I attended a meeting held by the RCVS with representatives from the Veterinary Defence Society who warned that dressings can be problematic in terms of complaints and litigation.
I’ll be totally honest here: I don’t like doing dressings.
I was talking to Laura the other day (one of our team of fantastic RVNs) and, because she’s excellent at dressing wounds (her skills easily surpass mine), I thought I’d ask for her “top tips” on the subject.
Expert advice
Laura’s words of wisdom were:
The right materials are key – she prefers cotton wool for Robert Jones type dressings.
Think of the pressure points in advance – how is the limb going to move (or not move) under the dressing with even pressure. Good to pad between the toes, and so on.
Ideally, leave the toes out so regular checks can be made to make sure no problems are occurring.
Of course, a compliant caregiver at home really helps too.
Wendy began her VN career in 1991 as a trainee at a small animal practice in Surrey. On qualifying, she moved to Yorkshire and started work in mixed practice, and after becoming head nurse, left to relocate to Germany with her forces husband.
Back in the UK in 2000, Wendy moved to Devon and spent two years at a two-branch, small animal practice as a nurse, VN assessor and eventually, practice manager.
Moving to the north-west in 2002, she worked as a nurse in a small animal practice before becoming the Veterinary Nursing Approved Centre coordinator at Myerscough College. After four years there, she returned to practice part-time, where she started working for Anthony Chadwick at his Skin Vet practice. During this time, Anthony launched The Webinar Vet, and, once established, sold up. Wendy stayed behind as operations manager and is often known as “Webinar Wendy”.
In her role, Wendy organises CPD for vets, nurses and SQPs. She also deals with dermatology referral clients and spends at least one day a month working in practice.
Why is she standing?
Wendy says she is “extremely proud” to be a veterinary nurse and wants to take an “active part” in ensuring the profession moves forward.
“I feel I have gained valuable experience throughout my different career roles, which will benefit the role requirements of an elected member and our cause as a whole,” she said. “I have a very good understanding of the varying levels of our profession and I am in a privileged position of having contact with members daily, ranging from students to the most experienced VNs.”
On education, Wendy says she feels “passionately”, and has a “wide exposure”, thanks to her time at Myerscough and The Webinar Vet.
“I believe I will also add value… establishing and reviewing schemes for post-qualification and CPD for VNs. This also includes recommending to the council amendments to the rules relating to the registration, conduct and discipline of veterinary nurses, if required. I am widely accessible to nurses due to my current role, so I can offer effective communication between VNs and the council. On future challenges and issues? You tell me. I aim to be an effective voice for the nurse in practice – an effective voice for you.”
Hustings highlights
Wendy tackled lack of VN engagement in the RCVS in her passionate video, citing poor voting turnout figures and calling the electorate to action. “I want to help increase engagement, hopefully by… carrying on communicating with nurses via social media and within my role at The Webinar Vet,” she said. “Voting in an election is important.
Can you get other VNs to vote? Do you know nurses who don’t vote? If everyone who votes gets one more VN voting, we can increase that [2015 turnout] 11 per cent to 20 per cent.
“It would be great if you voted for me to represent you on VN council, but more importantly though – please, please vote.”
Helen has had a varied career. Qualifying in 1996, she started in general nursing before concentrating on consulting. In 2004, she left practice to work for Petplan, but quickly realised she missed practice life.
Returning in 2007, Helen opened her own practice, employing the vet, finding the premises and having them fitted out. In 2013, she sold it, recognising its growth required more than a sole VN.
Helen now works for Onswitch as one of the trainers on its Bertha Bus, and is a project manager at Mojo undertaking various veterinary projects including working alongside International Cat Care.
Why is she standing?
Helen says she will “fight for VNs to have their voice heard” if she is elected.
“I am proud to call myself an RVN and be part of a dedicated, caring and hardworking profession,” she said. “I am passionate about getting our profession heard.”
