A UNIQUE AND EXCLUSIVE SURGICAL LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR VETERINARIANS
NEUTERING SURGERY
ACADEMY
Develop your confidence with surgery and neutering with this outstanding supportive course in Europe.
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5 days of 100% practical surgery
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Outstanding supporting environment with dedicated tutors and staff members
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High standard practice with IV access, multimodal pain relief and gas anaesthesia
BRINGING CONFIDENCE TO ROUTINE SURGERY
Veterinarians often struggle to achieve surgical competence and this undermines their confidence in their skills.
Why We Struggle
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Lack of Opportunities
In many countries, due to the structure of clinical practice, you don’t even have the opportunity to practise surgery.
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Lack of Support
When you don’t have adequate support, you don’t feel good about practising new surgeries on your patients completely alone.
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Not Enough Cases
Even when you do have the ability and knowledge to perform surgery, sometimes cases are not frequent enough for you to feel like you are keeping your skills up to date.
The “No Experience Cycle”
In a busy practice, it is common for surgeries to be completed by the most experienced vets, as this is the most time efficient, with best outcomes. This starts a cycle where inexperienced vets do not have the chance to improve.
THE COURSE EXPERIENCE
The Neutering Surgery Academy is an immersive and intensive experience lasting for 5 days in an incredibly sympathetic environment, offering different levels for differently experienced vets. In all of those, you will be supported throughout the course by one or two highly experienced tutors who will help you develop your surgical and neutering skills.
Around You
We provide a supportive and relaxed learning environoment.
With You
You will have experienced tutors available to guide you.
For You
You are responsible for each procedure from start to finish.
I now not only feel confident with my spays but also efficiently opening up the abdomen and performing proper surveys which will be invaluable for other abdominal surgeries.
~ Simone Cuttler
MORE THAN JUST A TRAINING COURSE
We provide THREE levels for vets with different surgical experience, struggles and needs. They also take place in different locations.
In any location, you will be able to perform surgery with the standards and conditions you would expect to find in UK private clinical practice.
Level 1
Level 1 focuses on principles of soft tissue surgery and abdominal surgery, allowing practice in felines. It takes place in Portugal.
It's suitable for final year vet students, new graduates and vets that don't have any surgical exposure or many hours of surgery time.
Level 2
Level 2 focuses on feline and canine surgery (male and female) and takes place in Portugal or, occasionally, Spain.
It's suitable for vets returning from a long career break or changing career paths and those who already have basic abdominal surgery skills and need a confidence boost with their neutering techniques.
Level 3
Level 3 focuses on bitch spays and takes place in Romania. The goal is to learn high-volume spay techniques, safely reduce incision size and surgical time. This course provides back-to-back surgeries and is suitable for experienced vets or those returning from a short career break to "get back in the game".
Support
From a bit of reassurance to gowning up and digging in to help, our tutors are always there for when you need them. They will give you advice or put down a fire!
Experience
You will be the only surgeon doing surgery on your patient. You will perform surgery from start to finish under guidance from your tutor.
Standards
Despite the different environments, you will always find fully operational and equipped theatre rooms with top conditions, as you find in UK private practice.
Community
Our tutors will be there to give you support during and outside of the course. Enjoy time off with them and your colleagues and experience the country culture.
LIMITED VACANCIES
Next Courses
We accept veterinary graduates as well as final year veterinary students in our courses, depending on the level.
Level 1 (Portugal)
Dates pending for 2025
Level 2 (Portugal)
From 23rd to 27th September 2024
Suggested arrival on the 22nd and departure on the 28th of September.
FULL
New dates pending for 2025
Level 3 (Romania)
From 4th to 8th November 2024
Suggested arrival on the 3rd and departure on the 9th of November.
NEW DATE AVAILABLE
TRAVEL, STAY AND MEALS
The different levels take place in different locations.
For level 1 and 2 in Portugal, we provide you with a private bedroom and bathroom at the local guesthouse O Maioral, in Vila Franca de Xira. This location is a 25-minute drive from Lisbon airport and is a 5-minute walk from the train station and the training centre.
For level 2 in Spain, we book a hotel room at the Hotel Reina Isabel in Medina del Campo, which you can reach from Madrid via high speed train.
For level 3 in Romania, the course takes place in Piteasca, on the East side of Bucharest, and we organise your transport from the airport to the training center. Your accommodation is on site, where you have your own bedroom and usually your own private bathroom.
The accommodation cost is already included in the course fees.
We will also provide all meals from Monday to Saturday morning and accommodate preferences and intolerances. These meals are also included in the course fees.
Join Us
How to Book a Course
Each course has a limited vacancies depending on the level and location.
Level 1 - up to 4 vets
Level 2 - maximum of 2 vets in Portugal and 6 in Spain
Level 3 - maximum of 5 vets
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Pre-registration
Fill out the pre-registration form below to let us know what type of Academy you are interested in joining.
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Q&A session and vacancy confirmation
Once you pre-register, we want to talk to you in a Q&A session. On this session we will try to udnerstand what level is most suitable for your skills and what you're looking for in a course, and we will then look at suitable dates for you.
