Veterinary nurses play an essential role in critical care nursing and administration and monitoring of anaesthesia and analgesia in small animal practice..

Key Skills:

By the end of this workshop delegates will:

  • Assist in selection of anaesthesia protocols for patients of varying health status and disease states
  • Understand the function and application of anaesthesia monitoring equipment
  • Recognise an anaesthetic crisis and be able to act in an emergency
  • Efficiently perform Initial triage and stabilisation of emergent patients
  • Confidently perform Basic and Advanced life support using the RECOVER gold standard CPR techniques

Attending this workshop will enable vet nurses to increase their skills and confidence when administering anaesthesia and analgesia to everyday patients, from young and healthy animals to those compromised by disease, to emergency patients. The nurses will be taught the RECOVER CPR guidelines, the first true evidence-based CPR guidelines for vet professionals.

Marcia Fletcher

DVN(Dist), VTS-Anaes, Veterinary Technician Specialist in Anaesthesia and Analgesia

Marcia graduated from Massey University with a Veterinary Nursing Diploma with distinction in 2003, and has worked for the Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital as the senior anaesthesia technician ever since. She deals with a vast range of patients every day, from countless avian species, companion animals and large animals, to small mammals and exotic species.

In 2011 she successfully passed her specialty examinations in America to become New Zealand’s first Veterinary Technician Specialist in Anaesthesia and Analgesia. In 2012 she was awarded the New Zealand Veterinary Nursing Association “Vet Nurse of the Year”, an award for excellence in veterinary nursing. In 2016 Marcia joined the credentials committee for the Academy of Veterinary Technicians in Anaesthesia and Analgesia. She won an Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences (IVABS) teaching award in 2016 and was nominated for the same award in 2017.

Loving all aspects of teaching, her passion has been instilling knowledge to both the veterinary and veterinary nurse students at Massey, as well as around New Zealand via her anaesthesia journal articles and conference presentations. Away from work Marcia enjoys her family life with her husband, 8 year-old daughter, 5 year-old son and her very special fur-son Phoenix the cat.

This workshop is accredited for 7 NZVNA CPD points. 

Anaesthesia and Analgesia for Vet Nurses