Veterinary nurse or veterinary technician?

Over the last few weeks I have been enjoying news about Veterinary Nurse Day in New Zealand and Australia as well as Veterinary Technician Week in America. It's so rewarding to see our profession highlighted and promoted for all the good that we do and the important role that we hold in the veterinary community.

One thing that really caught my eye in all of the celebrations was a notice by the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) which stated that they are initiating a movement regarding implementing the term veterinary nurse for the veterinary technician profession. They are also hoping to establish a national standard for credentialing of veterinary nurses as well as using Registered Veterinary Nurse, or RVN, as a unified title.

I am absolutely delighted to hear this. I can remember in the early ‘90s when I was first studying to become a veterinary technician, and at the time, the profession was required to use that title because we were not allowed to use the term nurse — it was a protected title from the human nursing field. Seven years later I moved to New Zealand and was thrilled to be able to take additional study and gain a veterinary nursing qualification. I have been proud to call myself a veterinary nurse ever since.