This passion is evident when you see how Helen has been promoting the VN title petition. She has written to her MP, generated an article in her local newspaper and even contacted the Chris Evans breakfast show on BBC Radio 2 on the eve of BVNA Congress for the past two years – “VNs would have heard their profession mentioned in the ‘representing the nation’ section,” she said.
Helen believes her daily contact with vet professionals of all kinds is a strength. “Working as a trainer and PR, I meet many VNs, student VNs, vets and receptionists, which keeps me in touch with the issues in our profession,” she said.
Attempting to protect the title is “only the beginning of a great VN future”, says Helen, which should open up more opportunities for VNs and lead to the profession “gaining the recognition we deserve”.
Hustings highlights
Helen thinks Defra’s promise to review Schedule 3, and the possibility of having a tiered system where VNs undertake post-registration qualifications, could be a good thing for career engagement.
“As we qualify, our skills develop from our day one skills and our interests grow, with some VNs preferring more clinical roles in practice and surgery, and others preferring more client contact. Until you’ve experienced that, you don’t know where you want your career to take you,” she said. “By including post-registration qualifications, maybe this would help career development, VNs feeling they had a career and that it was worth staying in the veterinary profession.
“I know this is a main area for why people leave the profession, so I think it is good we work on career development,” she said.
Matthew’s VN career kicked off in 1989 at The Park Veterinary Centre in Watford, a busy mixed and exotics 13-vet practice. It was here he completed his training and here in 1994 where he became senior theatre nurse.
Leaving in 2003, Matthew headed to the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) to pursue his interest in zoo and wildlife nursing, where he remains.
Matthew is a regular lecturer to veterinary nursing and veterinary surgeon undergraduates at the RVC, and lectures on herpetology throughout Europe and America.
Why is he standing?
Matthew says he has “dedicated his life” to being a VN for 25 years, and has observed “many changes” that have taken place during this time.
“Our role and the general understanding of it has improved significantly within my time in the profession and it continues to,” he said. “I am passionate about veterinary nursing and consider myself very lucky to work at ZSL. With my experience and background, I am in a fortunate position to help educate and support the next generation of VNs.”
Matthew said it would be a “great honour” to be elected to council, as will be having the opportunity to represent UK VNs and “contribute to the advancement of our profession”.
“I would relish the opportunity to promote the vital role of the RVN,” he said.
Hustings highlights
In Matthew’s video, he said he feels there needs to be a “greater understanding” of the roles of a modern VN and, while these roles are “misunderstood” by the public, VNs are “too keen to blame this on everybody else”.
“I think a lot of it is our own fault,” he said. “We need to raise our profile and demonstrate professionalism wherever possible, and during my time on council I would really like to push forward on that.”
As a male VN, he would also like to work on diversity within the profession. “I’ve been a VN for more than 25 years now,” he said. “I’ve always really enjoyed it, and haven’t felt at any point that being male has held me back in any way, but again I think this comes down to public perception of what VNs are.”
Summerleaze Veterinary Hospital in Maidenhead was where Samantha gained her NVQ in veterinary nursing in 2009.
Shortly afterwards, she began working at North Downs Specialist Referrals (NDSR), where she achieved her Graduate Diploma in Professional and Clinical Veterinary Nursing from the RVC. After four years at NDSR, Samantha had a brief spell at Moor Cottage Veterinary Hospital in Bracknell before taking the medicine nurse team leader role at Chester Gates Referral Hospital. After a year she moved back to Kent and took up the wards supervisor job at NDSR. She also teaches the Diploma in Veterinary Nursing at Hadlow College.
Why is she standing?
“Exciting” and “dynamic” are the two words Samantha uses to describe the veterinary nursing profession right now, with VNs being seen “more and more as professionals in [their] own right”. “I hope this is only going to get better,” she said.
Samantha also says she would bring “enthusiasm and dedication” to the council, as well as her passion of educating student nurses.
