Blog Post

Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month (VNAM)

  • by Dundas
  • •
  • 08 May, 2017
  • •
May is Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month.  The following details the important job a Veterinary Nurse carries out in practice. What an RVN does in practice: Advice RVN’s are there to help both you and your pet by offering you advice or explaining any special care your pet may require. They can help you with: Weight […] The post Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month (VNAM) appeared first on Dundas Veterinary Group.
May is Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month.  The following details the important job a Veterinary Nurse carries out in practice.
What an RVN does in practice:
Advice
RVN’s are there to help both you and your pet by offering you advice or explaining any special care your pet may require. They can help you with:
  • Weight loss or nutrition
  • Advice on home nursing care for some health condition
  • Selecting flea/worming treatment for your pet
  • Behavioural advice
  • Help with your puppy/kitten
  • How to give medications
  • Insurance
Some RVN’s may also provide clinics in weight loss, post-operative check ups, nail clips, and 2 nd vaccines.
 
Monitoring General Anaesthesia
  • RVN’s can monitor patients vital signs under anaesthesia (such as heart rate, respiration rate, mucous membrane colour and temperature).
  • Under the guidance of the operating Veterinary Surgeon they will alter the amount of anaesthetic gas the patient receives along with their oxygen to maintain good anaesthesia.
  • RVN’s will also recover animals from their anaesthetic, monitoring them closely to ensure they are recovering as normal and providing them with a comfy warm kennel.
 
Infection Control
RVN’s are in charge of keeping the practice clean and tidy, which in turn prevents further spread of infection within the practice. After each patient nurses will wipe down surfaces, clean surgical instruments, disinfect kennels after use and ensure everything is clean and ready for the next animal.
RVN’s can advise you on infectious diseases and preventative health care such as vaccination.
 
Inpatient Care
A RVN will look after your animal if they ever have to be admitted into the surgery. Care includes:
  • Observing and monitoring vital signs
  • Administering medications- tablets, topical or injectable
  • Providing adequate nutrition and water
  • Placing intravenous catheters for fluid therapy
  • Update the vet on your pets progress
  • Taking dogs out to the toilet/for short walks
  • TLC
 
Laboratory Technician
A RVN can assist the vet by running blood samples in house to check basic parameters. In Addition, RVN’s are trained to look at microscope slides to check cells, presence of bacteria or parasites. A RVN may also check a urine sample with a ‘dipstick’ test that checks urine parameters and detects some abnormalities such as glucose in the urine. The nurse will then report all these results to the Veterinary Surgeon in charge of the patient who can then make a diagnosis.
 
Radiography
If your pet in admitted for radiography it may be an RVN taking the images ready for the vet to analyse and decide on any necessary treatment.
  • Position the animal for the x-ray
  • Prepare the radiography machine settings
  • Take the radiograph
  • Process the radiograph in the digital processor.
RVN’s will also assist the vet during ultrasound procedures by clipping up the abdominal area and holding (and reassuring) the animal. They may also take ECG (Electro Cardio Graph) readings for the vet to analyse.
 
Surgical Assistant
A RVN may assist the vet doing surgical procedures by acting as a sterile assistant. This may involve handing sterile instruments to the vet and ensuring the surgical site is clear.
Before surgery is performed, a RVN will prepare the animals skin for the procedure:
  1. Clipping any fur away from the area surgery will be performed
  2. Cleaning the skin with suitable preparation (Peviodine or Hibiscrub)
  3. Final preparation of the skin once in theatre with surgical spirit.
Some RVN’s may also do minor procedures such as small lump removals or stitching up wounds, this will be done under the direction of a veterinary surgeon.
 
Taking Samples
RVN’s can take samples from animals (as delegated by the Veterinary Surgeon) that may be analysed in house or at an external lab. Samples include:
  • Taking blood from the neck or leg
  • Urine samples
  • Faecal samples
  • Hair samples
  • Skin scrapes (samples of skin cells)
 
RCVS Register
Once qualified and all the relevant exams are passed nurses can apply to be a Registered Veterinary Nurse (or RVN) with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS).
  • These nurses will be wearing a red badge with the RCVS crest in the middle along with their green uniform.
 
Requirements for staying on the RCVS Register
  • Nurses are always learning: They must complete 45 hours of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) over 3 years- this can be achieved through courses, lectures or reading journals (just to name a few).
  • They must follow the RCVS Code of Conduct which outlines their responsibilities to their patients, clients and employers.
  • Currently, Veterinary Nursing is not a recognised profession but this is something current RVN’s are campaigning for.
 
Student Veterinary Nurses (SVN) can go down two routes when training:
University Degree (4 Years) or College Diploma (3 Years)
  • Both routes require the student to undertake assignments, exams (both theory and practical) and complete a practical progress log to earn the qualification.
  • Students will gain practical skills in a RCVS approved training practice throughout their training.
 
 
The post Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month (VNAM) appeared first on Dundas Veterinary Group.

Environmental Policy

by EMMA SHARP • 19 February 2025

DUNDAS VETERINARY GROUP ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY-CLIENT INFORMATION

At Dundas Veterinary Group we are committed to trying to reduce our impact on the environment throughout our daily running of all of our branches.

