RCVS Knowledge - Evidence-based Veterinary Medicine

In this Audio Summary, Kristy looks at whether surgical treatment is more effective than nonsurgical therapy in reducing lumbosacral pain and neurological dysfunction in dogs suffering from degenerative lumbosacral stenosis (DLSS). Read the full Knowledge Summary here. Audio Summaries are a free resource that enables vets and vet nurses to access and digest relevant and up-to-date evidence quicker and easier. A time-saving way to make better and faster evidence-based decisions.

In this Knowledge Natter, Lou Northway speaks with David Charles, who was named a Knowledge Champion in the 2023 RCVS Knowledge Awards. David conducted an audit across multiple UK practices to gather data on ovine lambings and caesareans, and implemented training and recommendations related to the use of analgesia, antibiotics, and adjunctive medications. The practices saw a reduction in prophylactic antibiotic use and an improvement in the provision of analgesia. Read David's award-winning case example Read the podcast transcript View David's published work

In this Knowledge Natter, Lou Northway speaks Leanne McLeod from Earlswood Veterinary Hospital, who was named a Knowledge Champion in the 2023 RCVS Knowledge Awards. Leanne introduced a hypothermia audit that focused on pre-warming patients before general anaesthesia. By implementing new warming protocols, her team reduced the incidence of hypothermia from 100% to 16%. Read the podcast transcript Read Leanne's case example The 2024 RCVS Knowledge Awards are open for applications now, learn more at rcvsknowledge.org/knowledgeawards

Pam Mosedale speaks to VetTeamAMR Clinical Leads Angie Rayner and David Singleton about how the new initiative will provide companion animal veterinary teams with knowledge, resources and tools to make positive changes in their antimicrobial prescribing. VetTeamAMR for companion animal teams will launch at a free event on Tuesday 20 June. Sign up here: rcvsknowledge.org/VetTeamAMRcompanion Read more about VetTeamAMR Read the podcast transcript

In this podcast, Quality Improvement Clinical Lead Pam Mosedale talks to John Innes, honorary professor at Liverpool University, about new research that used data from RCVS Knowledge’s Canine Cruciate Registry (CCR) to determine its findings. The research provides estimates on the minimal clinically-important differences (MCIDs) for the two validated outcomes measures that are used by the CCR. Read the transcript

Pam Mosedale speaks to VetTeamAMR Equine Clinical Lead Tim Mair about how the new initiative will provide equine veterinary teams with knowledge, resources and tools to make positive changes in their antimicrobial prescribing. Read more about VetTeamAMR Listen to the podcast transcript

Sally Everitt speaks with Barbara Glanemann and Karen Humm from the Royal Veterinary College about their involvement in the research into the clinical features and causes of the outbreak of cases of pancytopenia in cats that occurred in the UK in Spring 2021. Read the transcript Read the paper

In this Knowledge Natter, Lou Northway speaks to Eloise Collins, Head Veterinary Nurse at Beech House Veterinary Centre, who used checklists, auditing, benchmarking, team meetings and journal clubs to help improve patient care and outcomes and to improve practice culture. Eloise helped to create psychological safety amongst the team through her open and honest approach. Eloise became Knowledge Award Quality Improvement Champion for her work in 2022. Read Eloise's case example Read the podcast transcript

In this Audio Summary, Amelia looks at whether environmental modification is superior to medical management in the treatment of feline idiopathic cystitis. Read the full Knowledge Summary here. Audio Summaries are a free resource that enables vets and vet nurses to access and digest relevant and up-to-date evidence quicker and easier. A time-saving way to make better and faster evidence-based decisions. Please find the transcript for this episode by following the above link to the full Knowledge Summary and clicking 'Audio Summary'.

In this Knowledge Natter, Lou Northway, Clinical Lead RVN, talks to vets Sophie Gilbert and Lucy Leicester from Vets Now about their award-winning project using audit and guidelines for the management of dystocia cases. Knowledge Natters are friendly, informal discussions with our Knowledge Award Champions and those who are empowered by Quality Improvement in their work. (Recorded March 2023) You can read the transcript here. You can read the Vets Now Ltd case example here.

Listen to our two Clinical Leads, Tim Nuttall and Tim Mair, introduce this education platform and explain how you can get the most out of it! Read the transcript. VetTeamAMR - Companion Animal and Equine will be available to all users of the Learn platform soon. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to hear about its launch date.

