Today an increasing number of people who own pets are becoming familiar with the sight
of the veterinary nurse in their local practice.
Veterinary Nursing is a rewarding career that offers variety and daily contact with animals
and their owners.
As a qualified Veterinary Nurse you will be responsible for the welfare, comfort and
recovery of animals that may have undergone trauma, surgery or are receiving treatment for
medical conditions.
You will be trained to a high level to enable you to work in all aspects of the veterinary
practice from reception through to the operating theatre.
The majority of Veterinary Nurses work in small animal practice, which is a practice that
predominantly treats cats, dogs and small animals such as rabbits and rodents as well
as the occasional reptile.
Like their counterpart in the NHS, Veterinary Nurses must be prepared to work long and
often unsociable hours when the occasion demands. The work can be physically
demanding and Veterinary Nurses must be versatile enough to turn their hands to the
many aspects of veterinary practice like the reception work you see here.
The receptionist is the first contact the client has with the practice and must make a
favourable impression.
It’s important to be of smart appearance at all times as well as being cheerful, patient and
helpful.
Owners can often be in an emotional state when their pets are unwell. And the good
Veterinary Nurse must be able to deal with such situations sympathetically. Imagine how
you would feel if your own pet had been involved in a road traffic accident for example.
The Veterinary Nurse is admitting this patient for an operation, the procedure is discussed
with the owner and a consent form signed.
Another important role of the Veterinary Nurse is to assist the Veterinary Surgeon in surgery.
Here we see two nurses assisting with an operation one is monitoring the level of
anaesthetic that is being administered to the patient while the other is scrubbed in and
assisting the surgeon as an extra pair of hands.
Some operations do not require this type of assistance from the nurse, but in the majority
of instances the maintenance of anaesthesia by the nurse is essential and is obviously an
extremely responsible job.
This area is called the prep room and many of the simple, non-surgical operations are
performed here. This cat is having his teeth de-scaled by a Veterinary Nurse, he was first
of all anaesthetised by a Vet who also examined his mouth and removed any bad
teeth. The Veterinary Nurse continues the procedure by removing the plaque from the
remaining teeth whilst one of her colleagues continues to monitor the cat’s anaesthetic.
This rabbit has been sedated in order for the Vet to burr its teeth. The Veterinary Nurse is
assisting by holding the animal and monitoring its heart rate and breathing.
This nurse is assisting the vet in administering chemotherapy to a patient.
It’s often necessary to take x-rays, more properly called radiographs, of animals in
order to diagnose problems such as broken bones. Most practices have their own x-ray
machine, and the Veterinary Nurse is usually responsible for positioning the animal and
taking the x-ray. In this, as in all aspects of the job, proper training is essential, not only
for good standards of work, but also to comply with health & safety regulations.
After undergoing an operation the patient is moved to a recovery area where the nurse will
be responsible for monitoring its progress. Nursing of patients is considered by many
nurses to be the most rewarding aspect of the job.
Most Veterinary Surgeons dispense the necessary drugs for the animals in their care
rather than only giving the owner a prescription. This means keeping and
managing a large stock of medicines and tablets. The dispensing and ordering of these
is often the initial responsibility of the Veterinary Nurse who then reports back to the
surgeon.
Many practices have computerised ordering systems as well as a computer which stores
client records.
In addition, the Veterinary Nurse may have to carry out certain laboratory tests.
Some Veterinary Nurses choose to train and work for one of the welfare organisations. The
role of the nurse here is similar to that in small animal practice except that the animals
they care for may not have an owner or the owner may not be able to afford private
veterinary medicine. Working in this field may sometimes require great mental fortitude as
animals are sometimes presented in a very poor state physically and in some cases
euthanasia is the only option. However, the rewards when a patient is successfully treated
by the Veterinary Surgeon and nursed back to health by the nurse to be returned to a
grateful owner are tremendous.
There are occasionally opportunities for the Veterinary Nurse to work in an equine
practice, although this type of practice is much less common than the small animal
practice which we’ve just seen.
The duties of this nurse in this field may include stable management and assisting with
radiography and surgery. Experience with horses is an obvious advantage.
Opportunities in large animal practice, which is working with farm animals, are very limited.
Most of these practices are known as mixed practices, in other words, they provide a
service for both pet owners and farmers.
The Veterinary Nurse in these practices will deal with the farmers when they phone up or
come in for drugs and will occasionally be required to assist with procedures on a farm
animal; these are most commonly performed on the farm.
So what about training? The entry requirements are a minimum of 5 GCSE’s at
Grade C or above which must include English language, science and mathematics.
Alternative qualifications of a comparable or higher standard may be accepted and these
would be checked on initial enrolment.
There are two different routes to qualifying as a Veterinary Nurse. The Level 3 Diploma in
Veterinary Nursing comprises a core and two option pathways, one in small animal nursing
and one in equine nursing. Training can be undertaken via an apprenticeship, which
means you work as a student VN in practice and attend college part time, or by joining a
full time course at college and undertaking clinical placements in veterinary practice.
You must complete at least 60 full-time weeks of work experience in veterinary practice
alongside completing work based clinical skills using a Nursing Progress Log (NPL).
Alternatively, you can undertake a Veterinary Nursing Foundation or BSc Honours Degree
at University. Training takes between three and four years depending upon the type of
course you choose.
You will also undertake a number of different examinations and assessment which will
include written and practical examinations, college examinations, assignments and work
based assessments.
Once qualified, nurses are placed on the register kept by the Royal College of
Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), they are entitled to use the initials RVN (Registered Veterinary
Nurse) after their name and can perform all the procedures described in schedule 3 of the
Veterinary Surgeons act.
After qualification, Veterinary Nurses will find a rewarding career ahead of them. Nurses
may choose to develop an interest in different aspects of animal health, such as behaviour,
alternative therapy or may choose to further develop their skills by studying the Diploma in
Advanced Veterinary Nursing focussing on areas such as anaesthesia, radiography or
intensive care nursing.
Veterinary Nurses may choose to embark on a career in nursing and work in large veterinary
hospitals, universities or specialist referral centres. They may also take on a veterinary
practice management role or become a veterinary drugs company representative.
Many RVN’s may also elect to follow a career in education and become college tutors and
lecturers thus teaching the next generation of veterinary nurses.
Many Veterinary Nurses are members of the British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA)
The BVNA was formed in 1965 and is the only
representative body for veterinary nurses in the UK.
BVNA’s main objective is to promote animal health and welfare through the on-going
development of professional excellence in veterinary nursing.
Membership is open to all veterinary nurses, trainees and interested persons.
The staff at the head office in Harlow will be only too pleased to help you with any
enquiries that you may have.