Medical Nursing Podcast | CPD for Veterinary Nurses

I'm kicking off a new mini-series on the podcast in this episode, and something we've actually never done before in almost 3 years and 130 episodes! 
We're going to spend the next few episodes talking about bloodwork - specifically, the common changes we see, why we see them, and what this all means for us as nurses.
Why? Because too often, we look at our results, feel like we're not quite 100% sure what we're really looking at, and then hand them to the vet for them to make the decisions.
And while yes, it is absolutely their job to make those decisions, there's a TON of nursing information we get from those results too - we just need to know how to decipher them.
So that's what we're going to start doing over the next few episodes - and today we're starting with calcium.
We see this go wrong more often than we think - from patients with cancer, kidney disease, endocrine disease, reproductive disorders, toxin ingestion and much more. And that one little mineral can cause significant, and sometimes even life-threatening, changes for our patients.
I know calcium can feel like one of those topics that's all A&P and lots of boring science, and you're probably expecting your eyes start to glazing over by the second sentence - but stick with me, because I promise you, I'm going to keep the theory to what you actually need to know so you can nurse your patients effectively.
Across the next 30 minutes or so we'll chat about where and how calcium is balanced in the body (and why it goes wrong), the different types of calcium we measure and why, how to take samples that you can actually trust, and then - most importantly - our patients. We'll look at hyper- and hypocalcaemia, what we see, how to nurse these patients, and the skills we need to use in the process.
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Looking for medical nursing CPD?
📲 GET ON THE WAITLIST FOR 2027 ROADSHOW TICKETS: https://www.veterinaryinternalmedicinenursing.com/deep-dive-days
📲 Get unlimited CPD inside the Library Club: http://vimn.thrivecart.com/libraryclub/
📲 Snag a webinar from the on-demand library: https://www.veterinaryinternalmedicinenursing.com/veterinary-education-webinar-library 
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More free ways to learn with me:
📲 Grab the show notes and references from today's episode: http://www.veterinaryinternalmedicinenursing.com/podcast 
📲 Follow me on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/vetinternalmedicinenursing 
🖥️ Learn more about medical nursing: http://www.veterinaryinternalmedicinenursing.com 
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This podcast does not replace a veterinary surgeon's advice, and its content is provided only for information. A veterinary surgeon must diagnose all conditions, and veterinary nurses and technicians must ensure they work within local legislation and regulating body guidelines at all times. Any products or treatments discussed are for information only and do not constitute endorsements of products or services.

In episode 127 of the Medical Nursing Podcast, we're turning our attention to acute kidney injury.
AKI is one of the diseases I see go wrong a LOT, because there are still - I think - a lot of misconceptions and myths about how we treat it, especially when it comes to things like fluid therapy.
If you're like me, you probably grew up as a VN thinking that kidney disease = treatment with aggressive fluid therapy. The idea behind this was that high rates of IV fluids would 'flush' the kidneys and bring the numbers down - and we applied it to almost every azotaemic patient that came through the door.
Looking back, I wonder how many of those patients had fluid overload that I didn't spot - because I didn't know to look for it. And now, it's one of the biggest areas I tell nurses to take initiative on and monitor for when caring for their kidney patients - because we see it all the time.
Across the next half an hour or so we'll look at what AKI actually is, how it's related to CKD, how we tell the two apart, and why we manage them so differently. And then we'll look at some of the biggest myths and misconceptions around AKI - and what they mean for us when we're nursing these patients.
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Looking for medical nursing CPD?
📲 GET ON THE WAITLIST FOR 2027 ROADSHOW TICKETS: https://www.veterinaryinternalmedicinenursing.com/deep-dive-days
📲 Get unlimited CPD inside the Library Club: http://vimn.thrivecart.com/libraryclub/
📲 Snag a webinar from the on-demand library: https://www.veterinaryinternalmedicinenursing.com/veterinary-education-webinar-library 
---
More free ways to learn with me:
📲 Grab the show notes and references from today's episode: http://www.veterinaryinternalmedicinenursing.com/podcast 
📲 Follow me on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/vetinternalmedicinenursing 
🖥️ Learn more about medical nursing: http://www.veterinaryinternalmedicinenursing.com 
---
This podcast does not replace a veterinary surgeon's advice, and its content is provided only for information. A veterinary surgeon must diagnose all conditions, and veterinary nurses and technicians must ensure they work within local legislation and regulating body guidelines at all times. Any products or treatments discussed are for information only and do not constitute endorsements of products or services.