In this episode of For the Record, we hear a discussion between Lacey Pitcher, Emily Craven, Daniel Denness and Kirstie Pickles. Together they discuss what neurodiversity means, the similarities and differences in their experiences, and how they would like to see understanding and awareness of neurodiversity change in the future. Read the transcript here

Listen to Farm Vet Champions Clinical Lead, Fiona Lovatt, talk to NOAH's Senior Technical Policy Manager, Lucy Coyne, about how farm vets can use the our SMART goals tool and the Livestock Vaccine Guideline to build confidence in their vaccine protocols and support those vet-farmer conversations. Both of these free resources support the Farm Vet Champions mantra: Plan, Prevent, Protect. To start seeing positive changes in your herd and flock health, set and track your SMART goals here: Dashboard (rcvsknowledge.org) To sign the NOAH pledge or access the Livestock Vaccine Guideline, visit: https://www.noahlvg.co.uk/ Read the podcast transcript

Dr Kit Sturgess, Editor-in-Chief of Veterinary Evidence spoke with the winners of our 2022 Veterinary Evidence Student Awards - Sarah Daphne Foo, Maxim Bembinov and Narakhanti Soenardi about their experiences of writing Knowledge Summaries for Veterinary Evidence and how it felt to be published in a peer reviewed journal before graduating. Read the transcript here .

Sally Everitt speaks with Matthew Rendle about how we can improve the care of rabbits in veterinary practice, make best use of the evidence that we have, and develop further evidence for the future. Read the paper Read the podcast transcript

This session was recorded during the SPVS VMG Congress on the 13th May 2022. In addition to traversing the terrain of chronic staffing resource shortages and withstanding the onslaught of the pandemic, the veterinary professions in the UK were then hit with a tidal wave of new pets. Caseload increases of 50% faced diminished and fatigued teams. Fortunately, veterinary teams are problem-solvers and solution-finders. We innovate, we improve, we learn and we share. What we have learnt are new ways of working, born out of necessity, to address the caseload: staffing imbalance. In this session we discuss how system and process changes can significantly reduce the time it takes to perform our roles, how we can implement and measure these changes, making sure we can get to the other side of the caseload peak successfully. View the transcript here. Speaker: Dr Laura Playforth BVM&S MSc Adv HCP (Open) MRCVS, Vice-Chair of QIAB Laura qualified from the University of Edinburgh in 1999. After working in a variety of small animal practices in Yorkshire for eight years, she moved into Emergency and Critical Care as a Senior Veterinary Surgeon at Vets Now. In the early part of her career at Vets Now, Laura successfully led three different out-of-hours emergency clinics, before being promoted to the role of District Vet and then on to the Head of Veterinary Standards role. Today, she is Vets Now’s Professional Standards Director and is responsible for driving clinical and professional standards. She has extensive experience in utilising clinical benchmarking, governance and guidelines in order to embed best practice across the company's network. More recent developments Laura and her team have led have focused on patient safety, the use of checklists and significant event review reporting. Laura also works closely with the Vets Now marketing department on a wide variety of digital content, media and PR work. Laura has an MSc in advancing healthcare practice with the Open University, which aims to develop skills in evidence-based practice, policy development and innovation to facilitate sustainable improvements in care quality. She hopes to bring a fresh and open mind to the QIAB, drawing on more than a decade of experience of clinical leadership in a nationwide provider of first-opinion emergency and critical care.

Amanda Boag, Chair of the RCVS Knowledge Board of Trustees in conversation with Professor Herman Barkema, our 2022 Plowright Prize winner. The biennial Plowright Prize recognises an individual who has made significant contributions to the field of infectious diseases in animals. Find out more including how to nominate someone for the Prize here: rcvsknowledge.org/plowright Read the transcript here

Alison Pyatt, Training Centre Lead VMD, and Pam Mosedale, QI Clinical Lead RCVS Knowledge, introduce the Managing Veterinary Medicines: Staying Legal and Promoting Safety course. The course is freely available to everyone in the veterinary profession and provides information on veterinary medicine regulations and the safe and responsible use of veterinary medicines. Access the course at rcvsknowledge.org/managing-veterinary-medicines/ Read the transcript

Pam Mosedale speaks with Fergus Allerton about the upcoming Antibiotic Amnesty. Learn more about the amnesty and how you can get involved at rcvsknowledge.org/amnesty Read the transcript

VetTeamAMR Project Manager Lucy Coyne speaks to Farm Vet Champion Lucy Coyne about Rose Willis about how she inspired her practice team and clients to engage with the Medicine Hub and how SMART goals can be used to motivate the team. Read the transcript

