This 4 day course is aimed at the pain clinician and the pain clinic veterinary nurse who is already familiar with treating chronic pain in dogs and cats. Very often, the practitioner is faced with the difficulty in distinguishing between behaviours that are directly the result of pain and those caused by pain, but now learned; the presentation of mixed behavioural/pain pictures; and the need to determine whether the outcome measures selected are pain or behaviour related.
The course will teach how the effects of chronic pain affect the brain and behaviour of the patient; the normal behaviour of cats and dogs and how pain may affect this; how to distinguish between a painful cause and a social/environmental cause of a behaviour problem; and will teach some basic principles in treating common behavioural disorders, including the use of behaviour modifying drugs. Case examples, discussions and group work will be mixed with lecture presentations.
This course can be taken as a stand-alone experience (24 hours of CPD) or can be used as part of the bespoke award in Integrated Care in Veterinary Practice (ECAS AWARD in ICVP).