Vet nurse business opportunities - Help

RE: Vet nurse business opportunities - Help

Ben Ogden — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 16:03:37 GMT

[quote user="Mason8"]

I found the article yay! Here are the restrictions explained:

THE RCVS, the regulatory body for the veterinary professions, and the BVNA can offer advice and guidance to nurses who may be considering working outside a veterinary practice. Nurses have to be aware of the restrictions and not undertake services outside their remit. And of course, they need to continue with CPD if they intend to remain on the register. In its advice to vet nurses, the RCVS says:

• When working independently, you may not undertake Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 Schedule 3 veterinary nursing activities. This is because the exemptions for veterinary nurses only apply when you are working under the direction of your veterinary surgeon employer, with animals under his or her care. They do not apply when you are working independently from your veterinary surgeon employer.

• Neither, of course, and quite separate to Schedule 3, may you practise veterinary surgery. This means you are limited to providing a service any layperson may carry out, despite your nursing qualification.

• Anyone may administer emergency first aid to save life, or relieve pain or suffering.

Advice and health checks

You may not carry out a general physical exam, take blood samples, put up IV drips, take and 8 / 16 process x-rays or carry out postoperative checks (aside from making a record of weight or temperature, for example).

While VNs advise on weight, age-related problems and dental concerns in the context of a veterinary practice, the giving of such advice by you in isolation causes some concern and you will need to be very careful not to enter into the parameters of veterinary surgery within the meaning of the act. If routinely you are seeing animals that are well, you may be less at risk of straying into the area of veterinary surgery than if you were seeing animals that were not well when owners might expect more from you.

Microchipping

Laypeople are permitted to microchip animals via SC method. However, technicians must be competent and adequately trained, otherwise there could be issues under current animal welfare legislation if the animals are harmed or made to suffer unnecessarily in the process.

Diabetic injections

Owners may administer SC injections to their own animals. This is because there is a legal exemption to allow them to do it (the animal owner, a member of his or her household or his or her employee may carry out minor medical treatment). However, we do not think a professional service administering already prescribed or obtained medicines to animals is permissible under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966. Therefore, we do not think it is appropriate for you to offer such a service.

Advertising

To some extent, how you hold yourself out to the public is also relevant. If you are registered, you may refer to yourself as an RVN. However, you would have to explain to clients that you are not acting in the capacity as an RVN, as you are restricted in what you can do. Clients will need to be fully aware of these limitations and you must ensure you are not providing misleading information.

https://www.vettimes.co.uk/app/uploads/wp-post-to-pdf-enhanced-cache/1/going-it-alone-vn-life-as-a-self-employed-entrepreneur.pdf

Here is the article that I read. The S/C diabetic injections was an interesting note. Sorry I have such a faulty memory but I did get the year right. Best of luck!

[/quote]

In short, your qualification is useless outside of Veterinary Practice.

I did come across this campaign recently, which I thought was very interesting and would love to hear some opinions here. I'll pull a tangent..

RE: Vet nurse business opportunities - Help

Mason8 — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 07:52:35 GMT

I found the article yay! Here are the restrictions explained:

• Anyone may administer emergency first aid to save life, or relieve pain or suffering.

Advice and health checks

Microchipping

Diabetic injections

Advertising

https://www.vettimes.co.uk/app/uploads/wp-post-to-pdf-enhanced-cache/1/going-it-alone-vn-life-as-a-self-employed-entrepreneur.pdf

Here is the article that I read. The S/C diabetic injections was an interesting note. Sorry I have such a faulty memory but I did get the year right. Best of luck!

RE: Vet nurse business opportunities - Help

apache — Mon, 06 Aug 2018 23:52:29 GMT

My understanding was anything covered by schedule 3 was delegated to you by a vet. Therefore you could do anything an owner could (sub cut meds) but not IV or IM. Blood sampling a delegated task. Fine clipping claws. If trained anyone can microchip so that's fine. Anyone can remove ticks or sutures. Once prescribed anyone can administer topical or oral treatments. They've decided anal glands with a finger up the bum are now schedule 3, so no to that. Bandaging and dressing changes ok.

I think the issue we have is the things that set you apart as a VN are the schedule 3 things, that you can't do if working for yourself. I do understand why that is the case.

If I was in your position could you work with an existing practice (either conventional or mobile)? It would vastly open up what you could do, and take on a chunk of work many practices don't want to be doing (home visiting). I'm sure you could come to a financial arrangement that worked for you both. There's no reason a VN cannot go out and do a PTS (if vet prescribes the drugs).

RE: Vet nurse business opportunities - Help

Mason8 — Mon, 06 Aug 2018 19:11:54 GMT

Hello, if you have access to the online vet nursing journal I remember In 2014 that there was a spread showcasing vet nurse business owners and some of the problems that they faced. I think I remember the one vet nurse having to be backed by a vet to be allowed to administer worming and flea treatments to people's pets. The owner would get the product and bring to her to administer but she had to have a vet say that it was OK to give to the animal even though it was already prescribed. She stated that it was a bit of a hiccup legally but manageable with a vet friend that was happy to give OK. She said more restrictions on what she could do being an RVN and advertising as such. This is all from memory which isnt the best but I remember some of it because of the problems she had if that makes sense. She did a mobile grooming, nail clipping, administering patient meds and such. Hope this helps point you in the right direction