Twelve months ago we launched the very first edition of The Veterinary Nurse at the 2010 BVNA Congress. During our first year The Veterinary Nurse team have worked hard to bring you a journal containing a diverse range of articles relevant to today's veterinary nurses. We aim to provide a much-needed source of peer-reviewed articles for those VNs who are seeking to continue their professional development, and also offer an evidence base on which to support their clinical judgments.
There is, of course, another important anniversary that deserves celebration — 2011 is the 50th anniversary of the veterinary nursing qualification in the UK. Much has occurred over these 50 years and we are proud to be part of a growing movement of forward-thinking, professionally enlightened veterinary nurses committed to providing the very best care to their veterinary patients and continuing to nurture their vocation's progression.
With these two anniversaries in mind it seems an appropriate time to pause and reflect on our journey so far.
‘Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action’.
Peter F Drucker (1909–2005, American educator and writer).
It is difficult to reflect on the past year without being reminded of some of the horrific events that have occurred around the world — the earthquakes of Haiti, Chile, and New Zealand, and the earthquake and tsunami of Japan. Throughout, publicity has highlighted the human suffering that occurs during and in the aftermath of these events. Perhaps unsurprisingly, far less exposure is given to the plight of animals and number of animal casualties. Nevertheless, animals do suffer and VNs have a professional responsibility to act as advocates for animal welfare. Veterinary nursing globally is driving towards ‘professional’ status and is under pressure to find and define a unique identity and role. Becoming our patients' advocates should be high on our list of professional responsibilities and become entrenched deep within our professional ethos.
The Veterinary Nurse is the first international veterinary nursing journal and is distributed worldwide. VNs can learn much from their colleagues around the world and share information as a way of developing a global community and identity. We recently received a request from a college in the US to use one for teaching their veterinary technician students; a real honour!
The Veterinary Nurse provides VNs with a vehicle to publish their research. A number of research articles have already been published and we feel this is a great achievement; VNs have so much to offer and investigate in relation to their work. By carrying out and publishing their own research, VNs can start to build their own body of knowledge and create an evidence base with which to develop the way they work and to support their decision making. So, if any of you have, or are undertaking your own research studies, we welcome your submission.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have written for The Veterinary Nurse during the past year. A huge thank you must also be extended to all who have subscribed. We appreciate your faith and trust in this new venture. Without you, this journal would not be possible and as a small token of our appreciation for the part you've played in its success, we have a small gift for you which can be collected from our stand (no. 135) at this year's BVNA congress. Stocks are limited, so please come early!
In the words of one subscriber ‘Thank you for bringing science to veterinary nursing’. It has been a pleasure. Thank you all for your support and we look forward to receiving your article submissions in the future! Please enjoy this issue of The Veterinary Nurse.