VN Council - What do you think?

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Helen Tottey — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:10:26 GMT

2 days left to vote....

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Helen Tottey — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 19:29:34 GMT

[quote user="Sal the 1st"]

still nothing from either of the other two candidates??

[/quote]

Maybe they are "canvassing" in other ways

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Sal the 1st — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:01:02 GMT

still nothing from either of the other two candidates??

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Robocop — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 08:02:11 GMT

11.6% which is amazing. Only 9 days left to vote.

http://www.rcvs.org.uk/about-us/vn-council/vn-council-elections/vn-council-election-2013/

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Helen Tottey — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:56:15 GMT

10.8% of us have voted so far - a total of 1,152 votes. Apparently it was only 582 votes at the same point last year.

If you haven't yet voted, don't forget to do so soon. If you have lost, or not received your voting card you can contact RCVS to get a new one. Wouldn't it be great to get to 20% of profession having a say on who acts on our behalf?

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Robocop — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:34:52 GMT

I believe the development opportunites are there, but I don't believe the support is. Many nurses are employed and not treated as individuals with different aspirations. Many nurses are expected just 'to get on with it', and I think that is why we are losing qualified nurses. I have read many articles on human nurse motivation and job satisfaction, and nurses that are treated as individuals are more satisfied with their job and more motivated with their careers. I wonder with all the knowledge and skills gained through CPD, how much of it is actually implemented in practice. I am not saying that every practice is like this, but many are.

I think that motivation and satisfaction starts with the individual and the individual practice. Educating veterinary practices into knowing the benefits of keeping motivation within the veterinary nurse team and having time for each nurse would be massively beneficial to the practice and the overall patient and client care.
I feel that self-motivation, understanding and knowing compassion fatigue and depression should also be included in VN training. Knowing how to recognise the signs and now what to do next. It was never mentioned up when I was training, how difficult and sad our job can be and how do you deal with those feelings, especially when your friends and family don't understand. I would like a support system in place for VN's to contact when they are struggling. I have have seen so much depression in our profession, and it does make me wonder if these VN's were educated about it in the first place would it have been a different outcome.

I will be doing a questionnaire, sometime the end of this year, on motvation and job satisfaction in veterinary nursing, as part of my dissertation. I want to understand why there is a shortage of veterinary nurses, especially as the number of student VN registering with the RCVS seems to be increasing. Is there an actual shortage or is there an increased demand? Like what Paulette was saying earlier on about understanding the true state of the profession before making changes, it might not actually improve anything and make things worse.

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Helen Tottey — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 11:35:11 GMT

SORRY - I THINK I HAVE GIVEN THE WRONG IMPRESSION with regards to comment made about the talk i gave that i think VN's should be allowed to give boosters. This was in 2008 and was in the contenscious issues sesion and was supposed to spark a bit of "off the wall" thinking. I do however think that we should aspire to be able to build on our qualification and i made the comment on this post as it was mentioned that too many nurses leave the profession as there is little development opportunities. I certainly agree wholeheartedly that there are many other issues to be sorted out before anything like this could be considered but i also don;t think it wrong to aspire to what the future could hold when (not if!)all these issues are sorted

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Sal the 1st — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 11:01:19 GMT

[quote user="Robocop"]

I feel its crossing the line into becoming mini-vets.

[/quote]

I also agree with this.And to be really honest I do not agree with student nurses giving 2nd vaccinations either if they havnt completed the training they shouldnt be doing them, if they arent qualified they are no better than laystaff and laystaff are excluded.

I am yet to vote - still not decided

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Robocop — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:43:43 GMT

[quote user="Sal the 1st"]

[quote user="Sophie Bedford RVN CC MBVNA"]

I have also voted for the first time since passing in 2009.....

The last thing the VN profession needs is lots of nurses doing the annual health check (which is often the ONLY time that animals come to the vets) and then have something missed such as heart murmurs/lumps etc.... I can certainly see why a lot of vets are against the idea initially.

We need to make sure we iron out the problems that we already have before we start introducing anything else that could potentially cause massive controversy within the profession.

[/quote]

couldnt agree more - the mess we have now needs sorting as a priority before anything further is added to it

[/quote]

I feel its crossing the line into becoming mini-vets. I also feel we do need to sort out the current problems, and get settled into our own profession before adding to our responsibilities.

I am so pleased so many nurses are voting, and that they care about who represents them in the council.

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Sal the 1st — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 09:22:43 GMT

[quote user="Sophie Bedford RVN CC MBVNA"]

I have also voted for the first time since passing in 2009.....

We need to make sure we iron out the problems that we already have before we start introducing anything else that could potentially cause massive controversy within the profession.

