This September, during Pain Awareness month, Zero Pain Philosophy is encouraging veterinary professionals, including veterinarians, vet nurses, vet technicians and veterinary physiotherapists, to complete the second annual Big Pain Survey for a chance to win three months free membership.
The survey can be accessed by veterinarians online here and vet nurses/techs at here.
The Big Pain Survey is part of Zero Pain Philosophy’s ongoing mission to help veterinary professionals take a zero-tolerance approach to pain in their patients.
Last year’s survey results revealed valuable insight into standard practices for pain management and highlighted some significant knowledge and best practice gaps:
- Just 19 percent of veterinary professionals routinely use pain scoring for chronic pain
- Seventy-eight percent of veterinary practices don’t offer dedicated pain clinics and 56 percent of these would like to introduce them though
- Only 23 percent of vets always prescribe analgesia for acute otitis externa cases
- Seventy percent of veterinary professionals say that they do not do epidural anaesthesia at their practice. Fifty-one percent of those that don’t offer epidurals say they aren’t confident or want to learn how
- Most veterinary professionals agree that their clients’ understanding of pain in their pets is low
The Big Pain Survey results from 2023 suggest that awareness around educational information, such as the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) pain management guidelines, needs further promotion, particularly when it comes to the use of local anaesthesia.
For example, 39 percent of practices don’t use local anaesthesia during bitch spays. Lack of experience was commonly cited as the reason that local anaesthetic was not used for a variety of procedures that would benefit from it, including dental extractions. For those vets that do use local anaesthesia more regularly, many still stated that they feel they require further education around this.
The Big Pain Survey is essential for identifying opportunities to help veterinary professionals improve their patient pain management. Eighty-five percent of last year’s respondents were vets and 63 percent of these had been qualified for over 10 years. This valuable experience and insight help to inform the development of educational and support resources by Zero Pain Philosophy that are most meaningful and impactful.
The quality of the Big Pain Survey results only increases with quantity of responses, so veterinary professionals from across the globe are encouraged to complete it (for vets and vet nurses/techs).
One lucky respondent will receive three months Zero Pain Philosophy membership, giving access to a wide variety of quality educational resources, pain management news updates, clinical case support and much more!