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Invitation letter
Once you decide if you want to join a course and check if the dates suit you, we will send you an invitation letter with all the details in writing so you can join the course.
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Deposit and registration
Next, we will raise an invoice for the deposit in order to confirm your booking. As soon as the deposit is paid, we will start processing your accommodation and online access to the theoretical review course we provide.
PREVIOUS COURSES
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JOIN US
Three Good Reasons to Join
The Neutering Surgery Academy offers you a unique and unforgettable experience that you will not be able to repeat anywhere else.
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40h of CPD
40 hours of certified CPD with a proficiency diploma at the end.
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Support and quality
Expert tutors available for you and high standard working conditions.
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Supporting neutering
Contributing to mass neutering for population control and charity support for rehoming.
What people say about our course
Thank you so much for the great course and the great time, Luis and Judy are awesome. This was an excellent experience and an outstanding course!! I have learned so much and I found the course one of the best courses I have attended. I feel so much more comfortable with surgery after only a week, definitely an invaluable experience for my future.
Clara Garcia
The course was great, I learnt so much from Luis and Judy-they were excellent teachers. I have gone from worrying about spays to now being comfortable in what I am doing and can’t thank them enough. It was a fun and enjoyable experience and I would recommend it to all.
Mia Kalyvides
This course exceeded any expectation that I had. I imagined that the first two days we would be confined to a chair and a desk as our mentors would theoretically talk about different techniques/anaesthetics procedures used in bitch spay. I couldn’t have been more wrong. We arrived at Scooby on Monday and as soon as the brilliant staff brought the first dogs we were doing bitch spays.
Stefana Trufin
Want to hear more?
Visit our testimonials page to see what the many delegates that have joined the course have to say about it.
Frequently asked question
Here are a few answers to our most common questions
I'm a veterinary student, can I join?
Yes, the level 1 course is suitable for veterinary graduates and final year veterinary students who want to develop their surgical skills.
I have never done a spay, can I join?
Absolutely! It's not unsual for us to have vets that have been working for several years but have never had the opportunity to develop their surgical skills. The level 1 and level 2 may be suitable for you in this case.
Where does it take place?
The Academy runs in 3 different locations depending on the level: in Spain, the course takes place in the rescue centre Scooby, in Medina del Campo. In Portugal, the course takes place in our partner training centre in Vila Franca de Xira, just outside of Lisbon. In Romania, the course takes place in the Center of Hope training center in Piteasca, outside of Bucharest.
How many surgeries can I do?
We don't want you to focus on the number of surgeries only (and we have methods to help you with this), but we have never had any surgeon perform less than 8 surgeries during any of the courses, regardless of the level. You can do more surgeries in Romania, as this location focuses on back-to-back surgeries.
What sort of help will I have?
There are one, two or even more experienced tutors available to help you in any way that you need help - from showing you how to do it step-by-step to gowning up and holding things for you.
What am I expected to do during the course?
During this course, you may be grouped in pairs with another vet of similar experience and you may take turns between being the surgeon and the anesthetist (Portugal and Spain). That means you will be performing surgery, but you will also be placing IV catheters, inducing anaesthesia, intubating patients, monitoring anaesthesia and more. However, in Romania you will only be doing surgery, so you won't be dealing with animals that are "awake" and you won't need to monitor any anesthetics, giving you more surgical time.
What are the course fees?
The fee for the 5-day course includes accommodation and meals and is the following, according to the level:
- Level 1: £1800 + VAT
- Level 2: £2500 + VAT
- Level 3: £2800 + VAT
This value can be paid in two installments.
What accommodation is available?
We will organise accommodation for you at the Hotel Reina Isabel, in Medina del Campo, if you go to Spain. If you go to Portugal, we sort this out with the guesthouse O Maioral. In Romania, accommodation is in a private bedroom on site. The cost of the accommodation is already included in the course fees.
Are meals included?
Yes, we will offer you breakfast, lunch and dinner from Monday to Friday. We will also accommodate your preferences and limitations.
What about travel?
We will help you organise your travel and provide you with information to comply with COVID-19 travel restrictions. However, you will have to make travel arrangements to arrive to Madrid (Spain), Lisbon (Portugal) or Bucharest (Romania).
What do I need to bring?
We only ask that you bring scrubs to wear during the course and also your own stethoscope if you want. And we advise you bring comfy shoes! ;)
How do I know what's the best level for me?
When you book a Q&A session, we will ask you some questions to assess your experience level and advise you on the most suitable level for you. However, in general we advise the following:
- Level 1 if you have limited surgical experience, particularly with laparotomy (opening and closing the abdomen)
- Level 2 if you already do surgery but feel uncomfortable with neutering (ie you can do it but don't feel happy on your own)
- Level 3 if you already do surgery but are struggling with specific steps, want a refresher to become faster and re-build muscle memory or simply want to improve your technique
Practise surgery and learn neutering techniques
A unique and unforgettable experience to develop your surgical skills and confidence in theatre, focused on a remarkable learning environment.
UniVets Global is run by AD-VETERPRISES LTD.
Head Office
272 Bath Street
Glasgow
G2 4JR
+44 07918796877
Hands-On Practical Courses
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- Spain
- Romania
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