Hands-on courses: Refinement of minor procedures
Handling, immobilization, administration of substances and blood sampling are examples of minor procedures carried out on mice or rats. These courses, designed as flexible learning workshops, will cover practical elements aimed at refreshing or refining skills to carry out minor procedures.
Content
These courses will cover practical elements aimed at refreshing or refining skills to carry out minor procedures on mice or rats.
Participants will follow a demo, and subsequently practice selected minor procedures on simulators and on mice/rats such as handling and immobilization using non-aversive techniques; dosing of substances using intraperitoneal, subcutaneous and intravenous or oral gavage routes; collection of blood samples from tail and/or saphenous veins, and application of humane killing techniques, including valid means for death confirmation.
After completion of this workshop, participants should be able to:
- Approach, handle, and restrain a mouse according to good practice
- Perform a variety of injections and/or practice oral gavage in simulators and in mice/rats
- Collect blood samples using different methods
- Apply humane killing methods in mice/rats and learn how to complete their death
Mice that will be used in the hands-on sessions will be acquired from naive animals that were unsuitable for scientific studies (surplus colonies, wrong sex, negative genotypes, etc).
Target group
Any person holding a Function A qualification, or who has completed the theoretical contents of the Function A course in rodents, who:
- Have experience in carrying out minor procedures on mice, but need an update or an upgrade in their skills (refinement);
- Will be resuming practical work on laboratory mice after a prolonged break;
- Are seeking added training in selected minor techniques such as e.g. intravenous injections or oral gavage.
Admission requirements
Applicants must hold a Function A qualification (or equivalent) in rodents as a pre-requisite to participate in this workshop.
Dates and registration links - Mice
Hands-on training will be held at the Learning Lab, KM (Campus Solna).
March 2023
COURSE 5515: Refinement of minor procedures on mice (skills) (0.5 cr.)
Date: March 6-7, 2023
May 2023
COURSE 5515: Refinement of minor procedures on mice (skills) (0.5 cr.)
Date: May 23-24, 2023
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Dates and registration links - Rats
Hands-on training will be held at the Learning Lab, KM (Campus Solna).
April 2023
COURSE 5516: Refinement of minor procedures on rats (skills) (0.5 cr.)
Date: April 13-14, 2023
Fees
- Karolinska Institutet: Doctoral students, postdocs and KM staff: free of charge.
- Others: 2 900 kr (incl. INDI).
- Externals: 5 700 kr (excl. VAT).
Number of participants
Seats are limited. Minimum 2 and maximum 4 will be accepted in each session. Selection will be based on first-come, first-served basis.
KI and Public Health Agency recommendations on COVID-19 for staff and students will be followed. The Learning Lab consists of over 100 m2 of physical space, and everyone will always wear a face mask during the session. Visor face shields will be also available upon request.
LAS CPD credits
The workshop provides 9 hours of Continued Professional Development (CPD) activity in Laboratory Animal Science (LAS). Certificates of attendance authenticated by the Unit for education and training in laboratory animal science, Comparative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, will be provided.
Contact
Hands-on workshops are CPD activities in LAS recognized by the Education and Training Unit, Comparative Medicine. The contents of these workshops are based on the EU recommendations for education and training of personnel carrying out minor procedures on animals (EU modules 3.2, 6.2 and 8).