Join me for our unofficial 2025 Wrapped!

In this episode of the Medical Nursing Podcast we'll take a look back at what's happened across the profession this year, what the evidence about our role and skills is telling us, what it actually means for us as veterinary nurses and technicians, and why I'm ending this year feeling more hopeful about our role and more determined for our future than ever.

If you're ready to step into 2026 feeling inspired, valued, and speaking up for your skills, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

---

Want the studies I mentioned this episode? You'll find all the links and resources on the website here.

---

BRAND NEW ways to learn with me:

📲 Join the Medical Nursing Library Club

📲 Join me for our next live webinar

---

More free ways to learn with me:

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

📲 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 95 of the Medical Nursing Podcast we wrap up our toxicology series with a true emergency and one of the most dramatic, challenging and emotional conditions: inhalation of smoke, thermal and chemical airway injury in our feline and canine patients.

Managing fire-injury is so much more than 'just' dealing with smoke inhalation, and these patients can be challenging to nurse, since their disease is often much worse than it initially seems.

These patients need intensive respiratory support, monitoring and nursing care, which means that as well as challenging to manage, they're incredibly rewarding, and provide us with lots of nursing opportunities to make a difference.

So in this episode, we'll discuss what happens when our patients become fire-injured, the common complications we see, and the nursing our patients need to recover successfully. You'll leave this episode feeling much more confident about managing these patients, and with some new skills ready to put to use with your next case.

---

BRAND NEW ways to learn with me:

📲 Join the Medical Nursing Library Club

📲 Join me for the next live webinar: IV access 101, how to hit those tricky veins!

---

More free ways to learn with me:

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

📲 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 this episode, we're nearing the end of our toxicology series with a look at the common household hazards our patients ingest, and how to care for those patients confidently.

Household hazards are something we see often - especially in my line of work, where things like caustic chemical ingestion or battery ingestion cause severe GI signs (or worse) needing intensive management. From fluid therapy, to nutrition, to analgesia, GI support and more, our role in caring for these patients cannot be overlooked.

Today, we'll take a closer look at toxicosis from things like household cleaners, corrosive agents, alcohols and essential oils. We'll discuss the impact they have on our patients, and the nursing support these patients need.

---

BRAND NEW ways to learn with me:

📲 Join the Medical Nursing Library Club

📲 Join me for the next live webinar: IV access 101, how to hit those tricky veins!

---

More free ways to learn with me:

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

📲 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 93 of the Medical Nursing Podcast, we're continuing our miniseries on toxicology with some of the common pesticide poisonings we see - specifically anticoagulant rodenticide, metaldehyde and organophosphate toxicity.

These common pesticides and biotoxins cause severe, often life-threatening signs in our patients, and as veterinary nurses and technicians, we're often the ones responsible for advising our clients, triaging and stabilising these patients, and providing intensive nursing care as they recover.

And to do that well, we need to understand exactly how these toxins affect our patients, the complications and clinical signs they cause, and the treatment and nursing care these patients need. Which is exactly what we're covering in this episode.

---

BRAND NEW ways to learn with me:

📲 Join the Medical Nursing Library Club

📲 Join me for the next live webinar: IV access 101, how to hit those tricky veins!

---

More free ways to learn with me:

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

📲 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.

Today we're continuing our toxicology mini-series with another group of very common, and often very critical, toxins - human medications.

There are a whole host of different medication toxicities we see, and in this episode I'm going to walk you through 4 big ones: paracetamol toxicity in cats, NSAID toxicity in both cats and dogs, inhaler ingestion or overdose, and ingestion of antidepressants and ADHD medications.

These patients also need a whole host of nursing support. We're essential in the management of these cases, where prompt triage and stabilisation is vital, as is intensive monitoring.

To do that confidently, we need to understand how each of these toxins impact our patients, and the signs we see as a result - so we can spot them, and care for the patient accordingly - and that's exactly what you'll find in this episode.

---

BRAND NEW ways to learn with me:

📲 Join the Medical Nursing Library Club

📲 Join me for the next live webinar: IV access 101, how to hit those tricky veins!

---

More free ways to learn with me:

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

📲 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.

I'm willing to bet that most people listening have seen a dietary toxin case at some point in their career. Dogs especially have a knack for raiding bins, cupboards, and kitchen counters. Thankfully most cases we see are mild, but they can be life-threatening and need intensive monitoring and nursing care.

But what happens when our patients ingest these toxins? What signs do we see, and what nursing care do these patients need? Well, it varies depending on the toxin - but it's often intensive.

Today, we'll focus on three big dietary toxins: chocolate, grapes, and tremorgenic mycotoxins. We'll talk about how they affect our patients, the signs to look out for, and how to treat and nurse these patients effectively. So you can spend less time on the phone to the poisons helpline, and more time caring for your patients.

---

BRAND NEW ways to learn with me:

📲 Join the Medical Nursing Library Club

📲 Join me for the next live webinar: IV access 101, how to hit those tricky veins!

---

More free ways to learn with me:

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

📲 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 90 of the Medical Nursing Podcast, we're starting a brand new mini-series on toxicology.

Whether you work in general practice, referral medicine, or out of hours, you'll encounter these patients often - and spoiler alert: our role is so much more than holding a litter tray under a patient whilst the apomorphine kicks in.

Our role in managing toxin ingestion cases is vast, whether that involves providing advice to caregivers who are concerned, monitoring a patient exhibiting active signs of toxicity, or managing critically ill patients on CRIs or receiving ventilation.

And with all of this, of course, there are tons of practical skills we get to use in the process.

To start things off, this episode will give you all the information you need on toxicology triage and decontamination. We'll chat through pre-visit advice and how to get the information you need from your caregivers, when these patients should be seen, and what decontamination strategies we have (as well as which toxins to use them with).

You'll leave the episode feeling ready to triage and stabilise your toxicity cases - and then across the next few weeks, we'll take a closer look at the specific toxins commonly affecting our patients.

---

BRAND NEW ways to learn with me:

📲 Join the Medical Nursing Library Club

📲 Join me for the next live webinar: IV access 101, how to hit those tricky veins!

---

More free ways to learn with me:

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

📲 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 this episode, we’re looking at another less common, but really challenging disease to care for - tetanus infection in dogs and cats.

The first tetanus case I ever saw was as a locum nurse at an out-of-hours hospital. The vet and I are examining this dog, who was starting to become stiff and had the classic tetanus grin, knowing we needed to refer them ASAP before things got a lot worse.

And now that I’m in referral practice, I see the other side of this. I see our ICU nurses working tirelessly to support these patients, using countless skills in the process, and making all the difference in how these patients recover.

Caused by the neurotoxin-producing bacterium Clostridium tetani, this disease might be uncommon, but it’s life-threatening, and it needs early recognition, aggressive management, and really intensive nursing to give patients the best chance of survival.

But to do that well, we need to understand how tetanus affects our patients, and the interventions they need to recover - and that’s exactly what we’re talking about today.

---

BRAND NEW ways to learn with me:

📲 Join the Medical Nursing Library Club

📲 Join me for the next live webinar: IV access 101, how to hit those tricky veins!

---

More free ways to learn with me:

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

📲 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.