Nurses' senior pet clinics

Re: Nurses' senior pet clinics

Clive Ansell — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:58:31 GMT

Many nurses I know feel frustrated that they are not able to put in to practice all the skills they have learned, in addition to the very low levels of renumeration. Good VN's are capable of running nurse clinics, taking blood samples, taking blood pressure setting up IVFT, and schedule 3 procedures. In the 5 practices I regular locum, only 1 makes good use of their VN's.

One practice I know has stopped VN's from taking jugular blood samples in cats because of a case in a VDS newsletter where a vet (that's a vet not a VN!) inadvertently hit the carotid artery in a difficult cat. How (not) to motivate your VN's!. surely the lesson to learn, if there is one, is to sedate difficult patients, not to ban VN's from something they can do.

They are not however mini vets, or substitute vets, and should not be used in place of a vet when short staffed. They cannot diagnose, interpret lab results or decide upon treatments. In Vicky's example above a VN certainly should not decide to carry out dental work and proceed to premed and anaesthetise a patient without a vets involvement.

Re: Nurses' senior pet clinics

Arlo Guthrie — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:25:20 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]Maybe VNs are leaving the profession because they don't like being used as cheap substitutes for vets?[/quote]

No, it isn't that. The Lantra Manpower Survey in 2004 found that 60% of nurses had regrets about their chosen career, 20% serious enough to consider leaving the profession. Low pay was the most important factor, cited by 46%. Other demotivating factors were:

Lack of praise from employer: 21%
No recognition of abilities by employer: 20%
Lack of professional respect from employer / colleagues: 19%
Lack of client recognition of professionalism: 15%
Dissatisfaction at not being allowed to perform Schedule 3 tasks: 13%
Pressure to devolve nursing duties to less qualified staff: 7%
Insufficient junior staff to devolve duties to: 5%

I know this survey was a few years ago now, but do you think much has changed?

Re: Nurses' senior pet clinics

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:58:30 GMT

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]It is no surprise that VN's are leaving the profession when all they have to look forward to is making coffee, sweeping the floor and answering the telephone.[/quote]

Nurses should be busy nursing. Not making coffee, etc (we all take a turn at those tasks) but not being mini-vets either.

Maybe VNs are leaving the profession because they don't like being used as cheap substitutes for vets?

Re: Nurses' senior pet clinics

Vikki Halliday LLB — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:26:15 GMT

I've also worked in practices where nurses did boosters, and in a busy practice it can be a godsend.

However I've also been in practices where the nurses did weight, geriatric,dental, and other similar clinics, and on a few occasions lead to nurses seriously overstepping the mark. Like the time I came through after consults to find a nurse had seen a dog for a dental clinic, admitted it, pre-medded and knocked it out and was busy scaling it's teeth.............

I appreciate nurses are valuable team members and have skills that can free up a vet's time, however some of them can definately get a bit over enthusiastic and big for their boots. ( sorry to all the very good professional nurses out there!)

Re: Nurses' senior pet clinics

Clive Ansell — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:53:57 GMT

I think VN run nurse clinics are greatly under used in general practice, they could easily be running weight clinics, senior clinics, suture removals, dental checks, EAG's etc. It is no surprise that VN's are leaving the profession when all they have to look forward to is making coffee, sweeping the floor and answering the telephone.

In one practice where I once worked nurses carry out routine booster vaccinations, although only with animals that are previously vet checked, not ill, < 10yrs old, and not on any medications. It worked really well, they would take a brief history and carry out a brief exam, if any abnormalities were present (wt loss, pu/pd, pyrexia etc) then they would have to see a vet.

The medical profession make far better use of and dedicate far more to nurses. I have recently had some travel vaccines, and a full thickness skin punch biopsy taken, both by nurses with no problems whatsoever.

Re: Nurses' senior pet clinics

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:54:30 GMT

No, I don't. Any client who comes for a veterinary examination gets to see the veterinary surgeon: me.