[/quote]

couldnt agree more - the mess we have now needs sorting as a priority before anything further is added to it

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Paulette — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 21:17:23 GMT

Personally I don't think nurses should be given the right to give boosters. As Sophie said this is often the only time an animal will enter a practice and it may be a different practice each year depending on who is cheapest at the time. I don't see vaccines ever becoming a non-POM-V and I think the animals deserve to have a full thorough health check by a vet.

Also it's worth noting that qualified nurses (not just registered nurses as I find is also a common misconception - listed and registered nurses are all qualified!) and student nurses enrolled with the RCVS who are trained in 2nd vaccs are permitted to sign vaccination record cards. Nurses cannot sign vaccination certificates. :)

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Sophie Bedford RVN CertVNECC — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 20:33:26 GMT

I have also voted for the first time since passing in 2009.....

[quote user="Princess Ophelia Hermione MacBeth"]I definitely think that VNs should be able to give boosters and I hope you carry on advocating for this.[/quote]

The only thing I would say about this is that we need to be very careful that nothing is implemented until we have protection of the VN title. Bearing in mind we can't even sign vaccination cards when we do 2nd vaccinations I think it would be running before we can walk if the agreement was made that we can do boosters too!

We also need to make sure that the "additional training" that might be needed to get this agreed is something that is mandatory for nurses to complete on a regular basis to ensure that their skills for this aspect are kept up to date. The last thing the VN profession needs is lots of nurses doing the annual health check (which is often the ONLY time that animals come to the vets) and then have something missed such as heart murmurs/lumps etc.... I can certainly see why a lot of vets are against the idea initially.

We need to make sure we iron out the problems that we already have before we start introducing anything else that could potentially cause massive controversy within the profession.

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Louise B — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:15:15 GMT

[quote user="Helen Tottey"]

I totally agree about more opportunities for VN's once qualified. I gave a talk at the British Veterinary Association (BVA) congress in 2008 in the contenscious issues section. My 10 minutes was all about how VN's should be allowed (with additional training) to give booster vaccinations to pets. My argument was it would not only benefit nurses careers but also the pets as it could be cheaper with the VN so more pets would have their yearly vaccines. It went down better than i thought and some of the vets did agree..... a lot didn't!

[/quote]

I voted for you Helen as I want to see more nurses in practice in key representative roles. Despite working in education, I think it is really important that our representatives are more representative of the 'average nurse' (i.e. our representatives should largely be nurses working in practice).

I definitely think that VNs should be able to give boosters and I hope you carry on advocating for this.

Good luck.

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Helen Tottey — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:56:01 GMT

[quote user="Victoria Nielsen RVN"]

For the first time since I qualified in 2009, I have voted. I'm impressed by Helen from reading the posts on the forum. I really believe you are trying to change the Veterinary Nursing profession, which is in dire need of change and progression for future generation of Veterinary Nurses so I hope you are among the VN Council very soon.

For me, there should be more opportunities for Veterinary Nurses to progress once qualified. I'm passionate about Veterinary Education and want to see more support to be made available for student nurses, as quite a few like myself, have suffered from depression during training due to the hours, pressure and continuous bombardment of studying and doing portfolio (I am NVQ).

[/quote]

Great that you have voted this year.

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Victoria Nielsen RVN — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:13:01 GMT

And in relation to the NPL, I want to see further improvement of this software to match the Clinical Skills Log (CSL), which is used by other colleges using the Central Qualifications rather than City and Guilds. Also better communication between Clinical Coaches and other professionals including Clinical Tutors and Internal Verifiers to ensure students are meeting the standards required. It seems there is a lack of communication since C&G, Central Qualifications etc have taken over the award - I want to know when students are able to take their exams etc now, not just through word of mouth.

For the reasons above, I have voted Andrea Jeffery and Sue Badger as they are involved in Veterinary Nursing Education and their mandates is very much relevant to myself and my passion for education and supporting student nurses better as they will be the future generation of RVNs and we need to take care of them, to ensure they do not leave the profession after working so hard to be in it.

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Helen Tottey — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:15:24 GMT

[quote user="Mark Walsh"]

I voted for you Helen, I liked your mandate. Also voted for Andrea Jeffrey. It is so easy to vote, you get an SAE in the letter, does not take long to read the biographies and mandates of 4 candidates then put crosses in a couple of boxes.

[/quote]

Thank you.

And you are right - it is easy. Voting for 2 people also helps make the decision of who to choose a little easier.

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Mark Walsh — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 20:22:37 GMT

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Robocop — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:39:32 GMT

[quote user="Helen Tottey"]

In my opinion we need more of us to get involved when we are asked but the communication back from RCVS also needs to be improved

[/quote]

I agree with this, so the RCVS and VN council can have the appropriate guidance with what needs to be changed or sorted within the VN profession.

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Helen Tottey — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 08:46:37 GMT

[quote user="Robocop"]

The RCVS have performed 2 surveys recently, one in 2008 and 2010, only about a third of the profession responded

[/quote]

I think this is the big issue, very few people respond to surveys or requests to vote. When we were asked our opinion on the new guide to professional conduct, very few nurses commented and yet it is a really important part of our career.

