Sorry for the silence on the blog, but I've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to update recently. With the schools off, our vets, like most other families have been on holiday, so those of us who were left behind have been really busy.
I wanted to use this blog to congratulate Leanne Roberts, our trainee veterinary nurse who passed her first set of nursing exams this week. Leanne has worked very hard all year and we're very proud of her.
Veterinary nursing takes a lot of commitment from the students. Most veterinary nurses work full time; attending college once a week on a day release basis and studying in the evenings and at weekends. The two year course involves college assignments, examinations and a portfolio based on the cases they help to treat whilst they are in practice.
The portfolio involves a large number of case reports, of varying lengths covering all aspects of animal management and veterinary care. In order to complete it, the nurses have to research and learn a huge amount of information.
One of our other nurse trainees attends a full time four year course at Bristol University. This will give her a degree in veterinary nursing, which includes equine nursing and advanced medical and surgical nursing.
Because they have this level of knowledge and understanding of a range of subjects, we encourage our nurses to promote pet health in their free nursing clinic. These cover a variety of conditions including dental care, pain clinics, puppy and kitten health monitoring, weight loss clubs and the after eight club for senior pets. As with human nurses they can measure blood pressure, analyse urine and take and process blood samples.
We're really proud of our nurses and the commitment they show to pet health care. Look out for them the next time you're in the practice and if you have a question about your pet's health, then ask away.
