SynergyCPD

27/08/2026

🚨 New RECOVER Guidelines Are Here!

What should you do when a dog or cat has an emergency before you can reach the veterinary hospital?

The RECOVER First Aid Guidelines provide evidence- and consensus-based recommendations to help recognize emergencies and provide appropriate first aid when minutes matter.

From heatstroke and choking to burns, toxin ingestion, and severe bleeding, these guidelines give veterinary teams practical tools to help prepare the people caring for animals outside the hospital.

🔗 Explore the 2026 RECOVER First Aid Guidelines: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14764431/36/S1

What first aid situations do you encounter most often? Share your experience in the comments!

17/05/2026

Sedation can be more risky than general anaesthesia! There’s no airway protection or means to ventilate if the patient stops breathing.

Good monitoring is essential to catch complications as they happen. I routinely use ECG, BP, SP02 and capnography! I often see periods of apnoea with alpha 2 agonists.

Place the capnograph sampling line as close to the nostrils as possible and inside a good fitting oxygen mask (always, always provide oxygen!). You will be able to monitor respiratory rate and identify apnoea quickly even if the trace is not perfect.

Looking for team training in CPR or any anaesthesia topic? Get in touch!

[email protected]

https://www.synergycpd.com

21/04/2026

Thank you Pets at Donnington Grove Vets for inviting me back again for your team CPR training!

This was my third visit here, as your team grows it’s important to ensure new members of the team get training in CPR so the whole team is ready should the worst happen.

Looking for team training in CPR or any anaesthesia topic? Get in touch!

[email protected]

https://www.synergycpd.com

18/04/2026

09/04/2026

Honoured to have been able to contribute to this book and on my favourite subject Analgesia!

Well, this looks very official doesn’t it? I’m so excited to say that my book is available for pre-order from Wiley! I am humbled and honored to have worked with some incredible contributors for a book I am very proud of. I know some real smarty-pants and I absolutely couldn’t have done it without them, Thank you to everyone who helped me make this a reality.

09/04/2026

🚨 Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail 🚨

Join Claire Woolford, VTS (A&A) on Sunday, April 19, from 12:15 PM - 1:15 PM during the NAVAS Virtual Spring Symposium 2026! 🌟

In this session, Claire will emphasize the importance of preparation in anesthesia. Learn how thorough planning and anticipating challenges can make all the difference in achieving successful outcomes. Discover essential strategies for preparing yourself, your team, and your patients to minimize risks and ensure smooth anesthesia procedures. 🐾

💡 This session is a must for any veterinary professional looking to improve their approach to anesthesia preparation.

🔗 Register for FREE today and join us for this session: https://bit.ly/4sAMGU1

29/03/2026

Hypotension? Hasn’t responded to fluids, the heart rate is ok an you’ve turned down the iso as far as you dare?

You could consider using Ephedrine to improve the blood pressure. This is a useful drug particularly if you don’t have syringe drivers or access to drugs like Dopamine or Norepinephrine. It doesn’t require a CRI, it’s fast acting but has a short duration of action around 10mins approximately. The dose is 0.05 - 0.1 mg/kg IV.

It causes increased levels of the patients own norepinephrine at sympathetic nerve endings causing both increased cardiac contractility and vasoconstriction. This increases blood pressure.

It can buy you time. It can only be repeated once or twice before the patient stops responding to it. But in short procedures this may not be a problem.

Looking for team training in CPR or any anaesthesia topic? Get in touch!

[email protected]

https://www.synergycpd.com

25/03/2026

See you there!!

15/03/2026

Cardiac oscillations are caused by small gas movements produced by the heart beating against the lungs. They are a “normal abnormality”

More commonly seen when the respiratory rate is low. They can sometimes confuse your monitor into counting each oscillation as a breath resulting in it displaying a falsely high respiratory rate and lot ETCO2.

Looking for team training in CPR or any anaesthesia topic? Get in touch!

[email protected]

https://www.synergycpd.com

15/02/2026

Thank you Unisvet for inviting me to speak at their annual conference in Bologna! I was very honoured to be their first veterinary first veterinary nurse speaker for their technician stream!

Wonderful to see so many techs keen to learn and develop their profession in Italy.

Looking for team training in CPR or any anaesthesia topic? Get in touch!

[email protected]

https://www.synergycpd.com