Veterinary anesthesia

Veterinary anesthesia is anesthesia performed on non-human animals by a veterinarian or a Registered Veterinary Technician . Anesthesia is used for a wider range of circumstances in animals than in people, due to animals' inability to cooperate with certain diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. Veterinary anesthesia includes anesthesia of the major species: dogs, cats, horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs, as well as all other animals requiring veterinary care such as birds, pocket pets, and wildlife.

In North America, the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia is one of 21 specialty organizations recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association. The ACVAA was recognized by the AVMA in 1975, despite attempts by the AVMA to include anesthesia as a subspecialty of surgery or medicine. As of 2016, there are more than 250 Diplomates of the ACVAA. To become an ACVAA board-certified Diplomate, veterinarians must have at least one year of clinical practice experience followed by three years of anesthesia residency training under the supervision of ACVAA Diplomates, have accepted for publication a scientific peer-reviewed research article, and passed both a written and oral examination.

In Europe, the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia (ECVAA) is one of 23 specialty organizations recognized by the European Board of Veterinary Specialisation. As of February 2014, there are 147 ECVA Diplomates.

Evidence exists that suggests that anesthesia which is supervised by a qualified technician is safer than anesthesia without a technician. In most private veterinary practices, the technician administers and monitors anesthesia with supervision from the attending veterinarian. In many academic institutions, anesthesia technicians are involved in working with and teaching veterinary students as well as supervising anesthetized cases. The Academy of Veterinary Technician Anesthetists is a provisional specialty academy of the North American Veterinary Technician Association and is responsible for licensing technicians as being specialized in anesthesia. For a technician to become specialized, they must be a licensed technician in their state, accumulate 6000 hours of work in veterinary medicine (at least 75% of which must be in anesthesia), 40 hours of continuing education related to anesthesia, demonstrate proficiency in anesthesia skills, and pass a comprehensive written examination.

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