Intermediate Inpatient Care for PCAs

Develop a deeper understanding of hospital ward dynamics, focusing on surgical support, inpatient assessments, and the practicalities of managing a busy hospital list.

  • PCA

  • 2 hours

      Overview

      This course provides the key knowledge required to understand the "how" and "why" of hospital operations regarding surgery and inpatient care. Designed for Patient Care Assistants (PCAs) and equivalent roles, the training explores your specific role in supporting the wider veterinary team with patient observations, clinical assessments, and the overall running of a ward. You will learn to interpret common abbreviations used in animal notes and gain the skills needed to organise hospital tasks efficiently. Additionally, the course covers how to confidently assist with patient nutrition, including the calculation of resting energy requirements, ensuring you know exactly when and what to report to the clinical team.

      Intended learning outcomes

      By the end of this course, you should be able to:
      • Recognise the abbreviations commonly used on hospital sheets and animals notes
      • Demonstrate the correct way to organise a busy hospital list and understand the reason why
      • Complete an assessment and observation of inpatients within the limitations of the role and understand when to report changes
      • Be able to assist with the feeding of inpatients confidently including calculating resting energy requirements
      “I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.”
      HERMANN HESSE, SIDDHARTHA