On the 1st August, the British Veterinary Nursing Association is launching the Chronic Illness Campaign, a 2-month campaign to raise awareness about chronic illness and conditions among veterinary nurses.

The campaign comes after the Association carried out a survey of 1000 of its members which found that 79% had been affected or diagnosed with a chronic illness or condition, such as migraine, anxiety and depression, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, or the menopause. 

During the campaign, there will be four webinars: 

  • A VN Listening Group – A webinar to share the tools we use to help us live with chronic illness - Tuesday, 10 August 7.30pm
  • Resilience for life with a chronic illness or condition - Thursday, 19 August 2021 7.30pm
  • Chronic illness and communicating what you need - Tuesday, 14 September 2021 7.30pm
  • Chronic Illness, VNs & the Equality Act at Work - Tuesday, 21 September 2021 7.30pm

All webinars are free to attend.

At the end of the campaign, the BVNA will invite veterinary practices to make use of a new digital tool kit, designed to support practices to develop protocols that help veterinary nurses suffering with a chronic illness or condition.

Alex Taylor BVNA Junior Vice President said: "This campaign means a great deal to myself and the rest of the Council Members who are part of the BVNA chronic illness campaign task and finish group. Every one of us has had to deal with our own challenges as working as a veterinary nurse with a chronic illness or condition - we know how it feels and we want to help and make a real difference to people’s lives.

"As well as offering support to affected nurses, we also wanted to reach out to their colleagues, line managers and employers. We felt that having empathetic, supportive and well-informed colleagues is a key part of helping those affected by chronic illness to thrive in the workplace.

"Everyone deserves to be given the chance to reach their full potential in their job role and having a chronic illness should not be a barrier to achieving this. This campaign will not only raise awareness, but provide essential resources to those who need it, which after seeing the results of our recent survey, is very much needed."

Recordings of the webinars, the CIC toolkit, podcasts and further information will all be available to download from the BVNA website: https://bvna.org.uk 

PS: Whilst you're here, take a moment to see our latest job opportunities for vet nurses.