Making the leap into Referral Practice

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

sarahhnurse — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 15:47:27 GMT

Hi Becky1809,

I totally understand where you are coming from but I can assure you thats not the case here, we run a 6-8 week induction course were you shadow another RVN in all areas of the hospital.

We are also looking into offering a day for RVNs to come and see practice with us if thats something you would be keen to try?

Let me know if you have any questions about our Nurse roles with us or if you wanted to pop in to take a look around and visit just let me know

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

enigmaticat-uk — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 17:05:03 GMT

I think a number of reasons really. For me, I probably would have done it 5-10 years ago except for the distance & I really didn't want to move house (I already commute a minimum of 2 hours per day on a good day so adding on at least another 30mins each way was not appealing.). Now I work in a feline-only clinic - I love it and so does my back. I would quite like to work in feline only referral but most jobs would rotate around dogs/exotics which I have no desire to work with again.

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

vic_roxy — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 14:04:19 GMT

Thanks Sarah, I will try to apply to a referral as soon as I am registered then ! :)

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

Kirsty RVN — Sat, 28 Jan 2017 18:45:49 GMT

It is something that I definitely want to do on the near future and working towards.

I am a locum nurse now and the extra salary is hopefully going to give me the extra money to save to relocate should a suitable position come available.

I too want to specialise in surgery and anaesthesia but think to start with would like to rotate

I to am concerned my skill set is not upto scratch and won't get the induction and support I need. Many of the amazing things and skills I learnt at college I have not done since my training so I worry I would feel more like a student and not a qualified nurse.

I have even worked recently as a locum where nurses are not allowed to place IVs and take bloods so have grown very frustrated with first opinion practice. Even the larger hospitals don't utilise nurses enough. I am working in a very busy small animal hospital now and doing less than I did as a student.

So I just don't feel I am progressing in the way I want so once I finish my current locum cover I do want to come out of first opinion practice and work in referrals or I would probably end up changing career as not getting the level of job satisfaction I want.

But It is a worry that some of even basic skills I did in my training I have not utilised in a while and I think it's that expectation of a RVN so worry I would be criticised for that's with not having much luck to build all my day one skills

But on the other hand I don't know without giving it a go and will hopefully feel more full filled in my role

Kirsty

FdSc RVN, ISFM Cert FN, VNCC, MBVNA

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

Heather Bacon — Sat, 28 Jan 2017 17:09:58 GMT

I think it is something I would like to do in the future.

I think I would like to specialise a bit more in surgery and anaesthesia, however I have not been qualified long and feel that I do not have the confidence in my abilities and knowledge to go in to referral just yet.

Also the main referral hospital near me is also a teaching hospital, and part of the job description is teaching the vet students and SVNs, something which I am not comfortable with just yet!

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

becky1809 — Sat, 28 Jan 2017 15:48:00 GMT

Hi,

strange this question should come up as I'm thinking about it myself.

I am 8 years qualified and needing something new in my career as feel I am not learning anything any more and nothing excites me as seen it so many times before.

I tried referral work about 5 years ago and didnt last long at all. Unfortunately I was thrown in the deep end a bit and left to do things by myself which i felt very uncomfortable with as never experienced the cases I was dealing with. i think this was partly due to being short staffed as I was told in my interview I would be shadowing people to begin with which never happened. The stress and worry of it wasnt enjoyable so I left very quickly. This Experience has now left me nervous about trying it again.

I think I would love it but also worried about the stress of the entire job as I can imagine it very busy and demanding all the time with long hours??

My decision will either come down to trying referral again or new career!

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

sarahhnurse — Sat, 28 Jan 2017 10:12:47 GMT

Hi Kirsty,

its a shame you have experienced this in the past and this is the only thing holding you back, but purhaps it's still worth applying for a role with us and requiring about the relocation help as I feel it your the right person for the role then there may be something that can be done, many thanks

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

sarahhnurse — Sat, 28 Jan 2017 10:11:06 GMT

Hi Yvette, thanks for your response, I think this is a common reason why vns don't apply for referral roles but let me reassure you this doesn't matter. I had no experience in referral practice when I started, they put me through a 6 week training program and I shadowed some of the other nurses when I first started and I learnt so much. I can do some much more and feel like a much more skilled and competent nurse. No one ever judged me for not knowing things and everyone is so supportive. We also get to do week rotations within the consultationd so we do get plenty of client interaction. It's always worth applying and explaining your situation as we are pretty flexible and do have other mothers on the team :)

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

sarahhnurse — Sat, 28 Jan 2017 10:09:29 GMT

Hi Clemency, thanks for your response, I think this is a common reason why vns don't apply for referral roles but let me reassure you this doesn't matter. I had no experience in referral practice when I started, they put me through a 6 week training program and I shadowed some of the other nurses when I first started and I learnt so much. I can do some much more and feel like a much more skilled and competent nurse. No one ever judged me for not knowing things and everyone is so supportive. We also get to do week rotations within the consultationd so we do get plenty of client interaction.

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

vic_roxy — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 17:28:16 GMT

Hi !

I would love to work in a referral hospital but I guess I am not experienced enough yet...

That is the only reason for me right now :)

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

Sal the 1st — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 22:56:29 GMT

I have done referral in the past - enjoyed the nursing side and 'stretching' my skills, the extra wage was attractive- the strong personalities and stronger language not so.

