50 BONDED CLIENT / Pain Management
in the field, and has a list-serv, or online forum, where veterinarians can discuss a therapy they may be considering.
How to make it work For Petty, it’s important to recognize
that referring an animal for care can be beneficial for the animal, the client and the veterinarian. “Referral has the connotation that
“You have to evaluate the animal, and the client. Owners have cultural and social
influences that will change how they see pain in
the animal.” —Shelley Brown, DVM
you’ve done a punt, you’ve sent it along,” he says. “Veterinarians seem unwilling to use a network of pain management sources, when they could look at it as using someone else’s skill set for a specific issue.” Along with referrals, he cites continu-
ing education. “CE, CE and more CE; the world of pain management changes almost daily,” he says. “And I involve the entire staff—not just licensed techni- cians, but assistants and office staff. As practice owner I made a commitment to the education and training of my staff in an effort to stay cutting-edge and to be able to truthfully promote my practice as being on that cutting-edge. “Enabling your staff to be knowledge-
able and to speak out about animals under your care is critical. Ironically, the people who are usually least qualified to assess pain are the ones the animals hide it from the least—your receptionist and kennel help. They [the animals] keep their guard up in the exam room and may not act painful to me at all, but the receptionist sees them limping across the parking lot and in my practice knows to hand out a pain questionnaire for that patient, even if they were coming in for a heartworm test.” Petty taught a pain management class
at the AAHA convention; members can visit
aahanet.org/education to see the sessions as they were presented. Brown believes it’s important to
understand the client’s perspective when discussing pain treatment. “Different owners have different toler-
ance levels for what they will do for an animal. Some might say (or think) they don’t want to try the ‘voodoo acupunc- ture,’” she says. “You have to evaluate
Trends magazine, April 2013
the animal, and the client. Owners have cultural and social influences that will change how they see pain in the animal.” Of the industry pain scales, she says,
“No matter what pain scale you use, it should be consistent between employees; you should find something that works in your practice.” It’s also important to be thinking ahead of the pain, she says. “I might have five teeth to extract
rather than one, but I’ve only given the dog light pain medication. I need to find a way to offer more pain management. I may give some morphine after the sur- gery, then send some meds home.” She too talks about referrals and their impor- tance. Brown stresses, “You don’t have to have everything in the hospital; find someone who is willing to work with the practice. Interview them to make sure they are working with your philosophy.” Of her successful strategies, Down-
ing says, “My team are all members of the IVAPM, which puts us on the leading edge of the information that is being dis- seminated about managing animal pain. We attend continuing education sessions both online and at conferences on pain management topics. Finally, we are an AAHA-accredited hospital, so we stay tuned in to the ever-changing and evolv- ing standards of accreditation—specifi- cally those dedicated to anesthesia and pain management. “The time has come for all veterinary
practices to take pain management for pets seriously. The AAHA Pain Management Guidelines are the best place to start, and membership in the IVAPM is the next logi- cal and practical step. It makes no sense to wait until you feel that you ‘know it all’— instead, start where you are with small steps moving in the right direction.”
Kelly Smith is an award-winning writer and lifelong pet owner. She lives with her family in Littleton, Colo.
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