Pain Awareness Month: David Bardell (BVSc 1998)
September is Pain Awareness Month and the University of Liverpool Veterinary Alumni Association caught up with alumnus David Bardell (BVSc 1998), now Professor of Veterinary Anaesthesia at his alma mater!
David mainly works with horses, but also small animals, laboratory species and wildlife. David is research active in several areas including projects investigating anaesthesia-related cardiopulmonary disturbances, metabolic derangements and prognostic indicators in equine colic patients, and clinical pain management in horses. David has recently become involved with wildlife research, assisting a seabird research group from the School of Environmental Sciences, and a project looking at hibernation behaviours in hedgehogs.
Did anyone inspire you while you were a student?
I was fortunate enough to benefit from several excellent lecturers and clinicians who made me very keen to go out into general practice.
When did you know you wanted to specialise in anaesthesia and analgesia?
About 10 years after graduating. My career prior to specialising was initially in mixed practice, then in a specialist equine practice which also accepted referrals from neighbouring practices, many of which required surgery. This was really where my interest in anaesthesia and pain management developed. I can’t recall a ‘lightbulb’ moment, but more a gradually dawning realisation that I wanted to better understand the impact of anaesthesia on my patients to improve their management. As for pain management, this is critical to being a competent and humane practitioner. Horses (and other species) often suffer in silence as they may not display (or we do not recognise) that they are in pain, so again, just a desire to make sure I was doing as good a job as I could to alleviate that.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?
Don’t specialise too early; having a veterinary degree puts you in a unique and privileged position with an enormous range of options so don’t be tempted to narrow them down too quickly. Experience first opinion practice and keep an open mind as you may be surprised what captures your interest – follow that.
Can you give your fellow alumni one top tip for Pain Awareness Month?
Pain is often under recognised and hence undertreated. Although there have been huge advances in appreciation and management of pain in veterinary species in recent years, there is still some way to go. If you think something would be painful for you, extend that courtesy to your patient and treat it accordingly.
How can alumni follow what you're doing?
I don’t do social media I’m afraid, but you can check-out my University of Liverpool staff profile.
Thank you, David, for helping us celebrate our alumni with careers in anaesthesia and analgesia for Pain Awareness Month. Back in May, David was part of the 12-strong Vets with Horsepower team lecturing on all aspects of equine health to raise money for charity. The School of Veterinary Science shared this story where you can read more.
Have you got an update you would like to share with your fellow alumni? Send your updates to ulvaa@liverpool.ac.uk.