Continuing Education
Diagnostic skills refresher
Quick and simple in-house diagnostics are super helpful to guide immediate decisions around use and selection of antimicrobials.
Here are some refreshers to help optimise your decision making.
Urine wet prep
Jacqui Norris shows you everything you need to know to get quick answers with lower urinary cases.
Video credit: Versatile Vets
Download in-house
urine wet prep protocol here.
Sticky tape sample
Linda Vogelnest walks you through this quick, non-invasive, and highly effective technique
for skin cases. Video Credit: Versatile Vets
Download sticky tape sampling protocol here.
Get the most from your in-house cytology
Pat Shearer shows you the insider tricks to get more from your microscope and in-house stains.
Video credit: Pints & Pathology
Download microscope and
stain daily maintenance protocol here.
Gram stain protocol
Have you thought about in-house gram staining? It’s easier than you think, as Jacqui Norris
explains.
Video credit: Versatile Vets
Download in-house gram
stain protocol here.
Diff Quik® protocol
Get some quality control in your practice by making sure your stains are managed right and that your
team is using consistent protocols.
Video credit: Pints & Pathology
Download in-house Diff Quik®
protocol here.
Blood smears & cell counts
We guarantee you’ll pick up some helpful tips on blood smears, cell counts, and normal blood cell morphology from Sydney Uni Lab Tech Christine Black.
Video credit: Versatile Vets
Download in-house blood smear
protocol here.
Open-access evidence
Accessing and interpreting evidence around AMR can feel overwhelming.
Here are some open-access papers that are useful starting points and provide a great overview of some areas of importance.
General
Surgical site infections
Burgess, 2019
A great review of all things related to surgical site infections in veterinary patients across different species and practice types.
Antimicrobial use and resistance in animals
ACVIM, 2015
A reader friendly question-and-answer style paper that summarises the available evidence into a great overview on antimicrobials in veterinary practice.
AMR- Emerging threats and changes to practice
Beaudoin, 2019
A presentation from Minnesota, USA that covers some of the most relevant emerging threats facing veterinary practice on the AMR front.
Small animals
Urinary tract infections
ISCAID, 2019
Urinary tract infections are a common reason for using anitbiotics. This paper gives an easy framework for diagnosis and management of UTI infections in dogs and cats.
Respiratory disease
ISCAID, 2017
This excellent guideline provides a systematic approach to dogs and cats with respiratory signs and informs the decision trees on our prescribing support page.
Uncomplicated acute diarrhoea in dogs
Werner et al, 2020
A prospective, placebo-controlled, double-blinded study showing that amoxi-clav offers no clinical benefit for acute diarrhoea in dogs, but increases their risk of developing resistant E.Coli.
Equine
R.equi resistance in lab samples from Kentucky
Huber et al, 2019
A retrospective 2019 study out of Kentucky that looked at the resistance profiles of R.equi to macrolides and rifampicin over a 12-year period. The authors identified a rapid increase in the rate of resistance that they conclude threatens both human and animal health.
Equine respiratory isolates from New Zealand
Toombs-Ruane et al, 2019
A retrospective lab-based study of equine respiratory samples in young horses in New Zealand. This 2015 study identified 39.2% of patients as having multidrug resistant infections.
Managing R. equi in foals
Venner et al, 2013
This controlled, randomized, and double-blinded prospective study provides strong evidence for a systematic approach towards managing subclinical R. equi in foals with practical advice to help identify those that do need treatment.
Other useful resources
Online learning resources we find useful
Agriculture Victoria educational resources for vets - Go to site
National Centre for Antimicrobial Stewardship. A group of One Health professionals working to promote the rational use of antimicrobials drugs throughout Australia - Go to site
APVMA report - 2017 - Download
APVMA Antibiotic Resistance page - Go to site
University of Minnesota Antimicrobial Resistance and Stewardship Initiative - Go to site
Other free online courses we like
Technical University of Denmark - online course with a focus on laboratory methods of antimicrobial susceptibility testing - Go to site
University of Dundee - six week online course about antimicrobial stewardship designed for human healthcare professionals - Go to site
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences - four week course on livestock production with low antimicrobial use - Go to site
British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy - if you're ready to implement an Antimicrobial Stewardship program in your practice, this British course will help prepare you to do so effectively - Go to site