Safe Use of Veterinary Medicine

COURSE OUTLINE

• Designed to fit the Certificate of Competence, therefore anyone who wants to take the test should be geared up for it. If you do not want to take the test, we will be issuing Certificates of Attendance anyway

• Designed to be worth attending for its own sake... just good training

• Having done this (and been seen to have done it) it should help farms towards the assorted assurance schemes... milk buyers, FABBL, supermarket clubs etc., and perhaps lay some ground work for the threatened clamp down on the use of antibiotics

Day 1 - duration 3.5 hours
• Guide to the legislation. What are you required or recommended to do covering health and safety, risk assessment, accident reporting, protective clothing, waste disposal, first aid, storage and transporting, communications, record keeping and animal welfare.
• Producing a plan for your farm, stock, staff and conditions. The idea is to get this plan drafted out so that it can be tested on the practical day 2. You should therefore attend both days.

Day 2 - duration 3 hours
• Signs of health and ill health
• Types of medicines (so you appreciate their correct and incorrect use, dangers to animals and humans, importance of dose rates, duration of treatment and withdrawal periods.
• Zoonotic diseases and what precautions to take
• Suitable equipment (correct needle sizes etc) and maintenance/cleaning
• Disposal of sharpes, unused medicines and animal material
• Recognising and dealing with diseases, stressed/or casualty stock
• Knowing when to call the vet or take action yourself
• Routes of administering medicines
• Practical treatment of stock covering facilities, restraint, dose rates calculation
• Care of stock after treatment and monitoring results
• Use of records