Workshop Skills List

Students are given the opportunity to practice skills as indicated below. Students should know how these procedures should be performed but it is anticipated that they will require additional practice and supervision. Where it is felt that the student has not been able to demonstrate a basic level of skill with assistance or has demonstrated an unwillingness to learn the required skills they may be asked to take the session again or return at a later date to demonstrate the progress they have made.

• Basic Rodent Handling
• Sterile Injection Techniques and Basic Handling
• Mouse Injections and Techniques
• Rat Injections and Techniques
• Anaesthesia - Injectable
• Anaesthesia - Gas
• Surgery I
• Surgery II
• Surgery Pack Preparation
• Rabbit Injections and Techniques

• Normal rodent behaviour
• Basic physiology and anatomy
• Rodent cages
• Animal handling and basic restraint
• Euthanasia using carbon dioxide and oxygen
• Record keeping

• Types of needles and syringes
• Handling needles and syringes using sterile technique
• Using vials and ampoules
• Drawing up medications
• Locating injection sites for IM, SC, IP
• As in 'Basic Rodent Handling'
• Practice on models

• As in 'Basic Rodent Handling'
• Mouse restraint for injections
• Practice IM, IP, SC injections
• Demonstration and practice of saphenous vein blood collection as required
• Demonstration and practice of tail vein injection as required.
• Demonstration of cardiac puncture

• As in 'Basic Rodent Handling'
• Rat restraint for injections
• Practice IM, IP, SC injections
• Demonstration and practice of tail vein injections and blood collection
• Demonstration and practice of saphenous vein blood collection as required
• Demonstration of cardiac puncture

• Calculations to prepare drug mixes, dilutions etc.
• Anaesthetic cage set up including supplemental heat.
• Obtain and inject anaesthetic agent.
• Observe animal and assess depth.
• Instill eye ointment
• Monitor temperature, understand importance of temperature maintenance.
• Observe pulse oximeter
• Inject reversal agent
• Monitor animal until sternal
• Maintain records
• Recover techniques

• Advantages and disadvantages of gas anaesthesia
• Identification of the parts of an anaesthetic machine
• Set up of anaesthetic machine for induction
• Set up of anaesthetic machine for maintenance
• Induction of anaesthesia using a chamber
• Maintenance using a mask
• Instill eye ointment
• Monitor temperature, understand importance of temperature maintenance
• Assessment of anaesthetic depth by observation of signs
• Maintain records of animal use

• Organize equipment and supplies for surgical procedure
• Don surgical cap and mask
• Open packs and supplies in preparation for surgery
• Prepare animal for surgery - anaesthesia, surgical clip and 3 stage prep
• Record controlled drug use.
• Perform a surgical scrub
• Don gown and gloves
• Prepare surgical area - perform final prep, drape animal, organize instruments and supplies
• Intra-operative care
• Maintain records of animal use.

• As in Surgery I but no animal anaesthesia
• Skin incision
• Linea albae incision
• Suture practice - simple interrupted and subcuticular

• Folding surgical gowns
• Folding towels
• Preparing instruments for packing
• Wrapping packs using different materials
• Preparation of a variety of packs for autoclaving - gown, drape and instrument packs

• Behaviour
• Handling
• As in 'Sterile Injections and Techniques'
• Rabbit restraint for injections and other procedures
• Practice SC, IM injections
• Practice IV injection
• Practice IA blood collection

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Last updated on December 16, 2008