“I always strive to improve my knowledge and nursing skills and have the drive and determination to help mould the profession moving forward,” she said. “I have been privileged to work with a number of amazing nurses and I would like the profession to get the recognition it deserves. I believe it is moving in the right direction with lots of exciting changes on the way, but I cannot imagine a better time to get involved with the profession’s future.”
Another challenge she’s ready for, says Samantha, is the role of RVNs within practice.
“As the qualification and further qualifications increase in skill level, it would be rewarding to see this acknowledged with further delegation to RVNs,” she said.
Hustings highlights
Samantha said she is standing for VN council because, “like a lot of people”, she was not sure “what the council did” and “wanted to play a more active role in the decision-making process of the profession I feel passionately and strongly about”.
As a teacher, it was all about education in Samantha’s video.
“I think our pre-registration education possibly needs reviewing,” she said. “Training placements are scarce and quite hard to find, and this is something we need to work on with employers and course providers to improve for nurses who want to train in the future. On post-registration education… I think RVNs really need to see the value of CPD and I think it should be something that should be undertaken and enjoyed and something we should be able to use in the future.”
Racheal qualified as a VN in 2003 and worked in a busy mixed practice for three years, progressing to a senior nurse position.
After that, she worked as a lecturer in veterinary nursing and animal management at York’s Askham Bryan College. She returned to clinical work in 2008, joining emergency and critical care specialists Vets Now, where she has been ever since.
At Vets Now, she started as an RVN in one of the clinics before becoming a senior nurse. She then became a district manager before taking up her current position in 2014. As head of clinical nursing, Racheal is responsible for driving and ensuring consistent nursing standards across the company.
Why is she standing?
Despite veterinary nursing coming a “long way” in the 12 years since Racheal qualified, the emergency and critical care specialist believes there are still “battles to be fought” to ensure the RVN is “fully recognised and appreciated”.
“I wish to use this opportunity to work for greater understanding and clarity of the VN role to allow our wide range of skills and experience to be recognised and valued,” she said. “[I also want to] help empower nurses with career progression so they can reach their full potential working alongside vets.”
Racheal believes her working background has given her a lot of experience in practice and leadership, giving her good understanding of the inner workings of business, which helps her “understand the challenges we face and be able to consider these from all angles”.
“Veterinary nurses are a valued and essential part of the veterinary team, and to enable our profession to continue to grow and evolve, we need to ensure we speak out and continue to be heard,” she said.
“I would consider it an honour and a privilege to be your voice on VN council and will work to ensure the voices of all RVNs
are heard – whatever career stage you are at or pathway you have taken.”
Hustings highlights
Racheal discussed issues of retention of VNs within practice in her video.
“This year almost 500 nurses have been removed from the register, and this is at a time when employers are struggling to recruit RVNs,” she said. “My aim would be every veterinary practice only employed RVNs, but if we haven’t got the number of nurses out there, this isn’t going to be possible.”
She said she also feels veterinary nurses have the right to undertake additional skills post-qualifying as “we’ve all worked hard to achieve our qualifications and should be able to use all of the skills and knowledge we have to be able to work to our full potential”.
Stacey started her career with an animal care course in 2000. However, she soon saw a local advert for a student VN position and got the job.
She registered as an RVN in 2004 and by 2006 was a head nurse. After dabbling in practice management, Stacey secured TP status in 2010, after which she gained her assessor qualification, completed examiner training and her diploma in teaching. In 2012, she saw a chance to teach full-time, which she “leapt at”. She now works at Northumberland College, her third teaching institution.
Why is she standing?
Stacey says her main reason for standing for council is its opportunities for VN training.
“I missed out on the green book days, but I took pride in the building of my portfolio, flourishing from year one to year two of the NVQ,” she said. “I witness many students with nursing potential simply strike or burn out from the demands of the diploma as it stands. Worse still, I have strong candidates slip through my hands embarking on animal management courses as they have no experience to secure a TP placement.
