If you want to work with animals, then one career you may be considering is veterinary nursing. Veterinary nurses have a wide range of responsibilities, both in assistance to the veterinary surgeon and direct patient care. If you want to know more about what a veterinary nurse does, here we’ll be outlining the responsibilities of a veterinary nurse in a typical workday.
Taking care of inpatients
The priority of a vet nurse, and probably why most get into the profession, is the care and wellbeing of animals. Taking care of patients takes many forms in a vet clinic, from cleaning cages to feeding the animals, as well as monitoring the patient to determine how they are responding to treatment and updating the vet and the owners with any changes. A vet nurse will also be responsible for providing companionship to nervous or elderly pets while they are at the practice.
Preparing animals for treatment and surgeries
Another key responsibility of a vet nurse is to prepare animals for treatment and surgeries. This may involve administering medication, preparing the skin by shaving part of the animal’s coat, bathing the animal or administering anaesthesia, all the while keeping the patient calm and relaxed.
Taking x-rays
A vet nurse may also be responsible for taking x-rays of the patients to help the veterinary surgeon diagnose the ailment or to check the effectiveness of a surgical procedure.
Giving injections
A veterinary nurse will need to give injections such as vaccinations or medicines to patients, which can be stressful for the animal, so keeping them calm while administering the injection is important.
Monitoring patients during anaesthesia
Anaesthetics can be used to numb parts of the patient or induce sleep so that they don’t feel pain, discomfort, or go into shock during a procedure. Because there can be complications with anaesthesia, such as the effects not fully taking hold, what a veterinary nurse does to reduce this risk is monitor the patient during the procedure and alert the surgeon to any issues.
Dispensing medication
Dispensing medication is an important responsibility of the vet nurse. This may involve directly administering medicine to the patient or providing it to the owners as part of the patient’s aftercare.
Removing stitches
Removing stitches is an important part of patient aftercare and one that can be done by a veterinary nurse. Stitch removal is a straightforward procedure, but it does require a steady hand and the ability to keep the patient calm.
Assisting with reception duties
Depending on the size of the practice a veterinary nurse works in, there may be a range of reception duties that they need to assist with, such as taking phone calls, making patient appointments and updating patient records.
Performing in-house laboratory tests
In some clinics, laboratory tests will be performed by vet technicians, but in others, the veterinary nurse may have to do them too. These tests could involve analysing blood or urine samples to help diagnose what is wrong with the patient.
Training new staff/ guiding students
An important part of what a veterinary nurse does is the training of new staff and the guidance of prospective veterinary students on work experience. A vet nurse can have a significant influence on people at this early stage of their career and make new starters feel welcome at the practice.
Offering advice to pet owners
Something that a vet nurse has to do regularly is offer advice and guidance to pet owners. This could be new pet owners when they register their pets with the clinic or when they bring them in for their vaccinations, or it could be advice about aftercare once a pet has had treatment.
So, now you know what a veterinary nurse does, does it sound like the career for you? Working with animals in such a hands-on capacity can be incredibly rewarding, and no two days are exactly the same!
If you are training to become a nurse or just starting out in your career, you can browse our available job listings.