Working as an Veterinary nurse

Re: Working as an Veterinary nurse

Sally King — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:29:17 GMT

Hey Carly,

I'm training to be a VN. And i love it!! Its such a rewarding career.

I believe a kind, caring and hard working person makes a good nurse with lots of enthusiasm and the ability to work in a team and on their own.

The tasks involved can vary alot on a daily basis along with the normal routine (such as cleaning at the end of the day- which isnt so bad- honestly!). which i love because there is never the same day. Some tasks are assisting the vet, preparation of an animal for surgery and caring for it afterwards, looking after in-patients and close monitoring of everybody, restraining animals for various procedures.

The pay varies, but it is getting better. Not great tho, but for me that doesnt matter because i love my job and its soo rewarding it makes it all worthwhile!!

Hope that helps!

Sally

Re: Working as an Veterinary nurse

Maisy — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:15:26 GMT

What kind of person makes a good vet nurse?

Someone with patience, and a good sense of humour! Obviously you need to have an interest in animals (not just a fluffy interest either) but also people as well. Many people think that as long as you're good with animals it doesn't matter if you're not good with people-not true, a lot of the time will involve client care.

Is the pay really as bad as everyone makes out?

As a student, yes. Once qualified it can get much better though depends upon the type of practice, location etc.

Would it help out with becoming a Vet?

Probably not a great deal as the two are completely seperate careers. You would still need to have the correct grades etc for veterinary medicine.

What are some tasks involed ?

Ward management, theatre work/scrubbing in, reception, lab, cleaning! Again varies on where you work. Senior nurses often get more admin like H+S too.

If you are seriously interested, I'd strongly recommend getting a work placement in practice and see how you get on.

Re: Working as an Veterinary nurse

Dreamcatcher — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:42:13 GMT

Hello!

I'm a new trainee so probably not the best person to ask but here goes...

I'd say a good vet nurse is someone who is genuinely caring, has common sense, is good with people as well as with animals and who has a genuine interest in veterinary care (And not just there to cuddle bunnies all day). A good sense of humour makes a bad day more bearable for everyone so that's always a plus, although I guess that applies to almost any job. A strong stomach is pretty essential too I reckon!

The pay isn't great to be honest, especially when training, however I've seen adverts at referral practices offering decent pay, and I think other practices are slowly starting to get the message that whilst our job is rewarding in itself, we do work hard and deserve a fair wage aswell. Locum nurses often earn a bit more but they don't usually get paid holiday etc.

As far as I know it's not really possible to become a vet through vet nursing, at least not in the UK. The only exception I guess would be if you got the A-levels required as well as the VN qualification, but as the VN qualification is not a requirement for vet school you would probably be best off applying for vet school through the normal channels in this case.

Tasks involved can vary from practice to practice, however most Vet nurses help with pretty much everything, from running reception to monitoring anaesthetics, nursing in-patients and running lab tests. It's quite varied, which is what I love about the job. Busy days are usually really hands-on and involve lots of work directly with the animals, such as assisting with X-rays or in theatre, or with whatever else is going on. Some nurses also have their own clinics where they advise owners on general animal care, nutrition, behaviour etc, or carry out small vet tasks such as nail clips and suture removal.

Quiet days are usually spent cleaning and catching up on paper work such as insurance claim forms- which is less exciting but in some ways quite nice if you've had a busy week!

Don't be under any illusions though, you will be expected to carry out tasks which are unpleasant on a daily basis- either dirty cleaning jobs or sad jobs such as helping the vet when animals are put to sleep. But you get used to it and the reward in seeing sick animals recover and their owners relieved faces far out-weighs any of the negative aspects! Right now I couldn't imagine doing anything else! :D

Hope that helps, I'm sure other more experienced nurses will come up with things too

xxx