Zoomies 2026 is LIVE!
Join the fun now!

16 Lectures | 16 Speakers | 16 Structured CPD Points

March Madness Sale Ends Soon

  • 00D
  • 00H
  • 00M
  • 00S
Explore Zoomies

Zoomies 2026 is LIVE! Join the fun now!

March Madness Sale Ends Soon

  • 00D
  • 00H
  • 00M
  • 00S
Explore Zoomies

30% OFF

March Madness is Coming

All On-Demand Courses.

30% OFF on All On-Demand Courses. Offer Goes Live In:

Offer Goes Live In:

Explore Courses
vet-education-logo

LIVE VET NURSE COURSE

Essentials of Small Animal Surgical Nursing

A focused 2-week online course designed for veterinary nurses and technicians to master aseptic technique, theatre preparation, and intra-operative care for confident, high-standard small animal surgical nursing.

  • Vet Nurse/Tech
  • Starts August 24, 2026
  • 19:30 AEDT
  • 2 Weeks
  • 10 RACE Approved CPD Points

This course includes

  • Live Online Weekly Tutorials
  • Access to Tutorial Recordings
  • 10 Race-Approved CPD Points
  • Protocols For Your Practice
  • Graded Course Assessment
  • Discussion Forums
  • Comprehensive Learning Resources
  • Extra Course Resources

Course Blurb

Step into the surgical suite with unshakable confidence. The role of the veterinary nurse and technician in the operating room is foundational, demanding a unique blend of meticulous preparation, attention to detail, and patient advocacy and care. This intensive two-week online course, “Essentials of Small Animal Surgical Nursing,” is your definitive guide to mastering the core pillars of surgical nursing. Starting with the principles of aseptic technique and surgical instrument care through to patient and theatre preparation and intra-operative nursing for different surgical procedures, you will gain the knowledge you need to practice the very best theatre nursing.

Designed specifically for dedicated professionals, this course will transform your daily practice, helping to ensure the best patient outcomes in every procedure.

Course Outline

This week, we build the foundation of every successful surgery: absolute asepsis. You will learn the science and practice of instrument care and sterilization, establishing sound protocols for processing surgical instruments and packs. Next, we turn to the patient. You’ll master a step-by-step approach to surgical site preparation, selecting the right antiseptics, and executing a pattern that truly minimizes microbial load. The week concludes with correct patient positioning and draping, ensuring optimal surgical access while uncompromisingly extending your sterile field. Leave this week ready to be the guardian of the sterile environment.
Date: Monday, 24 August 2026
Time: 19:30 AEST [Sydney] | 21:30 NZST [Auckland]
Date:  Monday, 24 August 2026
Time: 05:30 EDT
All Countries are Invited to Join this Webinar! To check the time in your zone/country, please click here.
With the foundation set, we focus on the patient’s journey through and beyond the operating room – beginning with pre-operative patient assessment, anaesthetic induction and patient instrumentation and monitoring. We’ll also detail key nursing responsibilities in the theatres – including instrument handling, suture selection, and special equipment requirements for different surgeries. Finally, the focus shifts to the most critical transition: recovery. You’ll develop a systematic approach to post-operative care, including pain scoring, safe extubation, thermoregulation, and incision monitoring. We’ll equip you to recognize and respond to early signs of common complications, from hemorrhage to infection. You’ll also translate this hospital care into successful home recovery through clear, compassionate client communication and discharge instructions.
Date: Monday, 31 August 2026
Time: 19:30 AEST [Sydney] | 21:30 NZST [Auckland]
Date:  Monday, 31 August 2026
Time: 05:30 EDT
All Countries are Invited to Join this Webinar! To check the time in your zone/country, please click here.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
  • Apply the principles of surgical asepsis to reliably create and maintain a sterile field, including effective patient skin preparation and appropriate draping techniques.
  • Execute a complete surgical instrument workflow: from identification and safe handling, through proper decontamination, sterilization, and storage.
  • Develop and implement comprehensive patient-specific nursing plans for the pre-operative, intra-operative, and immediate post-operative phases for a wide range of surgical conditions.
  • Recognise common post-operative complications, initiate appropriate nursing interventions, and provide effective client education for at-home recovery.

Course Tutor

Dr Philip Judge

BVSc MVS PG Cert Vet Stud MACVSc (Vet. Emergency and Critical Care; Medicine of Dogs)

If you enrol right now, you'll lock in these exclusive bonuses.

1

Bonus Ebook

The Surgical Nurse's Rapid Reference: From Prep to Recovery

This is the ultimate grab & go resource – because it consolidates all the practical protocols you use in surgery into one simple guide!

2

Bonus Ebook

The Surgical Suture Guide for Veterinary Nurses

An eBook that provides the essential. information on the properties, selection, and use of suture materials in the OR.

3

Bonus Ebook

The Surgical Kit Guide for Veterinary Nurses

An eBook that provides surgical kit recipes and instrument identification tables to help make preparation of your surgical kits easy!

