Profile for Pain Awareness Month: Matthew Gurney BVSc CertVA PgCertVBM DipECVAA FRCVS
September is Pain Awareness Month and the University of Liverpool Veterinary Alumni Association caught up with alumnus Matthew Gurney (BVSc 2003), European Specialist in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia and Past President of the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia & Analgesia.
Matt is a co-founder of Zero Pain Philosophy and works at Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists. Matt was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for Meritorious Contribution to Clinical Practice in 2020. He received the RCVS Knowledge Award for Quality Improvement in 2022 for launching and implementing a unique anaesthesia safety tool.
Did anyone inspire you while you were a student?
In general I was inspired by all the people that worked in the equine hospital. It was such a great environment to work in and you felt you were with the greatest minds in the profession. I always thought I was never clever enough to be an anaesthetist!
When did you know you wanted to specialise in anaesthesia and analgesia?
After a few years in mixed practice I decided I wanted to be really good in one subject area - I chose anaesthesia as it allowed me to stick with the mix of species that I had been working with to date. By the end of my residency I knew my interest lay in pain management and here I am today.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?
Just go for it. Don't let anything hold you back!
What is your top tip for your fellow alumni this Pain Awareness Month?
For Pain Awareness Month the area we can make the biggest difference is owner education so I would ask the question, what can you do with your pet owners to help them recognise pain in their pets?
How can alumni follow what you're doing?
Sign up to Zero Pain Philosophy and encourage your teams at work to do the same. Our aim is to help vet professionals worldwide achieve analgesic excellence. For Animal Pain Awareness Month we have launched our Big Pain Survey. We will use the results from this to produce a report to the profession, plus it will help us direct our resources to help vet professionals in the future.
The link is here https://www.zeropainphilosophy.com/post/our-big-pain-survey-is-live
Thank you, Matt, for helping us celebrate our alumni with careers in anaesthesia and analgesia for Pain Awareness Month.
Have you got an update you would like to share with your fellow alumni? Send your updates to ulvaa@liverpool.ac.uk.