8. Critical Care & Cancer
369,00 €
This is the eighth module of Vet Clinical Nutrition Academy.
The full bundle of 60-hour program (12 modules) is available here: Vet Clinical Nutrition – 60-hour course
In this module, we focus on nutritional management of critically ill patients, with emphasis on decision making, safe implementation and monitoring of feeding plans in the intensive care setting. Participants explore enteral and parenteral options, prevention of metabolic complications and strategies for supporting patients with severe injury, systemic illness or cancer.
Key topics include:
• Nutrition in the intensive care unit: per os, enteral and parenteral routes
• Prevention and monitoring of refeeding syndrome
• Short term enteral feeding (NE/NG tubes) vs long term access (E/G tubes)
• Nutritional support for oncology patients and those with cachexia
• Transitioning from hospital to home and preparing owners for safe ongoing care
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After completing this module, you will be able to:
• Identify patients at risk of malnutrition and select the appropriate enteral access route (NG, NE, PEG, E-tube) based on clinical indications.
• Calculate energy requirements, initiate feeding safely and advance intake without triggering refeeding syndrome.
• Prepare discharge feeding plans and provide clear owner education for ongoing nutritional support at home.
Schedule:
30 Apr 2026 – Pre‑recorded material (2 h)
14 May 2026 – Live: cases + Q&A (2 h)
21 May 2026 – Live: cases + Q&A (2 h)
Total ~6 h
(Live sessions take place at 7:30 p.m. CEST via Google Meet.)
Live meetings include case discussions and small-group workshops. The course also includes supporting literature, practical tools, knowledge-check quizzes, and access to a private Facebook community.
It is conducted in English.
This is a fully online program that you can complete from anywhere, at your own pace.
This module provides an in depth, evidence based overview of critical care nutrition for dogs and cats. Participants learn how to assess malnutrition risk, determine urgency of nutritional intervention and prioritise safe stabilization. Emphasis is placed on the clinical decision tree for selecting the appropriate feeding route, including per os feeding when possible, short term enteral support via nasoesophageal (NE) or nasogastric (NG) tubes, and long term options such as esophagostomy (E-tube) or gastrostomy (G-tube) tubes.
A major component of the module focuses on refeeding syndrome, including identifying high risk patients, calculating safe starting intakes, monitoring electrolytes and managing the rate of nutritional advancement to prevent metabolic collapse.
The module also reviews indications, benefits and limitations of parenteral nutrition, along with practical considerations for partial and total PN in the ICU setting.
Participants further explore nutritional support for oncology patients and animals with cachexia, with guidance on feeding goals, nutrient priorities, appetite management and integration of nutrition into multimodal cancer care.
The module concludes with practical instruction on transitioning critically ill patients to home care, including preparation of clear discharge feeding plans, troubleshooting common challenges and educating owners on monitoring, tube care and safe diet handling.
By the end of this module, participants will feel confident providing structured, safe and effective nutritional care for critically ill patients from ICU admission through recovery and discharge.
Dr Kerstin Gerstner, DVM, Dr. med. vet., Dip ECVCN
Board-Certified Veterinary Nutritionist, EBVS® European Specialist in Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition
She obtained her veterinary degree by the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany in 2009. Her doctoral thesis – at the Institute of Veterinary Physiology, University of Zurich, Switzerland (“Disturbed eating at high altitude”, Dr. med. vet., 2012) was followed by one year as a postdoctoral research assistant. She was the first resident completing a standard residency program of the European College for Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition at the Institute of Animal Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Zurich (EBVS® European Specialist in Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition, 2018). As a research assistant at the Institute of Animal Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Zurich until 2021 Kerstin focused on clinical nutrition provided by the veterinary nutrition consultation service, was involved in teaching of students, veterinarians as well as pet owners and was part of various research projects. From 2022 Kerstin follows her passion in clinical nutrition and dietetics, spreading scientifically based knowledge to support pet’s health by healthy, individually suitable nutrition as veterinary specialist in Marigin Zentrum für Tiermedizin, a big veterinary clinic and referral centre in Feusisberg, Switzerland. “My daily motivation is to impart scientifically based specialized veterinary knowledge in order to support our pets with balanced nutrition as an essential basis for life and health. It fascinates me that even with more than 10 years of experience in this field, every day brings something new, no two cases are the same and every animal benefits from an individually adapted diet.”
The VCNA course has been designed primarily for veterinarians who wish to deepen their expertise in the dietary management of canine and feline diseases.
It is also suitable for veterinary technicians, animal nutritionists, veterinary students, and pet food professionals interested in the clinical application of nutrition.
