In episode 78 of the Medical Nursing Podcast, we’re discussing a topic that has undergone significant changes in the last few years: feline infectious peritonitis, or FIP.

When I started nursing, FIP was my LEAST favourite disease. I hated it - seeing so many young, gorgeous cats suffering so much with nothing we could do about it.

I remember being told in practice that every FIP cat needed euthanising, because there was no point trying to do anything else.

However, now that treatment options exist, we’re seeing many more cases, and with that, we’re using a lot more of our nursing skills when caring for them.

To nurse these patients confidently (and well!), we need to understand what FIP is, how it impacts our patients, how we recognise and diagnose it, and how we can make a difference to these patients as nurses and technicians.

So, whether you’re heading into a shift, listening in wards whilst preparing your patient’s treatments, relaxing with a cuppa or walking the dog, let’s spend the next half an hour breaking down FIP together.

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

📲 Updated guidance on FIP treatment from the iCatCare FIP advice service

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More free ways to learn with me:

📲 Grab the show notes and references from today’s episode

🖥️ Grab the free webinar, podcast AND resource library access

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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.

Patients with infectious diseases can be challenging to care for, especially when we’re juggling critical conditions while not being able to get as close to our patients as we’d like.

In episode 77 of the Medical Nursing Podcast, we’re demystifying two of the most common feline infections we see - feline leukaemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus, aka FeLV and FIV.

If you’ve ever found yourself nursing a stray cat with suspicious bite wounds, or you’ve had a patient test positive on a SNAP test and thought ’What now?’ this episode is for you.

We’ll discuss what these diseases are, how they differ, and how they impact our patients, as well as the nursing care and client education that affect our patients’ quality of life - so you can spend less time feeling unsure about their disease, and more time focusing on giving great care.

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

📲 AAFP Retrovirus management guidelines

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More free ways to learn with me:

📲 Grab the show notes and references from today’s episode

🖥️ Grab the free webinar, podcast AND resource library access

📲 Follow me on Instagram

🖥️ Learn more about medical nursing

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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 76 of the Medical Nursing Podcast, we’re chatting all about something that honestly baffled me when I was working in general practice (and in my very early referral nursing days), and that’s chylothorax.

As far as I was concerned back in 2015, before I lived and breathed medicine, a chylothorax would have been just another patient needing a thoracocentesis.

I didn’t understand what was causing the disease or its impact on the patient. And aside from them being a respiratory patient and needing monitoring, I had NO idea what nursing actions I could take to make things better - I didn’t really know how to help.

But when I started learning what a chylothorax was, why it happens, and what we can do to help these patients? That’s when I stopped feeling out of my depth, and realised that I CAN make decisions as a vet nurse, and my actions WILL help my patients.

So in this episode, I want to share the three essential things you NEED to know about chylothorax - and more importantly, how to turn that knowledge into nursing care that really helps your patient. So next time you’re handed a patient with chylothorax, you’ll know exactly what to watch out for and exactly how to help them.

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

📲 Chest drain management and recording sheet - inside the free resource library!

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More free ways to learn with me:

📲 Grab the show notes and references from today’s episode

🖥️ Grab the free webinar, podcast AND resource library access

📲 Follow me on Instagram

🖥️ Learn more about medical nursing

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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 75 of the Medical Nursing Podcast, we’re talking about a messy, sort of gross, but oh-so-satisfying respiratory disease…

Yep, today we’re chatting all things pyothorax nursing.

Pyothorax is probably the second most common pleural space disease we see. These patients often present in respiratory distress, needing a LOT of nursing support.

In this episode, we’ll discuss what pyothorax is, the common causes, and the clinical signs, diagnostics, and nursing management - so you can care for these patients confidently.

Plus, I’ll share the biggest lessons I’ve learned from (too many!) years of caring for these patients, so you can spend less time learning the hard way, and more time using your skills (and giving great care whilst you’re at it).

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

📲 Chest drain nursing resources inside the free resource library (if you need the password, it’ll be sent to you when you join the #medinerd email list!)

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More free ways to learn with me:

📲 Grab the show notes and references from today’s episode

🖥️ Grab the free webinar, podcast AND resource library access

📲 Follow me on Instagram

🖥️ Learn more about medical nursing

---

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 74, we’re diving straight into pneumothorax - what it is, how it presents, and most importantly, how you can help manage it as a veterinary nurse.

We see these patients commonly, and they’re usually a real nightmare to manage. From big dogs with ruptured pulmonary bullae, to post-RTA patients with continuous air leakage, they’re a real test of our nursing skills - but in reality, there’s so much we can do to help them.

So, let’s go through everything you need to know to feel more confident nursing a pneumothorax patient - so that YOU can give better care to yours.

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More free ways to learn with me:

📲 Grab the show notes and references from today’s episode

🖥️ Grab the free webinar, podcast AND resource library access

📲 Follow me on Instagram

🖥️ Learn more about medical nursing

---

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.

Pleural space disease is a really common cause of respiratory distress in many of our patients, from traumatic pneumothorax patients to pyothorax cats and everything in between.

And it’s also a very nursing-heavy disease, with many ways we can use our skills to better care for these challenging patients.

In this episode (the first in a mini-series on pleural space disease), we’ll look at what the pleural space is, why it should be there, and what happens when things end up there when they shouldn’t.

We’ll touch on the common causes, the signs to look out for, and the diagnostic, treatment, and nursing care needs these patients have, so that you can make more of a difference to them in practice.

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

📲 Chest drain resources: access the resource library here.

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More free ways to learn with me:

📲 Grab the show notes and references from today’s episode

🖥️ Grab the free webinar, podcast AND resource library access

📲 Follow me on Instagram

🖥️ Learn more about medical nursing

---

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.

Whether you’re managing a patient with aspiration pneumonia, pulmonary oedema or trauma causing haemorrhage and bruising, patients with lung disease can decompensate quickly and need intensive nursing care.

Knowing what to look out for and the nursing considerations these patients need is vital - and that’s exactly what we’re discussing in this episode.

We’ll be breaking down the different pulmonary diseases we see, the impact they have on our patients, and how we can manage them successfully as nurses and technicians.

Plus, I’m sharing six of my all-time top tips to help you care for these patients confidently (whilst using a load of nursing skills).

So if you’ve ever felt unsure about pulmonary pathophysiology or felt like you could do more to help your respiratory patients, this episode is for you.

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More free ways to learn with me:

📲 Grab the show notes and references from today’s episode

🖥️ Grab the free webinar, podcast AND resource library access

📲 Follow me on Instagram

🖥️ Learn more about medical nursing

---

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 71 of the Medical Nursing Podcast we’re following on from last week’s feline focus and taking a look at lower airway diseases in our canine counterparts.

We might not see them as often, and they might appear more stable - well, most of the time - but these cases are anything but boring, requiring lots of nursing care, both in the clinic and long-term.

Just like our asthmatic cats, it’s good quality nursing that makes all the difference, and to give that great care, we need to understand the lower airway diseases we see, and the impact they have on our patients - which is exactly what we’re covering in this episode.

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More free ways to learn with me:

📲 Grab the show notes and references from today’s episode

🖥️ Grab the free webinar, podcast AND resource library access

📲 Follow me on Instagram

🖥️ Learn more about medical nursing

---

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.