2025 Ballarat & Surrounds Veterinary Nursing Conference
Come and Join us for the second annual Ballarat & Surrounds Veterinary Nursing Conference!
Designed by nurses, for nurses, the 2025 Ballarat & Surrounds Veterinary Nursing Conference offers a full day of practical, hands-on learning tailored to enhance the skills and knowledge of veterinary nursing teams. Join us on Sunday, July 13th, 2025, at the Ballarat Golf Club, 1800 Sturt Street, Ballarat.
This year, we’re excited to offer:
- Hands-on practical workshops in Pathology, Bandaging, and CPR
- In-depth sessions on Shock and Wound Management, Anaesthesia Monitoring, and managing Anaesthesia Complications
- A new Trades Hall featuring the latest veterinary products and innovations
Registration includes access to a full day of expert-led learning, plus morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, and drinks for just $95.
Whether you’re looking to enhance your clinical skills, explore new techniques, or connect with industry suppliers, this conference provides a fantastic opportunity for professional growth.
Spaces are limited! Be sure to book your ticket today!
We look forward to welcoming you to a day of hands-on learning and networking in Ballarat!
2025 Sponsors
2025 Presenters
Lucy Tofts
Lucy is a registered and accredited veterinary nurse with nearly 10 years experience in small animal general practice in Melbourne and Ballarat. She has special interests in emergency, critical care, surgery, and medical nursing. She is RECOVER certified in basic life support and is the vice chair of the editorial committee for the AVNJ, as she is highly dedicated to the empowerment of veterinary nurses and the industry.
Johlene Van Eyk
Jo graduated with a Diploma in Veterinary Nursing from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, in 2018. She furthered her studies with a Postgraduate Certificate in Emergency and Critical Care Medicine from the VetsNow institution in 2024. Currently, Jo works as a Senior Veterinary Nurse at Wendouree Veterinary Practice, with a clinical focus on anaesthesia, emergency medicine, and critical care.
Since 2017, she has gained broad experience across mixed, general, and specialist practices. Jo is passionate about empowering veterinary nurses through education and evidence-based practice and is committed to improving patient outcomes by sharing practical knowledge on managing anaesthetic complications in clinical settings.
Dr Sarah Warren
Sarah is the current professional services veterinarian at IDEXX for Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. She graduated from the University of Sydney in 2008 and has spent the last 15 years in general practices both in Australia and in multiple other countries. Sarah has worked predominantly in small animal practice and holds memberships in small animal medicine at the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Surgeons. She has spent a lot of time educating both vets and nurses in clinic.
Dr Lauire Steiner
Laurie graduated from Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery. She then spent a year working in rural Western Australia as a small animal practitioner before moving back to the city to continue working as a full-time small animal clinician in general practice for the following 2 years. Laurie then spent 6 months working nights in an emergency clinic before accepting a role as principle veterinarian of a brand-new clinic in 2018. Laurie joined the Jurox Technical Services Team in 2020. In 2021, Laurie gained membership by examination to the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Science in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia. Laurie continues to support the Anaesthesia and Analgesia portfolio as part of her role in the Companion Animal Veterinary Operations team at Zoetis.
Dr Euan McLean
Euan has spent his life immersed in veterinary care, having grown up in his family’s vet clinic in Broadford, Victoria. Fostered by the rural world of “treat whatever comes through the door”, Euan developed a keen interest in surgery. He went on to complete two surgical internships and a European-accredited Surgical Residency program. He has a special interest in orthopaedics and trauma surgery and has undertaken externships with leading orthopaedic and trauma hospitals across Europe, America and Australia. Euan looks forward to bringing you the most up to date, practical information and tips on wound management and bandage care.
2025 Program
Managing the Shock Patient
Learn about the fundamentals of what shock is, how the body utilises and distributes oxygen in the body, and what happens when it is deprived and shock syndrome begins. To gain or refresh an understanding of the various types and stages of shock as well as how they are triaged and treated depending on the type of shock.
Managing Wounds in Dogs and Cats
Wounds come in many types, shapes and sizes, and can often be a daunting challenge in our veterinary patients. But the reality is, wounds want to heal, it’s what they do; if we provide the right environment, the biology does the vast amount of the work for us. Our talks and practical’s will focus on identifying unhealthy wounds, cultivating a healthy wound environment, and addressing the barriers to healing; once we can identify and address the barriers to healing, the patients do the rest!
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
This lecture focuses on the basic physiology and function of the heart and it’s conduction system, and what happens when it fails. The session will focus on basic life support as outlined by the most up to date information from the RECOVER initiative. Whilst earning about the many predisposing factors and clinical signs of cardiopulmonary arrest, the fundamentals of triage and how we evaluate the unresponsive patient. In addition, the techniques and theories of CPR will be covered which will follow with a hands-on workshop for the audience members to put the theory into practice.
Cardiorespiratory System and Monitoring
This talk will take a look at the cardiorespiratory system and why it’s important to monitor, before exploring the different tools we can use to successfully monitor anaesthetised patients.
Anaesthesia Complications: Recognition, Response, and Prevention
This session will explore common and critical anaesthetic complications encountered in small animal practice, including their basic physiological basis, early recognition, emergency response, and prevention strategies. Real case studies will be used to support key points.
Workshop: Pathology: Blood Smear Preparation and Urine Dry Line Smear Preparation
This session will cover the following :
When to do a blood smear.
Why do we need to do blood smears.
How to prepare a blood smear.
How to examine a blood film.
When to do a urine dry line smear.
How to prepare a urine dry line smear.
Workshop: Bandage Application
The session will cover the following:
Learn to apply bandages
Apply splints and Robert Jones
Identify and protect areas of concern for rub sores
Workshop: Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: The hands on key to staying alive
Hands on thoracic pump technique
Hands on cardiac pump technique
Using a range of model sizes
