Developing our professional role

This third edition of The Veterinary Nurse is a double issue being both the last for 2010 and the first for 2011. Not only have we reached the end of the year but also the end of a decade, one in which much has been achieved to further the development of veterinary nursing as a profession both in the UK and internationally.

Next year will be a special year for veterinary nursing in the UK as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the veterinary nursing qualification. As we know the standard and scope of the veterinary nursing qualification has been developed and updated on a number of occasions since those first nurses qualified in the 1960s. Specific training for nurses in areas such as ethics and professionalism is now essential if veterinary nurses are to be equipped for professional practise. Some of you may have faced ethical or moral dilemmas during the course of your work, in this issue an article by Gemma Abbitt uses a scenario-based approach to discuss some of the legal, ethical and professional issues for veterinary nurses.