I missed the client contact and I missed not being able to see the odd healthy animal now and again

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

Yvette Boffey — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 07:52:03 GMT

Hey. Just thought I would add to why I couldn't just take that leap into referral. I would love to work in referral. I've been qualified for 9 years but work in first opinion and we don't get to do all these amazing things we're taught about and I know that my skills and knowledge, I feel would let me down. I'd feel embarrassed if someone asked me to do something and I didn't have a clue how to do because of how long I've been doing the job for.

Also my working hours are very set in stone due to being a single mum. From a Wednesday I have to get my son from school which I don't think working in referral my hours would suit :(

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

Kirsty RVN — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 22:33:11 GMT

Hi Sarah

I have just read your post.

I have always wanted to go into referrals since I decided to choose vet nursing as a career choice 16 years ago.

I qualified two years ago with a degree in vet nursing and still have the ambition to go into referral nursing and really wanting to progress and advance in my skills.

I have applied to a few places for referral work but what holds me back unfortunately is financial as all referral centres are too far that I would need to relocate. None are able to offer accommodation and on a vet nurse salary I am not able to fund a relocation myself. I did see your advert but did not apply after I had no success due to the previous positions unable to offer help in relocation.

They was happy to assist vets in relocation but nothing for nurses unfortunately.

So that's the issue with me, is location and cost. I would relocate at the click of my fingers for an opportunity in a referral practice but it is impossible on a nurses wage to fund the whole move.

Kirsty

FdSc RVN, ISFM Cert FN, VNCC, MBVNA

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

sarahhnurse — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 21:47:41 GMT

hi Celine-

thanks for your reply all feedback is great and very welcome even if it is negative this is why I am asking!

I do think that your views are common opinions of referral practice and they generally have a bad reputation. I also had this feedback from colleagues that either worked in referral or had a friend that had done. But I can assure you it didn't influence my final decision to make the jump and it's the best thing I have ever done. I know I may seem bias but I can honestly say I have never much an amazing team of friendly fun people from front of house to senior clinicians and surgeons. I have felt like a valued member of the team since my first day and I have never felt like anyone treats anyone differently or like there is a hierarchy. All e senior staff are great to work with and I have learnt so much since I have joined. I get to use my nursing skills everyday and I have learnt so many advanced nursing skills that I never thought I could do!

thanks

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

sarahhnurse — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 21:41:48 GMT

Hi Alison,

thanks so so much for your quick reply.

i mainly ask as we are finding it hard to recruit new team members within our nursing team but also because I have been nursing for 10 years and only just made he leap last year to join referral. We have been talking about offering cpd days and lectures to allow VN s to come and visit our beautiful new hospital and get the chance to speak with the team and see what it's like to work in referral.

thanks so much for your thoughts let me know if you think of anything else

sarah

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

k.91 — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 20:32:57 GMT

personally i'd never move back to first opinion.

When we've been recruiting and i've asked friends if they are interested the reasons i've been given as to why not are:

would miss the level of client interaction (granted nurse clinics don't exist in my clinic)
have no desire to work in 1 specific area of veterinary medicine (rotating positions are available)
do not feel confident that their skill set is high enough (should never be a reason, nobody expects you to be awesome at everything on day 1)
don't want to commit to hours that referrals sometimes require (but what nurse hasn't been late to meet people because of a late running surgery)

I personally feel that most people are put off by certain myths that exist surrounding referrals. Granded i like my specific area (surgery) and have no interest in doing derm, onco etc, which would make 1 stop shop general practice frustrating for me. [quote user="Celine"]

Personally I'm not interested with working with specialists who are highly-strung, demanding and arrogant - I am sure that's not all of them but of the handful I've worked with the greater proportion unfortunately were :(

[/quote]

Celine i think you've just been unlucky, i think i've only worked with one specialist like that and he was essentially a stroppy teen pushing his luck and being a bit of an arse with people who didn't standardly work with him who turned into an soppy puppy when you gave him a stern look or if he knew he wasn't going to get away with being a diva.

Having said all this i do miss seeing an uber cute puppy or kitten coming in the door and not automatically assuming it has something horrific wrong with it

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

Celine — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 16:30:58 GMT

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

Robyn — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 15:07:31 GMT

For my eyes it's uncertainty. I've worked in a teeny 3 vet 1 nurse practice since I qualified a few years ago and though I spent a few weeks in a VN referrals hospital during my training, it wasn't long enough or at the right time of my career to know if that's what I want to do. It's just so different to first opinion nursing that I would want to be sure before I made the leap.

I think for a nearly-new nurse there's also the aspect of not knowing whether your skills are up to scratch for that level of nursing, particularly with regards to emergencies and crashes. Obviously on the surface of it you know that you'd be trained and supported and never left on your own initially, but it's a big hurdle regardless!

RE: Making the leap into Referral Practice

Alison Clare Hickman — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 10:18:02 GMT

Hi,

What makes you ask? Recruiting issues? Something else? I am intrigued!

From my perspective; I did stints in Referral Nursing and thoroughly enjoyed the required focus the specialisms demanded of my skills together with the learning of new ones. However, I did wholly miss consulting and left to return to general practice because of that aspect. I found what I liked doing best, was all. I definitely missed referral pay though... Well, it's always a trade-off isn't it?!

So in summary answer to your questions. I leapt and enjoyed aspects of referral nursing but ultimately my enjoyment and fulfilment was to be found elsewhere.

Perhaps you could offer paid experience days to nurses considering referral work so they can decide whether it is definitely for them before making a permanent career switch?

Ali h