“I believe there is a course design to cater for all gifted individuals destined to be RVNs, one that will fill the deficit in qualified workers that I believe should be a necessity in every practice, big or small.”
Stacey wants to “address the bigger picture”, with training centres and TPs working together to make data such as work experience opportunities and predicted number of placements available.
“I want to see a standardised approach for delivering core syllabus in all TPs and centres with better support and guidance available to all involved in training,” she said.
Hustings highlights
Stacey says she stands for “education and unison”, and thinks a lack of VN engagement with the RCVS could be helped with the use of regional coordinators, similar to that of the BVNA. She also believes a review of Schedule 3 could “put away the grey areas and get rid of the fear factor for all involved”.
I qualified from the University of Cambridge in 1986 and spent six years in first-opinion practice, moving from mixed through equine to 100 per cent small animals. During this time, I gained my certificate in radiology.
My desire to “know more” brought me back to university where I spent the next 10 years at the University of Bristol and the RVC gaining my PhD, certificate in cardiology and diploma in small animal medicine.
Following a brief period in industry, I worked in private referral practice for seven years. During this time, I set up a small animal referral centre that rapidly expanded year on year to meet the demand for the service we provided from general practitioners.
Since 2012, I have been 60 per cent clinical work, allowing more time to spend with my young family and pursue my other interests within the veterinary profession, particularly education and support for general practitioners through the RCVS council, the BSAVA, supporting candidates for the newer modular certificate, responding to case enquiries and providing CPD.
I am an RCVS recognised specialist in small animal medicine and an advanced practitioner in veterinary cardiology. I have lectured worldwide to the complete spectrum of the veterinary profession, as well as writing peer-reviewed articles and textbooks.
Manifesto
Working with the RCVS council and staff over the past three years, I have encountered a dedicated, fascinating and rewarding group of people with a vast range of different skills, experience and knowledge.
On council, my main focus has been on education, particularly developing and launching the advanced practitioner status. This has been very successful and will prove a major force in bringing clarity to further professional qualifications. Beyond this, the Vet Futures and the Mind Matters Initiative are exciting projects and I am keen to continue to be involved. With my broad background and experience of most areas of the profession, I feel I can bring a valuable perspective to these discussions.
Since qualifying 30 years ago, the profession has changed hugely and this rate of change is increasing as new technologies and ways of communicating become available in a 24/7 world. The RCVS has adopted a forward-looking, proactive strategy I would like to support and help develop, ensuring there remains focus on a number of key elements that are core to the profession:
Communicating our skills as veterinary surgeons and scientists to the general public and government.
Maintaining robust, lifelong learning through achievable further professional qualifications and outcome-based CPD.
Promoting the health and welfare of the veterinary profession as a whole, so it remains vigorous and vibrant and continues to attract great people to work in it.
Ensuring governance of the RCVS continues to develop so it is transparent, accessible, relevant and responsive to our current, rapidly changing world.
My CV clearly shows I have broad experience of the profession and have retained strong links with general practice. Allied to this, I understand the needs of veterinary education, research and business as well as the importance of good governance and forward planning.
I graduated from the University of Liverpool in 1988 and completed a PhD at the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen. I continued my research interests and pathology training at the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, becoming a senior lecturer in veterinary pathology.
Pursuing an interest in human health research, I moved to the pharmaceutical industry in 2001 to work as a pathologist in the safety assessment of new medicines and managing a large technical team. While in industry, I maintained strong academic links, with particular interests in transferring technical skills between industry and academia, and encouraging vets to explore alternative career options.
In recognition of these interests, I was awarded an Medical Research Council (MRC) skills gap grant, moving back to the RVC in 2009 and on to my current role as pathologist at MRC Harwell in 2012. I am an RCVS recognised specialist in veterinary pathology and hold visiting chairs at RVC and the University of Surrey.
