This month marks a new beginning for veterinary nursing graduates in the UK who are embarking on the beginning of their professional life. At the same time, a new class of VN students are starting on their academic journey and in the Southern Hemisphere veterinary nursing students are finishing up their studies and getting ready for graduation. It is a promising time for so many in our profession. Indeed, all those qualified VNs who have been working for and achieved higher level advanced nursing qualifications deserve to be mentioned – as they strive for knowledge and professional development.
Once again I am inspired at the thought of the BVNA Congress occurring in September of this year. Being reunited with colleagues and sharing ideas is a key benefit of professional conferences and I always find them a great opportunity to reignite the inspiration that fuels my passion for the veterinary nursing profession. Whenever I attend a veterinary nursing conference, I always leave brimming with new ideas, and that enthusiasm makes each new day full of opportunities to continue learning and providing better care for my patients.
This September marks the 2 year anniversary of The Veterinary Nurse and what an exciting 2 years it has been! Our readership base is continually growing and we can see an important niche that we are filling with a peer-reviewed international veterinary nursing journal. More veterinary nurses are writing articles for publication and this is promoting an ethos for lifelong learning and the sharing of information around the world.
Writing for publication is a challenge but it is an essential component to a thriving professional community. At The Veterinary Nurse, we have taken responsibility for our place in the veterinary nursing community by promoting scientific progress with articles on the importance of research in the veterinary nursing profession.
Digital media has made the sharing of information easier than ever before and with the peer-review process, we can ensure that we are striving to the highest possible standard. The Veterinary Nurse offers a high level of detail in clinical and professional articles and it acknowledges the wide variation in species that we encounter in our diverse areas of expertise. We have emphasized sustainable practice by looking at what it means to future proof our profession and we have strived to offer something for everyone with a range of articles including professional topics, education, clinical applications and reviews of the latest new products.
Lifelong learning is an important part of maintaining currency in an ever changing scientific community and with our busy lives it can be challenging to find time for professional development. The Veterinary Nurse provides an article each month that includes a test that can be used to collect points for continuing education. Whether you take the tests or just read the articles to refresh your knowledge, these are a great way to stay current with veterinary nursing theory.
For seasoned professionals and new graduates alike, sharing information among peers is instrumental in developing the highest standards of care and we greatly value our role in helping to facilitate this exchange. We wish to extend a warm welcome to this year’s new graduates and hope that you all have enjoyed The Veterinary Nurse over the last 2 years. We look forward to the future where we will continue to provide a broad range of topics and will strive to keep you up to date with the latest advances in the veterinary nursing community. Thank you for your continued support. We hope you enjoy this issue.