2 Feb 2021
Whatever kind of nurse you are, evidence-based veterinary medicine can help you provide the best possible care for the animals in your trust – and RCVS Knowledge has a variety of free resources to help you do just this.
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Are you at the start of your nursing career? Head of a team? Do you have extra qualifications in anaesthesia, nutrition or dentistry?
Whatever your interests and experience, using an evidence-based approach can bolster your confidence that you’re making the most informed decisions about how to treat and care for your patients.
We all have different ways we prefer to learn and consult evidence, and different working patterns we need to fit this into. Veterinary nurses do tend to share two things, however – a desire to do the best they can for the animals in their trust and a shortage of free time in the day (or night).
As a result, the RCVS Knowledge team has put together a growing range of evidence‑based veterinary medicine (EBVM) and Quality Improvement resources spanning a broad spectrum of subjects that are available in different formats, to help you incorporate evidence into your small animal or equine practice in a way that works for you.
If you want to listen and learn on the go, nearly 150 podcasts are available for you to choose from – from bite-sized audio summaries of Knowledge Summaries published in our open access, peer-reviewed online journal Veterinary Evidence and roundtable discussions with experts on hot topics, to full event recordings.
Tune into RVN Meghan Conroy discussing her aural cytology audit or RVN Charlotte Hartley on getting started with clinical audits in equine practice.
If you’re more of a visual learner, you can sit back and watch in-depth webinars, as well as snappy COVID-19 myth-busters. From time to time we also run informal, interactive chats on Facebook Live with nurses and others who are passionate about their specialist subjects.
Get inspired by RVN and RCVS Knowledge champion Lou Northway discussing why and how to get started as a Quality Improvement ambassador in practice in a session recorded for BSAVA 2020.
For those who like to hit the virtual books, Veterinary Evidence is available to all for free. The journal provides access to summaries of the evidence to help veterinary professionals make informed decisions in practice.
The most read paper of 2020 was written by veterinary nurse Katrina Nader, exploring the evidence behind the recommended surgical fluid therapy rates for cats and dogs.
Many of us consolidate our learning by discussing what we’ve read – and RCVS Knowledge’s free journal club resources are designed to help you do just that. An expanding set of materials is available to help the team come together to discuss published papers, including a guide to setting up and running a journal club, a checklist to help guide discussions and worked examples on a range of topics.
A growing set of case examples is also available to cater for those who take in new ideas best through practical, lived examples of clinical scenarios. One recent case example by RVN and Knowledge Awards Highly Commended runner-up Holly Warrilow details several audits undertaken to identify whether patient temperatures were being taken during the perioperative period, and to implement improvements to benefit patient care within that period.
Do you like to schedule a regular time for your CPD? RCVS Knowledge’s inFOCUS, delivered to your inbox every two months, offers summaries of new research that its clinical review team judges to have the greatest potential to positively impact patient care. The team monitors more than 100 journals and provides links to the full articles so you can deep-dive into subjects you’re passionate about. The latest RCVS Knowledge Spotlight feature focuses on the evidence for the benefits and risks of neutering pets.
Equally, if structured learning appeals to you, you can choose from free online courses on clinical audits, significant event audits and guidelines – with more on the way – that you can start and pick up whenever suits you.
COVID-19 continues to present a major learning curve for all of us. If you value a single reference point for the latest clinical evidence and advice for professionals from a range of reputable sources, take a look at RCVS Knowledge’s regularly updated COVID-19 resources hub.
A set of five infection control webinars with experts that give the low-down on biosecurity, policies and procedures, auditing and more is also available.
At RCVS Knowledge, we are always expanding the free resources we offer to help as many veterinary professionals as possible advance the quality of care they provide through EBVM.
Let us know what you think of our resources, where the gaps lie and, even better, if you want to help us create these or share yours. Everyone has a role to play in building the evidence base – and once they take the plunge, many RVNs and students find it really rewarding.
Championing the use of evidence-based medicine to enhance the quality of veterinary care
