The Veterinary Nurse Explained!

The qualified veterinary nurse will be the member of staff that provides the main nursing care for your pet during its stay, as well as many other duties within the practice.
In-Patient Care
VNs are responsible for carrying out your pet’s nursing care as directed by the vet in charge of the case. These duties can include feeding, exercising, TLC, monitoring vital signs (temperature, heart rate, breathing rate), administering medication, wound management, dressing changes, bedding changes and fluid monitoring.
Surgical Nursing and Anaesthesia
VNs are trained to provide appropriate surgical assistance to the vet. They monitor your pet’s general anaesthetic and are suitably trained to recognise different stages of anaesthesia and potential problems that could arise.
Nurse Clinics
The VN has received appropriate training to provide a range of services for you and your pet. These include:
weight clinics, flea/worming treatments, dressing changes, post-operative checks and suture removal, dental care, general advice on nutrition, grooming and puppy training, microchipping and many other areas.
Dental work
Qualified veterinary nurses are allowed to perform dental scaling and polishing of your pet’s teeth, following possible dental treatment by the vet.
Laboratory duties
Many laboratory tests are performed in house by the nurse. These can include blood, urine and skin/hair tests.
Radiography
The veterinary nurse is fully trained to take suitable x-rays requested by the vet.