Safeguarding animal health and welfare

In recent months, veterinary nurses and technicians around the world have been celebrating awareness of our profession. Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month in the UK was July of this year, Veterinary Technician's Week in the USA was on 14–20 October and Veterinary Nurse Day was celebrated in Australia and New Zealand on 12 October. These days of celebration are important for our profession. By acknowledging our significant role in practice, we are better able to educate others about the value of veterinary nursing and in doing so, we pave the way for better wages and improved career sat isfaction. But, how is this career promotion influencing our future

It must be hundreds of times that I have answered the question: what does a veterinary nurse do? However, it is still challenging to explain the significance of what we do when the client may still not fully understand what monitoring anaesthesia means, or even fluid therapy, dental prophylaxis or debriding a wound. Clients can be our biggest advocates and some of my best memories from practice are the thank-you notes, hand-drawn pictures from children and the gift baskets during the holidays yet these people are a select few and while we are privileged to have earned their respect, we have a lot more work to do with regard to educating the public. So, how do we enlighten the public on the value of our position, and why is it important to do so?