VetView - a podcast by the WSAVA

Ep.8 The role of veterinary nurses and technicians

In this episode, our host Xavier talks with Erin Spencer from the USA, Julie Hutt from New Zealand and Rachel Lumbis from UK about various topics relating to not only the role of veterinary nurses and technicians (and if there even a difference?) but also the importance of team work approach. This vast international panel discusses the wide encompassing role nurses play in patient care, the recognition lacking to the nurses and technicians supporting work,  the difference between veterinary nurse and veterinary technicians and the different education certificates and processes around the world, what's the most important thing Veterinary nursing students should know, how to better work as a team and how vets and nurses can improve together and achieve a better patient care.

Ep 7. A day in the life of: Dr Nalinika Obeyesekere (from Sri Lanka)

Meet Dr Nalinika Obeyesekere, a veterinarian who is passionate about animal behaviour education and started the first veterinary hospital in Sri Lanka. She talks to our host, Xavier, about evolution of companion animal medicine in Sri Lanka over the last 20 years. She was met with scepticism when she, and 2 other female veterinarians, started a veterinary hospital focussing on companion animals only but now the demand for companion animal veterinarians is higher than the availability. Find out more about some of the difficulties and 'red tape' she and her colleagues have faced and why she values the WSAVA community.

Ep 6. Telemedicine: what is it and is it here to stay?

In this episode, Dr Jean Gauvin talks with our host, Xavier, about telemedicine and what place it currently has and may have in the future in the veterinary profession. Due to the global pandemic, telemedicine has quickly become a part of many veterinary practices and it looks like it is here to stay. Dr Gauvin talks about telehealth, telemedicine, telemonitoring, teletriage: tele tele tele! However, many vets may not be aware they have always done some for of telemedicine in their clinic, whether they are consulting another member of staff on the next steps for the treatment of a patient or determining the severity of a case over the phone with a pet owner. If you want to know more about how it works, what you need to put it in practice and the limitations, listen to this interesting episode.

Ep 5. A day in the life of: Ellen van Nierop (in Ecuador)

In this episode, our host talks to Dr Ellen van Nierop, the WSAVA Vice President. She is originally Dutch, was born in Pakistan, lived all over the world while growing  up, studied in Belgium and now runs her companion animal clinic in Quito, Ecuador. She talks about what it is like to be a veterinarian in Ecuador, how she moved there and started her career. She explains how companion animal medicine has developed over the years, from clients who did not even want to get blood work done for their pets to now having high quality education and even a few specialists. Lastly, she shares her experience in international veterinary medicine and why she is passionate about the WSAVA: "You are not alone, in this veterinary world".

Ep 4. In home euthanasia: working as a mobile veterinarian

Dr Brian Jochems talks to our host, Xavier Canavilhas, about his recent career switch to working as a full time mobile veterinarian for an in home euthanasia service (Lap of Love). He describes the intimacy of the process at home, the comfort it can give the pet parents but also how to deal with the toll it can take on veterinarian's well-being. Find out more about in home euthanasia and what working as a veterinarian in this field is like, with Dr Brian Jochems.