Featured Speaker – Dr Susana Silva

Susana Silva graduated from the University of Porto, Portugal, in 2001.  After working in small animal practice, she moved to the UK and started a small animal internship.   She was awarded the RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Medicine Certificate (CertSAM) in 2007 and finished her training residency at the University of Bristol in 2009.  In 2010 she received the European Diploma in Veterinary Small Animal Medicine (DipECVIM-CA) and she now works at Vets Now Referrals in Swindon.

Susana is passionate about respiratory medicine – a subject which she believes can be neglected within the veterinary sphere.   She also enjoys the quick decision-making required in emergency and critical care medicine and the contrasting approach required to treat cases of chronic gastrointestinal and urinary tract disease.  Susana describes her approach to teaching as highly practical and interactive.  She focuses on critical thinking, believing that vets should always undertake tests to answer specific questions and avoid ‘fishing expeditions.’  She says that by taking a practical approach to her teaching, putting patients at the centre of the process, delegates have a more rewarding learning experience and one that they can easily translate into day to day practice.

Susana recently performed upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in two Cheetahs from a UK zoo.  The big cats had arrived in the back of a truck heavily sedated before undergoing an anaesthesia prior to endoscopy.  She says that contemplating what might happen if they woke up, kept the adrenaline flowing throughout the procedure.