Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go: Considerations and Preparation for Anesthetic Recoveries
1.0 CE Credit Hour / Katrina Lafferty, BFA, RLAT, CVT, VTS (anesthesia & analgesia)
Katrina Lafferty, BFA, RLAT, CVT, VTS (anesthesia & analgesia)
Katrina Lafferty graduated from DePaul University in Chicago, IL with her BFA in Theatre. She realized she had missed the mark on career choices and returned to school to graduate with her degree in Veterinary Technology. She went on to earn her Veterinary Technician Specialty in Anesthesia and Analgesia and her registered lab animal technician certification. Kate has worked at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 2005. She was a senior anesthesia nurse in the Anesthesia and Pain Management Department at the school of veterinary medicine until 2016. She moved to a position as head veterinary nurse in the anesthesia and surgery department at the University of Wisconsin National Primate Research Center. After nearly 5 years working with primarily rhesus macaques and marmosets, in 2021 she returned to the anesthesia department at the school of veterinary medicine. In January 2024 she also started moonlighting part-time at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison. Katrina is extremely involved in the education of the veterinary community and has written many articles and book chapters. She has presented at a numerous of continuing education sessions on an international level and loves all aspects of teaching. Katrina has anesthetized everything from a 2 day old calf, to a 4 week old kitten, to a 60 year old tortoise, not to mention a veritable menagerie of other species. Her particular anesthetic passion is all things exotic animal. Her passion is anesthesia and pain management, particularly in exotic species.
Overview:
Induction and recovery make up the most critical parts of the anesthetic period. At induction, patients are more appropriately monitored, more staff is on hand, and emergency protocols are in place. What about recovery situations? Often patients are left unattended or with minimal monitoring once they are extubated. This lecture covers how to prepare for anesthetic recoveries in a myriad of situations from “routine” cases such as castrations and orthopedic procedures to complicated abdominal, cardiac, and respiratory cases. Appropriate post-operative monitoring and pain management will be covered. Also discussed will be dealing with anesthesia/surgical/breed related complications to anesthetic recoveries. Lastly, this presentation will discuss how to set up a recovery area in preparation for anesthetic emergencies.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand rationale and apply appropriate post-operative monitoring techniques for all anesthetic recoveries.
- Understand and prepare for anesthesia-related complications (ie regurgitation, hypothermia, dysphoria, prolonged recoveries, etc), surgery-related complications (hypovolemia due to hemorrhage, pain, etc), and patient-related complications (breed specific issues, pre-existing conditions, etc).
- Be able to prepare for quick and decisive action in emergency situations such as respiratory arrest, cardiac arrest, severed endotracheal tube, dehiscence, and others.
This course is RACE-approved for 1.0 continuing education credits hours in jurisdictions that accept RACE-approval.
