Continuing the theme of profiling our fantastic Registered Veterinary Nurses for Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month, today it’s Sharon’s turn for the spotlight! Sharon is our longest standing RVN, and will be celebrating her 10th birthday at 387 Vets next year. Here she tells us about how her role has changed in practice since she started fresh out of school as a trainee vet nurse in 1989:
“When I first started, the job was much less hands-on with the animals, and we were less involved in the actual caring of pets. That was very much the vet’s role. Our responsibilities were more day to day cleaning tasks, running the reception area and general kennelling duties.
“Things have really changed. Since qualifying as an RVN, the responsibilities we now undertake have grown, enabling us to work alongside vets in practice in achieving the best possible outcome for patients.
“The days are never the same. On theatre duty, we could be monitoring anaesthetics for a neutering, we might be helping place pets for x-rays for a suspected foreign body or perhaps triaging pets in an emergency before a vet is free. We’ll be attending to the various hospitalised post-op pets in our care and any admitted inpatients too under the direction of the vet.
“The thing I personally love most about my job is taking the different nurse clinics and being able to give supportive advice to owners on nutrition, preventative care, general well-being and healthy lifestyle. I’m one of the primary weight clinic nurses and have a particular interest in helping pets to achieve their optimum weight. It gives me a real sense of satisfaction when a pet reaches their target after all the hard work put in by their owners, with guidance and support from ourselves.
“I love working with owners, seeing new pet additions to the family and watching pets grow and thrive. And, of course, getting lots of cuddles too!”