Today we're revisiting a disease really close to my heart - chronic kidney disease. And while we've chatted about CKD on the podcast before - all the way back in 2024 - this year, in 2026, a LOT has changed.
We've now got new tests, brand new treatments, and new guidelines to follow. The IRIS guidelines, treatment recommendations, and iCatCare guidelines have all had a brand new refresh for 2026 and the way we support these patients - and their families - is getting a major upgrade.
So in this episode, we're chatting all about how to nurse CKD the right way. We'll recap what CKD is, why it happens, and then look at the treatment and nursing these patients need - and where our skills fit into it all.
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Resources mentioned this episode:
📲 2026 IRIS staging guidelines: https://www.iris-kidney.com/s/IRIS_staging_guidelines-2026.pdf
📲 2026 iCatCare CKD guidelines: https://doi.org/10.1177/1098612X261466553 
📲 iCatCare CKD caregiver guide: https://icatcare.org/resources/cat-carer-guide-managing-chronic-kidney-disease-in-cats.pdf
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Looking for medical nursing CPD?
📲 Get unlimited CPD inside the Library Club: http://vimn.thrivecart.com/libraryclub/
📲 Snag a webinar from the on-demand library: https://www.veterinaryinternalmedicinenursing.com/veterinary-education-webinar-library 
---
More free ways to learn with me:
📲 Grab the show notes and references from today's episode: http://www.veterinaryinternalmedicinenursing.com/podcast 
📲 Follow me on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/vetinternalmedicinenursing 
🖥️ Learn more about medical nursing: http://www.veterinaryinternalmedicinenursing.com 
---
This podcast does not replace a veterinary surgeon's advice, and its content is provided only for information. A veterinary surgeon must diagnose all conditions, and veterinary nurses and technicians must ensure they work within local legislation and regulating body guidelines at all times. Any products or treatments discussed are for information only and do not constitute endorsements of products or services.

In episode 125 of the Medical Nursing Podcast, we're talking all about our senior patients - a huge proportion of the patients registered with us, yet a small number of the patients we routinely see (unless there's a problem).
We know these patients are at risk of significant chronic disease - which is often subclinical - and they benefit enormously from our skills as veterinary nurses and technicians.
So that's what this episode is all about. We're going to talk about why our senior cats and dogs deserve so much more of our attention than perhaps our clients may perceive, the diseases they're at risk of and why, what the research shows about screening, and - most importantly - what you can start doing in your own practice to support these patients.
If you want to build new nursing skills with your senior patients, have confident discussions with your clients about senior health, or brush up on what to look out for when seeing seniors, you'll find it all in this episode.
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Resources mentioned in this episode:
📲 DISHAA Tool: https://www.purinainstitute.com/science-of-nutrition/advancing-brain-health/cognitive-dysfunction-syndrome
📲 LOAD Questionnaire: https://my.elanco.com/au/insights-centre/the-liverpool-osteoarthritis-in-dogs
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Looking for medical nursing CPD?
📲 Get unlimited CPD inside the Library Club: http://vimn.thrivecart.com/libraryclub/
📲 Snag a webinar from the on-demand library: https://www.veterinaryinternalmedicinenursing.com/veterinary-education-webinar-library 
---
More free ways to learn with me:
📲 Grab the show notes and references from today's episode: http://www.veterinaryinternalmedicinenursing.com/podcast 
📲 Follow me on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/vetinternalmedicinenursing 
🖥️ Learn more about medical nursing: http://www.veterinaryinternalmedicinenursing.com 
---
This podcast does not replace a veterinary surgeon's advice, and its content is provided only for information. A veterinary surgeon must diagnose all conditions, and veterinary nurses and technicians must ensure they work within local legislation and regulating body guidelines at all times. Any products or treatments discussed are for information only and do not constitute endorsements of products or services.

In episode 124 of the Medical Nursing Podcast, we're finishing our endoscopy series with a less common, but by no means less important, procedure - lower urinary tract endoscopy, AKA cystoscopy.
This is a relatively uncommon procedure - I'd never seen one outside of referral practice - but just like our other endoscopic procedures, there are tons of ways we can put our nursing skills to good use, and do more to support patients during urinary investigations.
So in this episode that's exactly what we'll do. Over the next half an hour or so, we'll look at what urinary endoscopy actually involves, the common indications for it, how to prepare, handle and maintain the equipment we use, and - most importantly - the nursing considerations when supporting your urinary patients.
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Looking for medical nursing CPD?
📲 Get unlimited CPD inside the Library Club: http://vimn.thrivecart.com/libraryclub/
📲 Snag a webinar from the on-demand library: https://www.veterinaryinternalmedicinenursing.com/veterinary-education-webinar-library 
---
More free ways to learn with me:
📲 Grab the show notes and references from today's episode: http://www.veterinaryinternalmedicinenursing.com/podcast 
📲 Follow me on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/vetinternalmedicinenursing 
🖥️ Learn more about medical nursing: http://www.veterinaryinternalmedicinenursing.com 
---
This podcast does not replace a veterinary surgeon's advice, and its content is provided only for information. A veterinary surgeon must diagnose all conditions, and veterinary nurses and technicians must ensure they work within local legislation and regulating body guidelines at all times. Any products or treatments discussed are for information only and do not constitute endorsements of products or services.