In the fourth episode of ‘For the Record’, we hear from vets working as Official Veterinarians within the public health sector, some of whom trained in other European nations before moving to the UK. This episode was recorded in two parts. The first part was recorded in December 2020, before the confirmation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and all three participants are employed by Eville & Jones. The second part was recorded in September 2022, 15 months after the Trade Agreement came into effect. All three of these participants work for Food Standards Scotland. This episode features: Juan Avila Sara Basto Andrei Ungureanu Evangelos Katsoulis Jose Rodrigues Robles Arabella White 'For The Record' is a series featuring conversations between current and former members of the veterinary professions, highlighting voices and experiences usually absent from our official archive. You can read the transcript on our website. If you would like to get involved in future episodes, please contact the RCVS Knowledge archives team by email at [email protected] Music is 'Jindupe' by Lauren Duski.

In this podcast, Pam Mosedale chats with Mel McPherson about how farm practices can get started with Quality Improvement (QI). This podcast was recorded for the QI Boxset- Series 1: Episode 2: Getting started with Quality Improvement. Read the transcript.

This session was recorded during the SPVS VMG Congress on the 13th May 2022. *Please note, there is a short pause in the presentation at 15:24 while the sound technician fixes some feedback and Mark Moreton's microphone level* With more demanding priorities to deliver the best possible care whilst dealing with the consequences of COVID-19 and Brexit, it's no wonder that veterinary professionals are concerned with stress and burnout within the profession. Human healthcare has seen similar challenges and various teams around the world have been using the 'Joy in work' framework to battle burnout and stay fulfilled professionally. Angie and her team have been trialling this framework in veterinary settings, learning which steps help connect veterinary teams in meaning and purpose, with the aim of improving satisfaction and even feeling a buzz from their work. They have seen that it is not only possible, it can be a fundamental step to ensuring continued excellence in patient care and client experiences, even in these challenging times. Download the 'What matters to you - Conversation guide for leaders' Read the transcript Featuring:- - Angela Rayner, BVM&S PgDipPSHCF MRCVS, Director of Quality Improvement for CVS Group and a small animal GP vet. She won an RCVS Knowledge QI Award for improvements made in controlled drugs auditing and is Co-clinical Lead for their Antibiotic Stewardship Audit. - Mark Moreton, BVetMED MRCVS, Small Animal GP Vet and a Hub Clinical Lead for CVS.

In this podcast, Lesley Moore RVN, Principle Nurse Manager at Vets Now Macclesfield speaks with Pam Mosedale about an audit that improved general anaesthetic monitoring in an emergency setting. The nursing team won a Knowledge Award for their work. Read their case example here. Read the transcript.

Happy Birthday to the Canine Cruciate Registry! One year since its launch, and since their last podcast together, Pam Mosedale and Mark Morton chat about the Registry's progress and the benefits of signing up. Read the transcript. Access the Canine Cruciate Registry.

In our podcast series 'Research Focus', Sally Everitt, our inFOCUS Clinical Lead, will be chatting all about veterinary clinical research with a range of excellent guests. In this episode, Dan O'Neill talked to Sally about new research on dog life expectancy and mortality, using VetCompass data, broken down by age, sex and breed. The research gives a novel insight into the varied life trajectory across dogs, while identifying potential impacts and applications on canine health and welfare, as well as owner and veterinary professionals' understanding. Read the paper. Download the life tables infographic. Read more VetCompass publications. Read the podcast transcript. Reference: Teng, K.T.Y., Brodbelt, D.C., Pegram, C., Church, D.B. and O’Neill, D.G., 2022. Life tables of annual life expectancy and mortality for companion dogs in the United Kingdom. Scientific reports, 12(1), pp.1-11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10341-6

Farm Vet Champions Clinical Lead, Fiona Lovatt speaks with Farm Vet Champion and Veterinary Surgeon, Emily Gascoigne about responsible antimicrobial use at lambing time. Read the transcript here.

Listen to Pam Mosedale, QI Clinical Lead, chat to Jo Civil about her role as a veterinary receptionist and Quality Improvement officer within practice. This podcast was recorded for the QI Boxset- Series 1: Episode 2: Getting started with Quality Improvement. Read the transcript.

In this Audio Summary, Katy compares the evidence for two well-known treatments for cystic ovarian disease. Read the full Knowledge Summary here. Audio Summaries are a free resource that enables vets and vet nurses to access and digest relevant and up-to-date evidence quicker and easier. A time-saving way to make better and faster evidence-based decisions. Read the transcript.

