Longtime anesthesiologist retires
WCVM professor Dr. Tanya Duke-Novakovski, a well-known veterinary anesthesiologist at the WCVM Veterinary Medical Centre (VMC), will retire at the end of this year after a three-decade career at the veterinary college.
Duke-Novakovski has been a dedicated veterinary anesthesiologist and faculty member at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) since 1990.
The care and well-being of her patients has always been vital to Duke-Novakovski's work with the VMC's diverse caseload. Throughout her career, she has taught generations of veterinary students and registered veterinary technologists as well as residents and clinical interns.
In addition to her clinical and teaching work, Duke-Novakovski has led or participated in many research projects that have focused on enhancing anesthesia and analgesia protocols and technologies for small and large animals.
Born and raised in the United Kingdom (UK), Duke-Novakovski graduated from the Royal Veterinary College at London University in 1983. After working in small animal general practice for three years, she went on to complete a veterinary anesthesia residency at Liverpool University and obtained the UK Diploma in Veterinary Anaesthesia.
Duke-Novakovski returned to small animal practice for one year before joining the WCVM's faculty and the clinical team at the WCVM Veterinary Medical Centre. She passed her board examinations with the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia (ACVAA) in 1994 and completed her Master of Science (MSc) degree in 2010.
In 2017, WCVM writer Christina Weese spent a morning with members of the WCVM's busy, closeknit anesthesia team — including Duke-Novakovski.
"Teamwork is imperative," says Duke-Novakovski as she describes the anesthesia team's collaborative work with some of the hospital's most critically ill patients to Weese. "We rely on each other to double-check everything."
Click here to read the full article on WCVM Today — the news site for the veterinary college.
Duke-Novakovski's final day at the WCVM is Dec. 17.