nursing and Cat castrates

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

littlehays — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 21:58:43 GMT

i went for a job interview the other day and was happily told that the nurses routinely anaesthetise patients while the vet waits in theatre for the patient. hmmm.....turned the job down....lol

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

Nicola Smith — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:31:43 GMT

Nurse arent allowed to do dental extractions not matter what further dental course they have done. There are people who still do and tell vets that they can do them due to an extra course which is untrue. I think many of us used to before the new rules came out but in todays society and with us now accountable I think anyone who does is risking their career, and also that of their employer.

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

Denise — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 22:27:50 GMT

Since the new rules from the RCVS and as I am now on the VN register and therefore accountable for my own actions,I do none of the above and have not been asked to do so in the surgeries where I have worked in the.......

Sorry that paragraph sounds really ridiculous, I honestly don't speak so stuck up like that! I just mean't to put- actually I don't do anything like that now!

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

Louise B — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 22:27:26 GMT

[quote user="BengalcatRVN"]

Sadly "closed doors" never stay closed, they always are flung open. Mostly because, like all gossip, it gets SPREADS like wildfire and burns everything in it's path. I'm sure any issues raised are, and will be dealt with accordingly. They have already started moving the wheels of progress.
If that nurse friend of yours is doing something illegal (or her collegues are), then on thier heads be it.

Why are we "nameing and shaming"? Bad stuff happens everywhere, just because they are corporate, doesn't mean they are all like that. I have heard of clinic's that only have receptionists and non qualified nurses doing shedual 3/GA's etc, but that doesn't mean every single small vets clinic does.

Personally, the law needs to be redeffind and re-written so we can understand in FULL what we can and can't do. Until that happens, Sheduel 3 is is taken as read. People will continue to interprate how and what they want.

[/quote]

Well said

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

Denise — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 22:20:25 GMT

In the late 70's early 1980's I used to do cat castrations, inject Immobilon and do stitch ups and also dentals with extractions. All the qualified nurses injected the iv Intravalor saffan, intubated the animals, clipped and prepped, then took animals to theatre for the vet to operate on.

Years ago I attended a really good dental training course at Bristol University, it was for vets and VN's and all of us were taught how to extract teeth from dogs and cats, the use of a dental drill ,the correct use of an ultrasonic scaler and how to polish..

At the time we were chipping off tartar then hand scaling everything and not many practices had drills so teeth extractions took a lot of patience. (Though lots more rotten teeth were seen in those days I reckon, so easier to take out maybe?) Not many practices had the equipment to polish either so tartar built up pretty quickly!.

All the practicals were done on dog and cat heads so everyone -vets and nurses could have a go, before the new rules came into force we often had a 2 VN's in the dental suite, one doing the teeth , the other monitoring the anaesthetic and I think we did a really good job. If there were any problems or if we were unsure about any teeth a vet was always in the prep room to advise or assist us, we never attempted anything we had not been trained to do.

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

BengalcatRVN — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 22:11:44 GMT

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

Polly P — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 21:52:56 GMT

I may have my wires crossed here, but I thought nurses (qualified) who had done the further dental diploma could do that?

I know of a nurse I worked with who was a very qualified nurse and had done lots of additional qualifications particularly dental, doing dentals with extractions with another nurse monitoring. There were vets on the premesis who could be called on if there was a problem or to advise, but they were not standing over the procedure- is that not allowed? I thought it was but I find so many things have gray areas in terms of schedule three etc, (or maybe not so much gray areas but my understanding of them is lacking.)

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

Kim Buckley — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 21:33:07 GMT

Things like this can happen in the best of practices. I remember when I first started my degree, I was sent to a really good practice where they did everything to the best standard. I was really shocked to find out that their two senior nurses did all the dentals including extractions. There wasn't even a vet overseeing them. I have been asked to do things which I know I shouldn't in the past and I have refused. I think VN's should not be doing things which they know they shouldn't.

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

Polly P — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 21:23:05 GMT

Wow I am shocked, I was just assuming that it must have been years ago. I have a friend who works in the North London branches and she has never seen or heard of this either.

I guess it does come down to what happens between a nurse and a vet who trust each other, behind closed doors. I know that some vets I have worked with who come from abroad where nurses castrating cats is common, often lament the inconvenience that they have to do it themselfs here, and I could see them going for it if a nurse said they could/ had done it before...

But again, it's definately not an official (or even 'endorsed on the quiet but not spoken about) MediVet thing in terms of the company giving it the ok.

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

Kim Buckley — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:51:52 GMT

[quote user="Polly SVN"]

How long ago was that, Kim? And what area? (Understand if you don't want to say!)

I worked in the South London area and it was totally unheard of- I never even heard it mentioned as a thing that had gone on in the past.

I would be 100% confident in saying that it is not and has absolutely never been a MediVet practice to have nurses doing castrates- That being said of course, the company is some 60 or more practices, and whose to say what one vet lets one nurse do in one place behind closed doors.

But I am defo sure it's not a MediVet company 'thing' even before Panorama.

[/quote]

I don't know the exact area but I'm guessing North London as they are the nearest branches to me. This was in July that I was told. She is a friend of a friend. I'm not saying it's a Medivet thing but it was definately going on at one of the branches.

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

Polly P — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:47:34 GMT

How long ago was that, Kim? And what area? (Understand if you don't want to say!)

I worked in the South London area and it was totally unheard of- I never even heard it mentioned as a thing that had gone on in the past.

But I am defo sure it's not a MediVet company 'thing' even before Panorama.

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

Kim Buckley — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:44:42 GMT

[quote user="Polly SVN"]

[quote]I have heard of a certain corporation that allows a nurse to do the cat castrates. Bet they don't anymore![/quote]

If you're talking about MediVet, I can tell you from first hand experience that that is totally untrue.

[/quote]

It is medivet and I was told by one of their students that the nurses at the branch she was at did the cat castrates.

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

Polly P — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:36:22 GMT

[quote]I have heard of a certain corporation that allows a nurse to do the cat castrates. Bet they don't anymore![/quote]

If you're talking about MediVet, I can tell you from first hand experience that that is totally untrue.

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

BengalcatRVN — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:32:48 GMT

[quote user="nikki84"]

We don't do schedule 3 and I have never seen a nurse do a castrate however,
One of our students started an assignment for college and it was written, by the RCVS that cat castrate could still be carried out by nurses as a schedule 3 procedure.
Several of us were a little shocked - who are we to complain though!!!

[/quote]

Sooo....can we or can't we? It's too bloody confusing! They say yeah, but no, but yeah...but no! As soon as I found out I shouldn't be, I stopped.

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

nikki84 — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:08:17 GMT

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

Kim Buckley — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 19:56:07 GMT

I have heard of a certain corporation that allows a nurse to do the cat castrates. Bet they don't anymore!

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

littlehays — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:39:38 GMT

i saw a second year trainee do this once, under vet's direction and supervision.

Re: nursing and Cat castrates

Nikki Graef — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:25:10 GMT

It does still go on in practices, i have seen it first hand