There are many ways in which you, as our valued clients, can help to ensure we can try to achieve this:

1.      APPROPRIATE ANTIBIOTIC AND PRESCRIPTION MEDICINE USAGE-our vets are focused on providing the best healthcare for your pet and prescribe medications appropriately to their specific needs. In doing so our vets will only dispense the amount of medication required to avoid the unnecessary waste of medicinal products, especially with regards to antibiotics.

Our vets follow very careful protocols with respect to antibiotic use to help try and reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance and minimise the potential harmful environmental impact.

We, therefore, do encourage owners to bring back any unused medications to the practice at your appointments so we can safely dispose if these for you.

 

2.      RECYCLING OF MEDICINAL PACKAGING-as part of our daily protocols we are very conscious to try and recycle as much material as possible and are always looking at ways to minimise our waste output.

 

We welcome clients to bring back blister packs and packaging from their dispensed medications at their next appointment.

 

3.      CONTACT & MILEAGE- we have various ways for clients to stay in touch and offer post op checks via pets app and email to reduce client mileage and environmental impact. When first registered we will allocate the branch closest to you and when possible arrange appointments at this branch.

 

Please see our Facebook/petsapp/practice noticeboards for further updates.

 

If you have any further questions or suggestions with regards our environmental policy, we welcome our clients views-please email the practice nurses@dundasvetgroup.co.uk

LITTER PICK AT CRAMOND

by EMMA SHARP • 18 February 2025
The team had a fantastic day at our beach litter pick on 2nd February.  We were joined by clients and some four-legged friends and collected lots of rubbish both on the beach and island. Taking in the fresh sea air as we went.

Thanks goes to The City of Edinburgh Council for helping with the picking supplies and also to Dog Aid Scotland for the support on the day.

Dundas Street Reception Refurb!

by EMMA SHARP • 10 February 2025
Exciting News!

Our Dundas Street Reception area is getting refurbished this coming weekend.

From 5pm on Friday 14th February until 8am on Monday 17th February, our Reception will be closed.

To allow this work to take place, our Saturday morning surgery will take place from 9am to 12noon at our Granton branch, 34 Granton Road, Edinburgh, EH5 3QS, 0131 551 1407.

Please bear with us while we carry out this work and look out for the photos!

Beach Clean Up

by EMMA SHARP • 17 January 2025
Join Dundas Vet Group to help litter pick at Cramond beach!  We welcome you to join us on Sunday 2nd February at 11am.  Litter pickers, gloves and bags provided, as well as biscuits for both humans and dogs!
Meet at the start of the Causeway for a prompt start at 11am.

Christmas and New Year Closures

by EMMA SHARP • 4 December 2024

We will be closed on the following days over the Festive Period:

Wednesday 25th December

Thursday 26th December

Wednesday 1st January

Thursday 2nd January

 

If you have an emergency during these closures, please contact our emergency care provider

E-Vets on 0131 662 1689.


We would like to wish all our clients a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.


Please Welcome Matthew

by EMMA SHARP • 26 September 2024
Veterinary Surgeon, Matthew Saunders has joined Dundas Vet Group as a Clinical Director, working at the Dundas Street and Oxgangs Road Surgeries.

Matthew has been qualified since 2006, with additional qualifications in Endoscopy and keyhole surgery.  He also has a keen interest in Ophthalmology and is working towards further qualifications in this discipline.

We are thrilled to have Matthew join our team and he is looking forward to meeting you all with your pets!

Goodbye to Will

by EMMA SHARP • 14 August 2024
Sadly we have had to wave goodbye to Will Clancy as he heads home to Australia.
Having spent the last 5 years with us at Dundas Vets, he will be sorely missed by clients and colleagues alike.
We would like to wish him all the best in his future career back in Australia.

May is Veterinary Nurse Awareness Month 

by EMMA SHARP • 1 May 2024
The month of May is Veterinary nurse awareness month. We have uploaded a video to our Facebook and Instagram pages, showing the amazing job our nurses do every day to help look after your pets. They are the heart and soul of every veterinary practice!  

Their job entails a huge variety of skills ranging from monitoring anaesthesia, taking blood samples, giving medication, blood pressure checks and taking care of our hospitalised pets. This is only a small part of their essential contribution to our practice.

We can now offer nurse clinics at our Dundas Street branch for nail clipping, dressing changes, weight management checks and some repeat injections.

Please contact Dundas Street reception for more information.

Run 50k in March

by EMMA SHARP • 8 April 2024
We are happy to announce that our 50k in March running team completed their challenge and ran just over 600km in March!  We are so thankful for all of the support from our community and thrilled that we raised £1130 for Edinburgh Cat and Dog Home!  
Thank you to all who took part and donated.

Online Appointment Booking

by EMMA SHARP • 23 February 2024

We are now delighted to offer our clients an online appointment booking service through Petsapp and our webpage.

For clients who have downloaded our Petsapp, this can be done directly from your smart phone or through your online log in. For clients without the app, online booking can be accessed through the web widget on Dundas Vets home page Vets in Edinburgh | Dundas Veterinary Group (dundasvetgroup.co.uk)

If your appointment is for urgent veterinary care then please contact the surgery by phone as we reserve on the day appointments, and our friendly receptionists can arrange a suitable time. We hope that the Petsapp will make it easier for our clients to communicate with us, and us with them, though all branches will continue to be contactable by phone and online through our website.

Best wishes

Dundas Vets

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