in organising the practice and prioritising patients as well as managing the allocation and use of the available in-house resources. For these reasons, they play a significant role in dealing with emergency cases. Veterinary assistants can find out all about the best way to deal with various emergencies at the talks in the feature topic series entitled "Challenges in emergency care – we are there for our patients!" on 20 January at the 12th Leipzig Veterinary Congress in Hall 3 at Leipziger Messe.
Dealing with All Kinds of Emergencies
Lecture topics will include first aid for poisoning, dealing with ophthalmological emergencies, patients with diabetes mellitus and gastric torsion in dogs. The talk on "Being there when everything is spinning – managing vestibular patients" will be about patients with problems such as vertigo. Additional topics will include respiratory distress due to arterial thromboembolism in cats and what veterinary assistants can do to best manage animals with respiratory problems. The subject of psychologically challenging situations in emergency care will be on the agenda when Karolina Kantor takes a semi-interactive look at "When help comes too late in an emergency – how do I deliver bad news and how can I help owners cope with their grief?" The chairperson in charge of the feature topic will be Dr Frauke Rödler from Leipzig University.
Diagnostics in an Emergency
There will be two lectures devoted to diagnostics in an emergency. Anne-Kristin Moritz will explore the topic of X-ray examinations in emergency situations. "Especially in an emergency, it is so important to use laboratory diagnostics to help get a full picture of the patient's condition", explains Theresa Marquar from the Laboklin laboratory for veterinary diagnostics. In her talk, she will illustrate the optimum procedure in such cases. She will look into topics such as knowing which samples to take and when to take them, how best to take those samples and how they need to be prepared and conserved in order to ensure the laboratory tests deliver useful results. When is a microscopic examination of a blood smear useful and what can it reveal? Which parameters are of interest in a blood chemistry test and what do they mean or what do they indicate? These are just some of the questions that will be covered in this lecture.
CPD Accreditations Are Available
Attendance at the feature topic lecture series for veterinary assistants on Saturday, 20 January 2024 will be accredited by the Working Group for the Recognition of Further and Advanced Education for Veterinary Assistants (AG TFA) in accordance with Section 5 Paragraphs 1a and 2 of the collective wage agreement. Attendees will receive credit for 5 AG TFA training hours.
Refresher Course on the Radiation Protection Ordinance (StrlSchV) Section 49 and the Radiation Protection in Veterinary Medicine Directive (K30)
On Sunday, 21 January, veterinary assistants will have the opportunity to take part in a course designed to refresh their knowledge of the Radiation Protection Ordinance (StrlSchV). The course will convey and/or refresh information on radiation protection law as well as the biological and physical aspects of radiation protection. A written test with 20 multiple-choice questions is taken at the end of the session. The course will take place from 9 am to 1 pm in the Herbert-Gürtler-Haus at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. (This is not at the exhibition site!) The number of participants is limited to 40. Veterinary assistants interested in taking part should register at www.tieraerztekongress.de/ticket. The course fee is € 120.00.
About the Leipzig Veterinary Congress and vetexpo
The Leipzig Veterinary Congress and vetexpo trade fair are organised by Leipziger Messe GmbH, the University of Leipzig Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the six chambers of veterinary medicine of the German states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The most recent edition from 7 to 9 July 500 attracted 5,600 veterinarians, veterinary assistants and students of veterinary medicine as well as 500 speakers to Leipzig. At vetexpo, the largest veterinary trade fair in German-speaking Europe, 282 companies from 17 countries presented their products and services on 15,000 m² of exhibition space. The 12th Leipzig Veterinary Congress will take place from 18 to 20 January 2024.
