Companion Animal Neurology - Applied Clinical Neurology

Lectures, e-learning, theoretical and practical exercises. Case-study work.

As part of the course, you will have to perform oral presentations and hand in a number of written exercises / cases and procedure protocols.

Knowledge

Having completed the course, the student must be able to:

• Define, identify and discuss veterinary diagnostic methodology and paraclinical options in systematised reflective clinical decision-making in companion animal clinical neurology.
• Explain, reflect and demonstrate a systematic clinical approach to the neurological patient at an advanced level.
• Reflect on the significance of applied neuro-anatomy in the clinical approach to the neurological patient. 
• Demonstrate critical reflection with respect to diagnostic planning in a specialty practice situation
• Discuss the fundamental prerequisites for appropriate preparation of diagnostic protocols.
• List appropriate differential diagnoses according to the neurological signs and the development of disease.

Skills

Within the area of clinical neurology, the graduate must be able to:

• Apply methodologies such as performing and applying clinical neurological examination and use basic diagnostic tools for relevant neurological cases in companion animals with the purpose to assess CNS function and detect CNS and PNS lesions. 
• Analyse and reflect on collected data in order to discriminate between neurological and non-neurological conditions and relevant neurological differential diagnosis.
• Demonstrate the systematic approach to interpret, assess and reflect on collected patient data in order to localize a lesion neuro-anatomically and identify the cause of neurological disease.

• Make clinical decisions, arrive at a diagnosis and consider evidence based scientific approaches in order to plan and administer further appropriate diagnostics, patient therapy and management.
• Communicate effectively in writing and pass on results to relevant parties.

 Competences

The graduate must be able to:

• Evaluate companion animal diseases within clinical neurology.
• Work independently, take responsibility for, predict, prognosticate and make decisions within clinical neurology at an advanced level.
• Make ethical considerations regarding diagnostic methods and therapeutic initiatives and place these into perspective.
• Educate owners of acute and chronic neurological patients concerning acute and long-term medical treatment, respectively, as well as recovery and rehabilitation.
• Independently evaluate and structure own learning processes and continuously obtain new knowledge at a specialty level within companion animal clinical neurology.
• Use relevant scientific literature in the field of companion animal clinical neurology.
• Evaluate different patient types combining the above achieved skills.

The course responsibles at the specialisation track in Companion Animal Neurology are:

• Professor Mette Berendt, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Associate professor Hanne Birgit Gredal, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Lecturers at the specialisation track are:

• Joane Parent, DMV, MVetSc, DipACVIM Neurology, Professor Veterinary Neurology, University of Montreal, Canada
• Fraser McConnel, BVM&S, DVR, DipECVDI, CertSAM, MRCVS, RCVS Specialist in Small Animal Diagnostic Imaging & EBVS® European Specialist in Small Animal Diagnostic Imaging, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
• Patrick Kenny, DVM, BVSc (Hons) DipACVIM Neurology, DipECVN, FHEA, MRCVS, SAHS-Vets Specialist Hospital, Sidney, Australia