Vets invited to events to empower vet nurses
RCVS seeks to promote veterinary nurses' involvement in a multi-disciplinary team.
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) has invited veterinary professionals to its VN Vision workshops.
The UK-wide sessions, which are open to the entire veterinary team, will seek to gather the insights needed to empower veterinary nurses in the workplace.
RCVS’ sessions are informed by VN Vision work, carried out in 2024, which is seeking to encourage a cultural shift to effectively integrate veterinary nurses into veterinary teams. Previous findings have revealed that many nurses felt their skills and capabilities were not fully utilised in the tasks they complete.
As part of these new sessions, RCVS will seek to promote veterinary nurses' involvement in a number of areas.
RCVS hopes to shift to veterinary nurses are those involving direct client engagement. They will also be recommended to support with long-term condition management.
Veterinary nurses could also be empowered to conduct routine appointments with clients. This might include post-operative checks and booster vaccinations.
Finally, RCVS suggests that minor surgical procedures, such as suturing and wound care, become part of a veterinary nurse’s role.
The workshops, titled ‘A vision or necessity: strengthening the role of veterinary nurses in team-based healthcare’ will be free to attend and count towards CPD. They will be taking place across the UK throughout the second part of 2025.
Jill Macdonald RVN, VN Futures lead, said: "These interactive sessions will play an important role in this new branch of VN Vision work, helping to define long term goals, identify the practical steps needed to achieve them, and determine how success will be measured and shared with the wider public.
"We were honoured to have so many fantastic nurses come together last year to help shape the future of the profession, and we’re looking forward to many more engaging conversations with vet team members this time around. This is more than just a conversation though – it’s a national effort to strengthen the RVN role through collaboration, clarity and confidence."
More information about the sessions can be found here.
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Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