AUD 199

Enrol Now
This course is FREE for our Annual Vet Education Member

Looking to Enrol Groups of 5 or More?

Contact us for Team/Group Discounts

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this course designed for?

The Essentials of Small Animal Surgical Nursing Course is designed for veterinary nurses and technicians in general practice or referral practice who want a clear, evidence-based framework for managing surgical patients. Whether you’re new to theatre nursing or looking to refine protocols you’ve been using for years, the course gives you practical tools you can use immediately.

The course covers the most critical and clinically relevant areas of small animal surgical nursing, including:

  • Aseptic technique and sterile field management 
  • Surgical instrument identification, care, decontamination, and sterilisation
  • Patient preparation: skin prep, antiseptic selection, positioning, and draping
  • Intra-operative nursing: instrument handling, suture selection, and equipment needs
  • Perioperative patient care: pre-operative assessment, anaesthetic induction, monitoring, recovery, pain scoring, and complication recognition

The focus throughout is on practical nursing decisions and interventions that improve patient outcomes.

By the end of the two weeks, you’ll be able to:

  • Confidently prepare and maintain a sterile field using proper aseptic technique
  • Manage the complete surgical instrument workflow, from cleaning to sterilisation and storage
  • Develop and implement nursing care plans for the pre-, intra-, and post-operative phases
  • Recognise common post-operative complications and initiate appropriate nursing interventions

The course runs over two weeks in the Deep Dive Live format, which means it is tutor-guided, with live weekly online tutorials, moderated discussion forums with active tutor involvement, complete with downloadable resources you keep permanently.

Week 1 focuses on the foundations of asepsis: instrument care, sterilisation, patient preparation, positioning, and draping.

Week 2 covers intra-operative nursing, monitoring, recovery, and discharge planning.

Throughout both weeks, you’re learning alongside peers, with direct access to the tutor. Live tutorial recordings are available if you can’t attend live, and all resources are yours to keep. The course awards 10 RACE-approved CPD points and includes a graded assessment and certificate.

The Deep Dive Live format is built around real-time learning with a tutor and a peer group. Each week includes live tutorials, and the discussion forums run for the full two weeks with the tutor actively involved. If a relevant case comes up in your clinic mid-course, or a question comes up while you’re reviewing a technique, you bring it to the forum and get a response from the tutor and from other participants.

The course also responds to what participants actually need. If a question requires more detail, we create or source additional material for the group. It’s not a fixed set of materials it adapts as you learn.

The course includes downloadable notes, protocols, checklists, and video resources designed as practical clinical references – yours to keep forever! Many participants use them as quick-reference guides when preparing for surgery or setting up a sterile field.

Live tutorial recordings are also recorded live, and are also available for download, so you can revisit them anytime you wish!

Yes. The content is developed from a thorough review of current literature. The goal is to move beyond theory and give you protocols and decision-making frameworks grounded in evidence. References are provided so you can dig deeper into any area that interests you.

This course provides 10 Interactive RACE-approved CPD points. A graded assessment is included, and a certificate is awarded on completion.

The course starts 24 August 2026 and runs for two weeks.

You can register at: https://veteducation.com/essentials-of-small-animal-surgical-nursing/

If you’re registering multiple participants from the same clinic, contact us directly at learn@veteducation.com.au to ask about group discounts.

Reach out to us at learn@veteducation.com.au we are always happy to help.

Your Colleagues Love These Courses!

I love Vet Education courses. Dr. Phil is such a great teacher, who presents such clear, practical information.

Jess

(USA)

Loving these shorter courses – so much useful information in a nice concise form. Thanks Vet Ed!

Toni

(New Zealand)

Fantastic. I’ll be doing more of these short courses!

Liam

(Australia)

Scroll to Top

Dr Philip Judge

BVSc MVS PG Cert Vet Clin Stud MACVSc (Vet. Emergency and Critical Care; Medicine of Dogs)

Philip graduated from Massey University in New Zealand in 1992, and spent 7 years in small animal practice before undertaking a 3-year residency in veterinary emergency and critical care at the University of Melbourne in 1998.

Following his residency, Philip worked for nearly 6 years at the Animal Emergency Centre in Melbourne, becoming the Senior Veterinarian at the centre in 2004. In 2006, Philip undertook a 1-year surgical externship before moving to Townsville to take up the position of Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care at JCU. Philip is also co-founder, and director of Vet Education Pty Ltd (www.veteducation.com) – one of Australia’s leading providers of online continuing education for veterinarians and veterinary nurses.

Philip has published numerous manuals and guides concerning emergency medicine, including a CRI manual, haematology and biochemistry interpretation guide, emergency anaesthesia guide, and a ventilation therapy manual for small animals, in addition to being published in peer reviewed literature.

Philip’s key interests in veterinary science include respiratory emergencies, ventilation therapy, envenomations and toxicology.

GET IN TOUCH

to avail group
enrolment discount
Read Now


Vet Purrspectives