Professional

Ethical dilemmas: who can decide when euthanasia is justified?

Ethics is the practical application of beliefs and values in everyday life (Busch, 2008) and each person holds their own individual beliefs. The study of ethics considers moral questions and the...

The ethical, legal and professional implications of the frequency of inpatient checks during out of hours hospitalization

In order to ascertain information about client expectation, primarily relating to frequency of checks during hospitalization, a six item questionnaire was circulated among 50 individuals within...

Practice management systems for today’s veterinary nurse

Although it may be difficult for the younger generations to appreciate, there was indeed a time before computing. Back then, the veterinary practice was dependent in the most absolute sense on its...

Managing staff training and development

At a fundamental level, the provision of staff training and development has two objectives: staff need to be able to deliver the results managers want; and they must be willing to do so. Appropriate...

When is a pet not a pet? Rethinking the ethics of animal terminology

According to Taylor (1986), there are three major philosophical traditions in the ‘West’ which have biased human beings over non-human animals: classical Greek thought; Biblical doctrine; and the...

Whistle-blowing explained: to be or not to be a whistle-blower, that is the question

It is widely accepted that professionals have responsibility to demonstrate professional integrity and behave in ways which are transparent and deserving of the public's trust (Blass, 2010; Royal...

Educating sustainable practitioners of veterinary nursing

‘We need to teach our children and students the fundamental facts of life — that one species’ waste is another species’ food; that matter cycles continually through the web of life; that the energy...

Change implementation in the veterinary practice

‘It is not the strongest of the species who survive, not the most intelligent, but those who are the most adaptive to change.’.

New disciplinary procedure explained

‘By becoming regulated, the veterinary nursing profession demonstrates to the public that it is willing to set standards and maintain its own professional skills.’.

The professional, legal and ethical issues in VN: a scenario

See Box 1. It is easy to see how this incident is fraught with a range of issues concerning both nurses. However, it is beyond the scope of this article to consider both nurses' actions. As such, the...

Practice—client relationships: handling complaints effectively

Parasuraman et al (1985) conducted studies of the quality of the services provided to clients by a wide range of different service organizations. This research led to the identification of a number...