Pain management scholarship still open for technicians

To help raise standards and increase the confidence and competence of veterinary professionals with regard to pain management in animals, the Global Pain Council (GPC) of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) has launched the “Teach the Teachers” program, the main goal of which is to create a “global network of key opinion leaders in pain management” who are motivated to share their knowledge with other professionals.

“Our ‘Teach the Teachers’ program is an exciting new initiative which we hope will lay the foundations of a global network of veterinarians and veterinary technicians with specific expertise in pain management and the passion and knowledge to educate their colleagues,” says GPC Chair Duncan Lascelles, BSc, BVSc, PhD, FRCVS, CertVA, DSAS(ST), DECVS, DACVS.

Most notably, this new program includes two scholarship competitions, one for veterinarians and another for veterinary technicians who have a demonstrated interest in pain management.

Veterinarian scholarship

The winner of the veterinarian scholarship is Nathanael Herry Lutevele, DVM, a graduate of the Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania.

Dr. Nathanael Herry Lutevele

Dr. Lutevele is a member of the Tanzania Small Animal Veterinary Organization (TASAVO) and strives with other members to help improve the health and welfare of small companion animals in Tanzania.

Veterinary technician scholarship

The veterinary technician scholarship will remain open to applicants until June 30.

The program is divided into two phases for both techncians and veterinarians:

• Phase One: The selected candidate will travel to a host location and receive eight to 12 weeks of training in small animal pain management from GPC members. Training topics include the pathophysiology of pain in dogs and cats, assessing and treating acute and chronic pain, and how to approach clinical pain research.
• Phase Two: The candidate will return home and run courses on pain management with local veterinarians or veterinary technicians and their WSAVA member associations. They will be awarded a certificate of completion when both phases are finished.

According to WSAVA, creating targeted education through this program is just another step in working to reduce the variation in pain assessment and management techniques around the world.

“All companion animals are sentient [and] feel pain,” Dr. Lascelles says. “This is what makes pain management such an important issue for veterinary professionals.”

Interested veterinary technicians can apply on the WSAVA website. Priority will be given to candidates from WSAVA tier 1 and tier 2 countries and to those involved in WSAVA member associations.

“We are looking forward to reviewing applications for our first GPC pain management scholars,” Dr. Lascelles says.