Advocating for patients

Last month’s BSAVA Congress 2023 was a fantastic introduction to the veterinary nursing world on my first few days in the job. While it may have been slightly daunting to be thrown in at the deep end, I was soon put at ease. It was wonderful to meet so many friendly, engaged readers and authors. What really shone through for me was the passion for patient care in all the veterinary nurses I spoke to. Everyone there was so keen to learn, develop new skills and expand their knowledge.

Congress covered a huge range of topics - demonstrating the breadth of interest and engagement of veterinary nurses - with key themes including nursing exotic species, neurodiversity in the veterinary workforce, mental wellbeing and the nursing management of anaesthesia.

As exotic pet ownership continues to rise - up nearly 60% since 2020 - the nurse-focused exotics module was very popular. The lack of training in nursing exotics was discussed - there is little on the curriculum at many colleges and universities - something that seems ridiculous considering the statistic that rabbits are the third most popular pet in the UK behind cats and dogs. Rabbits also often have poor quality of life, with many owners unaware that there are no hutches for sale that meet the recommended minimum requirements for space - something that shocked me.