Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia

Entry requirements

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in veterinary medicine or veterinary nursing.

We will also consider your application if you have a degree in a related science with appropriate practical experience.

We may also consider your application if you do not have a degree but are a registered veterinary nurse/technician with a minimum of 3 years experience in anaesthesia and hold additional nursing or technical qualifications. You may be admitted to certificate level only in the first instance.

Months of entry

January, April, September

Course content

In veterinary management of animals, anaesthesia (rendering animals unconscious to permit procedures) and analgesia (reducing the pain an animal is suffering) have vital importance in improving animal welfare, as well as permitting the ongoing developments in medical and surgical advances.

Knowledge and advances in anaesthesia over the last 20 years have been considerable. We can use techniques to block sensation locally or over a region of the body not just total unconsciousness. We have an array of drugs and methods of drug administration available to us in our fight against pain. Anaesthesia has always carried risks, and we have an increasing availability of monitoring equipment to help us monitor the physiological function of the body during anaesthesia with the aim of reducing morbidity and mortality in our animals.

The University of Edinburgh is offering this unique opportunity for an entirely online MSc to study these advances, during which students can gain knowledge and understanding in the equipment, drugs and techniques associated with anaesthesia and analgesia. Our team can provide a wide range of clinical and research experience across many species.