Veterinary Business

Well rounded vets emerge from shelter medicine work

vetreportApril 15, 2015

Shelter medicine appears to be gathering pace as a separate discipline for veterinary professionals. On Sunday morning at BSAVA Congress shelter medicine practitioners, including University of Nottingham’s Clinical Associate Professor Rachel Dean, were there to broaden the profession’s knowledge about dealing with charities and rescue centres.

Infectious disease management may be part of the essential repertoire, said Rachel, but shelter medicine is a much wider subject and requires core skills to do well. “It is not just about the animals and their physical health,” she said “It is about their biological health, individual animals versus the herd, preventive medicine, diagnosis and treatment.”

Biosecurity and environmental management, including how animals flow through a shelter, also influences health and welfare, said Rachel. “You will deal with a number of different kinds of shelters in the same way as you would different types of farms. You need to go and have a look at the place. Understanding patients is important and the highest level patient is the shelter itself.”

Importantly, she noted, an understanding of working in different rescue shelters or charities provides a more rounded view of animal care. “It is certainly good for your communication skills and diplomacy, but it makes you realise that there are many more people who care for animals and it is not just our profession,” said Rachel. “It is time we stepped up as a profession to work with these people and make a difference.”

A Cats Protection survey of general practitioners showed that 90 per cent care for animals in shelters in some way, said Rachel, but the reality is that nearly all will encounter shelter animals. “I can absolutely guarantee that you care for animals from those shelters,” she said. “So we all have a responsibility to help improve the health and welfare of these animals.

Vet schools, including the University of Nottingham, work with external charities to develop the student’s understanding of the work and Rachel also mentioned her involvement in setting up the Association of Charity Vets. She said the aim of the association is to raise awareness of the issues surrounding the subject. “It also gives us a platform for communication with other similar organisations overseas,” she added.