However, it was slightly disapointing as if you did comment prior to deadline given for the views to be considered, there was no 2nd draft issued (even to those who had commented) with any changes made due to comments received so i can see how things like this give the RCVS it reputation of not listening. It would have been good to see all the comments with replies from RCVS next to them to say why not able to be part of code or if the points had been considered. At least this would help with the "engagement score" that has been reported to be quite low for them.

In my opinion we need more of us to get involved when we are asked but the communication back from RCVS also needs to be improved

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Robocop — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 10:09:54 GMT

VN council candidiates have done interviews for VNOnline. Please take a few minutes to have a read.

http://vnonline.co.uk/vn/

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Cheryl RVN — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 09:52:14 GMT

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I hope passionate candidates get elected as I feel that they will put the effort in a make changes, maybe not straight away but gradually. However we all need to place our votes to be able to give the candidates chance to put our views forward and change the profession for the better. Otherwise things are never going to change or move forward. Also it is sooo easy to vote online/my text so why not? x

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Robocop — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 09:46:24 GMT

[quote user="Paulette"]

For me, this is exactly what I don't understand...when have we actually been asked who we would want to be represented by?! ie our opinion on things...As Sal said we don't feel that council acts on our behalfs and for me it's because they don't ask us what we want them to say!!! As quoted above...it just seems to be assumed on our behalf. I know that you can probably submit issues you would want discussed but there are plenty of current vet nursing issues eg SQP status, GA monitoring etc so why not do a bi-annual survey to ask our opinions on issues. I think an online survey would see a lot more participation and get an honest view from VNs. It's just a suggestion :)

[/quote]

I completely 100% agree with this statement. I did some research on VN surveys and questionnaries last year for my lit review. The RCVS have performed 2 surveys recently, one in 2008 and 2010, only about a third of the profession responded which does not give a clear view of how the profession feels. It was part of my conclusion that we need more surveys, VN's need to be more aware of them and it is something I feel very strongly about. It is something I would love to do. I would love to know exactly how the profession feels, because then the appropriate changes can be made.

2008 - http://live.rcvs.netxtra.net/publications/rcvs-news-extra-august-2008/?destination=%2Fpublications%2F%3Ffilter-keyword%3D%26filter-type%3D%26filter-month%3D%26filter-year%3D2008%26filter.x%3D22%26filter.y%3D16

2010 - https://www.rcvs.org.uk/publications/rcvs-news-extra-october-2010/

I think its amazing that 8.5% have voted so far, and I hope it continues to increase.

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Helen Tottey — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:32:03 GMT

[quote user="Paulette"]

I know that you can probably submit issues you would want discussed but there are plenty of current vet nursing issues eg SQP status, GA monitoring etc so why not do a bi-annual survey to ask our opinions on issues. I think an online survey would see a lot more participation and get an honest view from VNs. It's just a suggestion :)

I think it's great that more people seem to be involved in this election and I wish you all the best Helen as you seem very enthusiastic :)

[/quote]

Thank you for your kind words, i am glad my enthusiasm for change is coming accross.

I have had a reply from Libby Earle (Head of Vet Nursing) and this is an extract - I’ve been watching this forum over the last week or so and, as ever, am worried there is a part of the VN profession the RCVS isn’t beginning to reach

She said that she does look at the forum but doesn't personally get involved however other members sometimes do. This should be an encouraging piece of information as it proves our views are heard. The acknowledgment to the RCVS not reaching all VN's is also encouraging as it is something to solve. This is another extract from her reply - It would be interesting, perhaps, to ask what the bloggers think we do/should do.

Again, i hope this is encouraging to people to see and we can get some positive suggestions and thoughts for the eyes of the RCVS. However, any change will take time but it doesn't mean we shouldn't keep suggesting and talking. After all - all good things come to those who wait...... lol!

I know i will keep going on about the SQP issue !

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Paulette — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 11:29:30 GMT

OK so I admit I didn't look very hard before for the minutes and you can find them if you type in the search box...however (pardon my ignorance) most of what I read seemed to be about how many people and of what background should be in each group/working party/committee for different things. I know you need different groups for different areas but I didn't really see a lot about vet nursing issues themselves...although as mentioned above a lot of it isn't included in the minutes. However I did come across this...

"It was also suggested that it has evolved that the VN members of Council are currently taking on the bulk of the Council’s work as the perception may be that nurses prefer to be represented by other VNs."

I think it's great that more people seem to be involved in this election and I wish you all the best Helen as you seem very enthusiastic :)

Re: VN Council - What do you think?

Helen Tottey — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:33:42 GMT

Sorry - my computer is doing weird things and not letting me do quotes and where i think i have left a line to seperate from Laura's post - it hasn't!