Frank Beattie Scholarship by Nicola Bromley (or “Nicola does New England!”)

Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to be awarded the Frank Beattie Scholarship. I used this award to fund two weeks spending time at the ICU department at TUFTS University in New England, US. The experience has been incredibly valuable and inspiring. I have been exposed to a vast array of cases, new techniques, drugs and treatment modalities which are not commonly used in the UK.

TUFTS has a worldwide reputation for emergency critical care due to its respected faculty members and their areas of expertise and research. They are incredibly well equipped with an onsite Idexx laboratory, MRI, 16 helical slice CT, fluoroscopy, linear accelerator and haemodialysis machine. They have a comprehensive 24 hour service with a well equipped ICU staffed by an excellent team of technicians, residents, interns and faculty members.

During my two week stay I have seen five patients managed on a ventilator, four dogs undergo renal haemodialysis, multiple sepsis patients and an array of acute abdomens, ARF and respiratory patients. The management of these patients has been very interesting with lots of interdepartmental liaison. I have gained comprehensive knowledge of ventilator usage in the critical care setting and seen more ARF cases than I would normally see in 12 months due to the prevalence of Leptospirosis in the United  States.

Overall medical case management tends to follow similar trends in the US, but due to differences historically and with cascade drug usage there are some diverse differences. I have had some interesting discussions with the teams over different case and pharmacalogical management of cases over the last two weeks notably with IMHA and ARF.

The experiences have inspired me to continue to learn and read more about this exciting field of veterinary medicine. I now intend to try and impart my new knowledge and skills on my team back home! My take home messages are to keep reading articles, keep attending CPD and don’t get stuck in a rut – there is always so much more to learn.

The world of veterinary medicine is becoming much more evidence based which has to be a good thing. It is good to question protocols and methods and look for new solutions to problems. The whole experience was rejuvenating for my passion in veterinary medicine. I am ten years qualified and still feel that I have loads to learn which is very exciting.

Nicola Bromley BVSc Cert SAM MRCVS