All Hail The Nurses
Veterinary Medicine’s Secret Weapon
October is a great month. The temperatures finally cool down enough to break out fall clothing, the kids are back in school mode (willingly or unwillingly) and there’s candy at the end of the month.
And, October also marks an annual celebration of a team member without whom we would never be able to function in veterinary practice – National Veterinary Technician week is celebrated the third week of October.
I have long worked in practices and in my own where veterinary technicians are titled as veterinary nurses. And finally, I am happy to report, there is a national initiative being headed up by the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) to nationally credential veterinary technicians as veterinary nurses in all 50 states.
Currently, different states’ educational offerings credential under Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT), Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT) and Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) for the graduates of accredited programs in Veterinary Technology.
Now, I don’t know about you, but even as a veterinarian, somehow when I hear the word “technology” and “technician,” I immediately think of computers and the Geek Squad. So I am a supporter of the change in name and credentials in order to bring higher recognition to these hard working, talented people.
Do you know exactly the role that our credentialed veterinary nurses carry in veterinary practice? They are truly the equivalent of nurses in human medicine – and, just like veterinarians, they know the ins and outs of more than one species.
Our nurses perform the following on a daily basis:
• Client education – ensuring that you as an owner are provided with information regarding preventive care, senior care, puppy/kitten care, zoonotic diseases, topical parasites, intestinal parasites and more.
• General nursing – from history-taking for a well pet or ill pet examination to giving vaccines or performing some other husbandry care (anal gland expression, nail trims, etc.) to placing intravenous catheters or specialty bandages or splints. They also are our additional hands for performing a variety of treatments, including fluid and medication administration as well as ensuring that patients are clean, comfortable and cared for throughout their time in hospital.
• Laboratory diagnostics – these range from acquiring samples and either running on in-house diagnostic lab machinery or properly submitting to a reference laboratory. Our nurses cover all the bases, and also perform many hands-on diagnostic tests such as ear cytology (looking at what is in that brown, smelly stuff in your dog’s ears).
• Radiology – acquiring X-rays on a variety of animals. This requires solid knowledge of techniques and positioning for best images.
• Dentistry – not only are they nurses, but they are also dental hygienists, including cleaning, charting and taking dental x-rays.
• Surgery/Anesthesia – veterinary nurses are highly trained in the administration and monitoring of anesthetized patients and also can act as a second pair of hands when needed during a complicated surgical procedure.
• Leadership – in many veterinary practices, our veterinary nurses are encouraged to grow in to leadership roles in terms of managing teams of staff members on up to becoming a practice manager.
• Training – an accredited veterinary nurse also becomes a training specialist, helping to train new team members to grow their skills.
I’m sure there are many skills and tasks that I’ve missed in the above list, but that at least gives a small snapshot of the multi-tasking veterinary nurses who also are compassionate and passionate about providing care to our patients and their owners.
Dr. Margot can be reached at parkhillvet.com.