Veterinary nurse skill utilisation in small animal practice

Sarah R Vivian, Lucy Dumbell, Kate Wilkinson
Saturday, July 2, 2022

Aim: Confidence levels can be affected in individuals that do not clearly understand a job role; be it the employee, those that delegate to them or the owners of the patients that they treat. Determining how registered veterinary nurses (RVNs) are currently utilised in practice was one part of a study that looked at their overall preparedness to work within the veterinary environment. Methods: A vignette of the demographics of veterinary nurses was established and frequencies were determined for a variety of duties: 1) administration, 2) management and 3) patient care. Results: The results of this research indicate that there is more that can be done to promote the use of RVNs alongside the understanding of duties that should be carried out in this role. It must not be overlooked, however, that nurses are gaining opportunities to be involved in a variety of duties and therefore need to champion themselves to have these skills recognised. Conclusion: It is important RVNs fully understand their job role before they begin the much needed journey of embedding themselves into the practice.

Table 1. Comparison of the demographic data of an RVN when focusing on VN and manager roles
Table 1. Comparison of the demographic data of an RVN when focusing on VN and manager roles

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