Will 'protecting the title' increase RVN Salary?

RE: Will 'protecting the title' increase RVN Salary?

Arlo Guthrie — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 09:59:04 GMT

[quote userid="22154" url="~/f/nonclinical-discussions/32567/will-protecting-the-title-increase-rvn-salary/179099#179099"]Highly doubt it, maybe if they changed the vet surgeons act and that us actually do more interesting things that would help then but then we would probably get the usually backlash from some vets [/quote]

Charley83 Was just mulling this over, and thinking ... my theory is that the problem is the profession selects for highly intelligent perfectionist vets who are possibly not very comfortable delegating to someone who they feel that because of their lower level of training may do a less perfect job than themselves.

Hence the backlash. It's just a reaction to something which some vets are inherently uncomfortable with.

[quote userid="31273" url="~/f/nonclinical-discussions/32567/will-protecting-the-title-increase-rvn-salary/179068#179068"]One way that we can earn our worth and bring more revenue in to the surgery would be take some of the more basic jobs away from the vets and let them spend their time earning the big money.[/quote]

Tracy Timms I've always believed this to be the case ... that the one way that VNs can do more interesting things and increase their salaries is by demonstrating how what you do contributes directly to the bottom line. And I do mean directly, not indirectly. People place less value on the fluffy goodwill stuff than if you can show that you did x VN clinics that brought in £XX.

The fly in the ointment with this line of argument is that most vets now are employees, not business owners. So they are going to care less about your financial contribution to the bottom line.

For sure, I see plenty of initiatives by the corporates to make VNs' jobs more interesting, rewarding and better remunerated, but as I say, individual vets may be less inclined to delegate and I guess there will be less room for individual initiative by VNs within a corporate structure.

So I think for increased salaries, responsibilities, you probably have to pitch things different depending on where you work.

If in private practice, sure, focus on how you can add to the bottom line and pitch it to the vet(s) who own the business.

In corporate practice, you might be able to rely on head office driving forward pay and conditions, but at a practice level, you may be better pitching ideas which reduce the workload on the vet, or which improve clinical outcomes, both of which may matter more to the vet in corporate practice.

This is all speculation and I might be wrong!

And of course, the other big question is where the money for increased salaries for nursing is going to come at a time when the cost of veterinary care has spiralled out of control.

I may be being simplistic, but less focus on expensive equipment, flashing lights and exotic drugs, and more focus on good old traditional vet nursing care?

RE: Will 'protecting the title' increase RVN Salary?

Charley83 — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 15:59:54 GMT

Highly doubt it, maybe if they changed the vet surgeons act and that us actually do more interesting things that would help then but then we would probably get the usually backlash from some vets - well if you want to be a vet go and train so unlikely to win, No i tend to find the veterinary profession is not one where additional qualifications are rewarded unless you are a vet. I want to do accupuncture do because none of the vets are interested or trained in it I can't do it. If something is going to happen it can happen to a vet too

RE: Will 'protecting the title' increase RVN Salary?

Selena Carnell — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 19:11:22 GMT

Sadly i can't see that it will make much of a difference.

its quite sad that when i drive to work i see jobs at Lidl advertised for only a £1 less than i currently earn per hour.

mind you when i started as a trainee in 1995 my annual wage was 5k per year!

RE: Will 'protecting the title' increase RVN Salary?

Tracy Timms — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 07:50:55 GMT

It would also give us greater job satisfaction.I will continue pushing.I would be interested to hear about your consulting certificate /diploma.I have done a Consulting Nurse cpd run by IVC but it was more about getting the confidence.I have been qualified since 1996 so i would like to think that i am confident but i would love to know more about the content and what to offer in these preventitive clinics

RE: Will 'protecting the title' increase RVN Salary?

Gina Moore — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 19:08:19 GMT

I agree with all of your suggestions! I have recently completed a diploma and certificate in RVN consulting, and am keen to run nurse clinics in ling term medical management, doing just the things you have mentioned. Also, if a vet sets a protocol of eg diabetic patients having a blood glucose every 2-3months as monitoring, surely the nurses can do this, giving better patient and client care without increasing the vet's workload. There are so many conditions that this can be applied to.

RE: Will 'protecting the title' increase RVN Salary?

Tracy Timms — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 19:17:15 GMT

One way that we can earn our worth and bring more revenue in to the surgery would be take some of the more basic jobs away from the vets and let them spend their time earning the big money.I have a very supportive practice and have recommended quite a few things we as nurses could do to make our lives more exciting .Once a diabetic is diagnosed ,could it not be possible for this to be nurse managed?Renal clinics,starting cats on subcut fluids and meds-nurses to manage these if owners have questions,have them in for repeat bloods and report to vet.Sometimes its not always about bringing money in to the surgery initially,its about keeping clients so that they continue to bring their pets in for years to come.I'm very passionate about bereavement and i am looking in to offering pre euthanasia clinics to make their last visit with their beloved pet

as memorable as possible for all the right reasons.Its amazing how many clients change surgeries because of a bad euthanasia experience.At the end of the day,we are worth more and i am more than willing to EARN it.

RE: Will 'protecting the title' increase RVN Salary?

Arlo Guthrie — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 10:42:08 GMT

Dan Lidgbird - I suspect that if it does make a difference, it may be quite marginal, because the bigger factor involved in nurse salaries is simple supply and demand.

On that front, I reported a while back that the RCVS forecasts an oversupply of veterinary nurses, which (if it comes true) is likely to prevent salary inflation.

https://www.vetnurse.co.uk/b/veterinary-nursing-news/posts/rcvs-predicts-oversupply-of-veterinary-nurses

[quote userid="31273" url="~/f/nonclinical-discussions/32567/will-protecting-the-title-increase-rvn-salary/179065#179065"]It certainly would be good if it did.For as many years as i can remember(qualified 1996) the main conversation between the nurses has always been money and the fact that we are so lowly paid.[/quote]

Tracy Timms I know what you mean, it has been the main topic of conversation since I set up this website in 2000.

The difficult question, though, is where the money is going to come from?

I mean, there has been a significant increase in nurse salaries since 2000, and whilst you can argue there is room for more, the problem is that the overall cost of veterinary care has already increased significantly more than inflation for some years now, and veterinary care is becoming less and less affordable.

I fear that any more price inflation and the profession is going to price itself out of the market.

So then the question is where can the money for better pay for nurses come from?

Perhaps less spent on high tech equipment with lots of flashy lights, and more on good old traditional nursing?

I dunno. It's a thought!

[quote userid="31273" url="~/f/nonclinical-discussions/32567/will-protecting-the-title-increase-rvn-salary/179065#179065"]I think the problem with Vet nursing is that there tends to be no pay scale so pay is generally quite random[/quote]

I do think you've hit on something there, although I suspect it's more of an issue with the indies than corporates.

RE: Will 'protecting the title' increase RVN Salary?

Tracy Timms — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 16:41:43 GMT

It certainly would be good if it did.For as many years as i can remember(qualified 1996) the main conversation between the nurses has always been money and the fact that we are so lowly paid.My friend qualified as a human nurse ,the same year that i qualified as a VN and she is on at least £4 per hour more than i am.I think the problem with Vet nursing is that there tends to be no pay scale so pay is generally quite random.At my surgery we have 4 rvns of varying amounts of experience and one nearly qualified and from what i have heard the near qualified is nearly on what the most recently qualified is on.I really hope that things do change for us,at the end of the day we are professional people and should be paid as if we are