Recorded for the QI Boxset series, Establishing a Quality Improvement Structure in Practice, Pam Mosedale chats to Sian Tranter MRCVS, member of the British Veterinary Locum Association (BVLA) working group, on how locums can fulfil clinical governance requirements. Read the transcript here Access the QI Boxset now.

In this episode of the QI Boxset, VetTeamAMR Project Manager Lucy Coyne introduces a new initiative that champions the responsible use of antimicrobials within companion animal, farm animal, and equine veterinary teams. Read the transcript

RVNs Carla Husband, Abbie McMillan and Lauren Sweeney were the winners of the Veterinary Evidence Student Awards 2020. We invited them for a chat to discuss how they found the transition from university to practice, the impact evidence has on their practice and their messages to their younger selves. Read the transcript. Find out more about the Veterinary Evidence Student Awards, which are open to all undergraduate students studying for any veterinary-related degree.

In this episode, Pam Mosedale chats to Fiona Lovatt who is Clinical Lead for our Farm Vet Champions project. Read the transcript

In this episode from QI Boxset series one, Pam Mosedale, our QI Clinical Lead, chats with Anne Lawson, PSS Assessor, about how clinical governance and Quality Improvement fit into the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme. Read the transcript. Access this podcast as a webinar, and explore the rest of the QI Boxset on RCVS Knowledge's Learn platform.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Knowledge Natter - our series featuring friendly and informal discussions with Knowledge Champions, and those who are empowered by Quality Improvement (QI) in their work. Today's episode features Marnie Brennan, Kate White, Emma Drinkall, and Julie Gibson, from the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Nottingham, who became Knowledge Award winners for integrating QI and EBVM into the curriculum for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. They do this in a novel way, informed by a research-led agenda, focusing on the application of QI and EBVM into clinical practice. Our QI Clinical Lead Pam Mosedale chatted to the team about the importance of teaching QI to students. Read their case example. Read the transcript.

In this Audio Summary Veterinary Evidence author Natashia Weir shares the finding of her and co-author Jo Ireland’s study, examining whether IDEXX Angio Detect™ can accurately detect canine Angiostrongylosis. Read the full Knowledge Summary here. Audio Summaries are a free resource that enable vets and vet nurses to more quickly and more easily access and digest relevant and up-to-date evidence! A time-saving way to make better and faster evidence-based decisions. Access transcript

VetTeamAMR Project Manager, Lucy Coyne. speaks with Dr Henrietta Kodilinye-Sims about Farm Vet Champions and the responsible use of antimicrobials in poultry medicine. Read the transcript Learn more about VetTeamAMR

In this episode, Pam Mosedale chats to Ross Allan about his experience of using the Canine Cruciate Registry. Read the transcript. Access the Canine Cruciate Registry.

In our podcast series 'Research Focus', Sally Everitt, our inFOCUS Clinical Lead, will be chatting all about veterinary clinical research with a range of excellent guests. In this episode, Fergus Allerton talked to Sally about the SAMSoc 'STOP on Sunday (SOS) Urinary Tract Infection Trial', which is recruiting first opinion practice vets. Find out more about the study. Access our In the Spotlight feature on Practice-based research. Access our AMR Hub, for freely accessible, evidence-based knowledge and resources about responsible antimicrobial use. Reference: Allerton, F., Pouwels, K.B., Bazelle, J., Caddy, S., Cauvin, A., De Risio, L., Swann, J., Warland, J. and Kent, A., 2021. Prospective trial of different antimicrobial treatment durations for presumptive canine urinary tract infections. BMC veterinary research, 17(1), pp.112. doi.org/10.1186/s12917-021-02974-y

Kit Sturgess, the Editor-in-Chief of Veterinary Evidence, chatted to Alexandra Bartlett, Erina Leask, and Eleanor Best - the 2021 Veterinary Evidence Student Award first, second, and third place winners. They chatted about their motivation to enter the competition, how they found the process, what they learnt from the experience, and why other students should apply for next year's competition. The 2023 Veterinary Evidence Student Awards are open until 13th January 2023. Apply now. Read the transcript.

Lou Northway, QI Clinical Lead at RCVS Knowledge chats to Elizabeth McLennan-Green, Hub Clinical Lead at CVS about her team's audit on the optimisation of the use of ear cytology in veterinary primary care. The team were awarded as Knowledge Champions in 2021 for their work. Read the award-winning case example here. Read the transcript here.

