Fluid Therapy

Description

This course provides wildlife professionals a working knowledge of the vocabulary and concepts underlying the modern approach to fluid therapy in mammals, birds, and reptiles.  Students will learn the physiology of dehydration, its effects on various organs, how to recognize the clinical signs of dehydration, and how to formulate and carry out a fluid therapy plan.

Fluid Therapy is a vital tool for rehabilitators.  Most, if not all, wildlife patients brought to rehabilitators are in a state of dehydration, which can slow healing, prevent normal behavior, and even be life-threatening.  We will go over the basic skills needed to assess and correct a patient’s hydration status.  While every scenario cannot be covered, we hope you will come out of this online learning experience with a firm foundation upon which to build.  There are several components that facilitate learning and caters to diverse learning styles.  Each module is centered around a video lecture and supplemented by learning tools.  This course also includes at-home labs and several forms of evaluation.

Syllabus

To receive a course completion certificate, students must successfully pass the lab, knowledge checks, and exam within 1 year of registration in the Moodle classroom.

Prerequisite: Foundations of Wildlife Rehabilitation strongly encouraged

The 9.25 CE version of this course is RACE approved.  Please send us your license number and state of issue once you have received your certificate of completion.  Your information will be uploaded via CE Broker to your RACEtrack account.  If you need a MyAAVSB account account to access RACEtrack, click here.

Course Content

Lecture Topics

• The Importance of Water
• Water Balance and Distribution
• Purpose of Fluid Therapy
• Assessing Dehydration
• Treating Dehydration
• Wildlife Challenges
• Species Notes

Lab Topics

• Avian Oral Gavage
• Avian and Mammalian Subcutaneous Injections
• Case Studies

Required Materials

• Internet access
• Ability to record and upload videos (upload tool provided)
• Wildlife Rehabilitation: A Comprehensive Approach
• Basic bandaging supplies (see below) or purchase of IWRC kit
• Legal access to an avian and mammal cadaver for lab

Lab Supplies

• Cotton balls or 2” medical gauze squares
• 18g x 1” needle
• 22g x 1” needle
• 35 ml Luer Slip Tip Syringe (or 35 ml Luer Lock Tip Syringe)
• 22g x ¾” Winged Infusion Set
• 50 ml sterile saline, Lactated Ringers solution, Normasol, or other crystalloid fluid
• Water-based lubricant
• 8 french x 16” red rubber catheter tube
• 14 french x 16” red rubber catheter tube
• 30ml or larger catheter tip syringe
• Water (for gavage)
• Container for water
• Tape or marker to mark gavage tube
• Alcohol or alcohol wipes (optional)
• Oral speculum (optional)
• Sharps container (or
• Nitrile, latex, or vinyl gloves
• Avian cadaver*
• Mammalian cadaver*

*Cadavers for this activity must be appropriately and legally obtained (e.g. euthanized wildlife or domestic species such as whole quail, duck, or chicken for birds or whole rats, mice, or rabbits for mammals). Please note that appropriate personal protective equipment, such as nitrile, latex, or vinyl gloves, are required for instructors to grade submitted videos involving cadavers.

Shipping

Canada: In addition to the rate charged by USPS, Canadian customs may charge extra fees on packages.  Per the Canadian postal service, there is nothing we can do to predict or eliminate these charges.

Outside Continental US:  If ordering books and/or lab kits that need to be shipped outside of the US, international shipping can take 10 days or longer.  Should you wish to get your materials sooner, it may be possible but some restrictions apply.  Even if you choose and pay for express shipping the United States Postal Service (USPS) does not guarantee faster shipping times.  If you choose express shipping, USPS will only refund your money if you reside in a country that is on their guarantee list, which can be found here.