I have experience of serving on and chairing professional committees. I was part of the stakeholder group for the Vet Futures project and chair the Royal College of Pathologists’ specialty advisory committee for veterinary pathology.
Manifesto
The profession is undergoing modernisation and facing challenges that require new ideas to resolve. Key to development and innovation in any profession is the cultivation of diversity. Diversity includes the individuals within the profession, working practices and career pathways.
Increasing diversity means, firstly, looking at our student intake, working with schools and aiming to attract a better balance of applicants that reflect our society today and will make resilient vets.
A veterinary education provides a great starting point for a variety of potential career pathways. The Vet Futures project has shown the RCVS and the BVA recognise different career options are important for individuals and the professions. We need to build on this project to ensure graduates are prepared for different roles, practice and non-practice career paths are equally valued, career paths are signposted and people are supported throughout development in their chosen career.
Mental health is another pressing issue for our profession and ensuring a satisfying career choice, with manageable levels of stress, are essentials for good mental health. We need to develop career pathways within the profession that offer progression and working practices that accept a good work-life balance is essential, not just desirable. We need to find ways to support vets through their early years and as they develop greater responsibilities later in their career.
Diversity in the profession means having a range of resilient veterinary graduates able proactively to engage with a range of different career options and to adapt to changes in the external environment. Having worked in the university, research institutes and pharmaceutical industry as a lecturer, mentor, careers advisor, researcher and manager, I believe I have a range of skills and experience to contribute to the debate in these crucial areas.
I graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1980. After spending time as large animal house surgeon (intern) at the University of Liverpool and in general practice, I undertook further training in equine surgery and diagnostic imaging, at Liverpool, subsequently gaining diplomas in veterinary radiology and equine orthopaedics. I then studied for a PhD at the RVC, followed by a return to Liverpool as lecturer in equine orthopaedics.
I was recruited to the RVC in 1993 to rebuild the equine clinical services and promote equine research, subsequently becoming head of the farm animal and equine clinical department, the college’s vice-principal for teaching and deputy principal. In these roles, I was challenged to expand the college’s educational vision from a school for veterinary surgeons to one for the whole veterinary team, at first degree, postgraduate degree and CPD levels.
My broader contributions include being chairman of the Higher Education Academy Panel involved in the award of National Teaching Fellowships. I am currently senior vice-president of the European Board of Veterinary Specialisation and a past president of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons. I have chaired the RCVS education committee, its CertAVP sub-committee and legislation working group, and served on the disciplinary and standards committees.
Manifesto
My passion is the education of future veterinary surgeons and their well-being. I have felt privileged to serve as chairman of the education committee, contributing to development of the RCVS requirements for veterinary degree programmes and the CertAVP, and as chairman of the working group that created the new royal charter. However, our work is never complete.
If re-elected, I am keen to champion “the scholarship of primary care” and turn the focus on education aimed at developing expertise in primary care practice, the initial destination for most UK graduates. Our understanding of the fundamentals of clinical reasoning has progressed, but the distinction between hospital-based and primary care reasoning processes needs to be made, so all can be reassured excellence is not measured by the automatic use of a panel of diagnostic tests. It is important the “expert generalist” is fully recognised in the revised criteria for the RCVS Fellowship.
The new charter has provided powers to properly recognise the whole veterinary team. Vet Futures has highlighted the public need alongside our responsibility for animal welfare. Therefore, we must work together to ensure any delegation within the Veterinary Surgeons Act is matched to the skill set of those supporting veterinary services. This will be a task for RCVS council, whatever shape it may take.
I have considerable experience of committee chairmanship in the public and private sectors, as well as governance reviews in two other organisations. Therefore, I feel I have the skills and experience necessary to help move the profession forward in these challenging times.
As someone who has loved the different roles I have played during my veterinary career, I look forward to making my continued contributions to safeguarding the public, our profession and the animals to whom we have collectively dedicated our lives.