In our new podcast series 'Research Focus', Sally Everitt, our inFOCUS Clinical Lead, will be chatting all about veterinary clinical research with a range of excellent guests. This week, Alex Davies, who works in a first opinion practice in South Wales and is BVA's Young Vet of the Year for his work with Vet Mentor, talked about his experiences and passion for practice-based research as a primary care vet. Read the transcript. Access our In the Spotlight resource on practice-based research. Access Knowledge Summaries from our journal Veterinary Evidence.

In the third episode of ‘For the Record’, we hear from four male registered veterinary nurses, working in the UK today. Together they discuss their route into veterinary nursing as a career, their experiences as men in a predominantly female profession, and their personal aspirations and goals. This episode features: Chris Hann Ryan Hunt Ryan Mariner Matthew Rendle 'For The Record' is a series featuring conversations between current and former members of the veterinary professions, highlighting voices and experiences usually absent from our official archive. This episode was recorded in June 2021. The transcript can be read here. If you would like to get involved in future episodes, please contact the RCVS Knowledge archives team by email at [email protected] Music is 'Jindupe' by Lauren Duski.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Knowledge Natter - our new series featuring friendly and informal discussions with Knowledge Champions, and those who are empowered by Quality Improvement (QI) in their work. Today's episode features Samantha Fontaine, who became a Knowledge Champion for implementing a new course that teaches QI to veterinary nurses, including those in practice and education, at the University of Glasgow. Our RVN QI Clinical Lead Lou Northway, chatted to Sam and three of her students, Sarah, Molly, and Megan, about the course, taking the leap to implementing QI and their future QI plans. Read Samantha's award-winning case example 'Teaching QI to veterinary nurses'. Read the transcript.

Care bundles are a group of evidence-based practices that relate to a disease or a set of symptoms, that result in better outcomes when executed altogether than if implemented individually. In this podcast, Helen Ballantyne, who is a dual-qualified medical and veterinary nurse, draws upon her experience in human nursing to explain to Pam Mosedale why veterinary teams should be implementing care bundles to save time, promote teamwork, and improve patient outcomes. Read the transcript here. Access all the content from the first series of the QI Boxset here.

Most veterinary surgeons and nurses working with small animals will have experience in treating canine cruciate ligament ruptures. However, there is not a strong evidence base to know which surgical techniques have the best outcome. The new Canine Cruciate Registry (CCR) is RCVS Knowledge’s answer to this knowledge gap in veterinary care. In this podcast, hear Mark Morton, Canine Cruciate Registry Clinical Lead, talk to Pam Mosedale about the registry, why it's important, and why we need as many vets as possible to get involved. Find out more on our website: caninecruciateregistry.org Read the transcript.

Evidence suggests that incivility can increase errors and have a knock-on domino effect that impacts the whole team. In this podcast, Professional Standards Director at Vets Now Laura Playforth discusses how incivility can impact patient care and outcomes. Access the transcript here.

In this Audio Summary Veterinary Evidence author Amy Leather shares the finding of her and co-author Sarah Smith’s study, examining whether inhaled immunotherapy is more effective than environmental management when treating equine asthma. Read the full Knowledge Summary here. Audio Summaries are a free resource that enable vets and vet nurses to more quickly and more easily access and digest relevant and up-to-date evidence! A time-saving way to make better and faster evidence-based decisions. Access the transcript here.

The most joyful, productive, engaged staff feel both physically and psychologically safe, appreciate the meaning and purpose of their work, have some choice and control over their time, experience camaraderie with others at work, and perceive their work-life to be fair and equitable. In this podcast, in a first for the veterinary profession in the UK, we will hear from Jesse McCall, who co-leads the Joy in Work Results-Oriented Learning Network at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, as he discusses the factors that diminish joy in work, and practical steps that teams can take to work together to nurture their workforce and address the issues that drive burnout and sap joy in work. Recorded at SPVS-VMG Virtual Congress in May 2021. Access the transcript here.

In this Audio Summary Veterinary Evidence author Lesca Monica Sofyan reviews the evidence as to whether meloxicam is superior to carprofen for reducing patient discomfort in dogs diagnosed with osteoarthritis. Read the full Knowledge Summary here. Audio Summaries are a free resource that enable vets and vet nurses to more quickly and more easily access and digest relevant and up-to-date evidence! A time-saving way to make better and faster evidence-based decisions. Access the transcript here.