May is National Veterinary Nurse Awareness Month!

We run Nurse Clinics such as weight clinics and checks for flea and worm treatment, 2nd vaccinations, nail clips, post-operative checks, bandaging, expressing anal glands, insert microchips and many more!

Did you know our veterinary nurses play a role in imaging?

If your pet ever needs an X-ray or an ultrasound, there will be a dedicated veterinary nurse with your animal throughout the whole procedure.

This nurse will monitor the anaesthetic or sedation, ensure your pet is correctly positioned and will work with the veterinary surgeon to help get the best image for diagnosis.

Even after the imaging has finished, the nurse will still be working hard ensuring all the images are safely stored and the machine is well maintained, cleaned and ready for the next patient!

” My name is Lucy and I am a Registered Vet Nurse. I started working at Woods as a Student Vet nurse in January 2015 and qualified in December 2015.

Here is a little insight into my day when on our Kennel shift

I love working with animals and have a passion for animal welfare. Recently completed 2 volunteer projects with the charity WVS helping neuter street dogs and cats in Malawi and Thailand.

I also have an interest in senior pet care and orthopaedic post operative care and will soon be taking over the running of our puppy parties!

Vet Nurse on a Kennel Shift
My day starts at 8am where I receive a handover from our night nurse Siobhan. We go over every inpatient including details of their case, what medication they are on, their condition and how they have been over night.

It is at this point any little extra details are handed over to us. It could be that a patient only likes certain wet food or likes a perticular spot in the garden area to go for a wee. It’s details like this that make our patient care such high standard and personal.

The Vet and I then examine the inpatients and make a plan for the day. It could be more blood samples need to be taken or diagnostic imaging to be done. Here I am with a Labrador called Nala where I am taking a blood sample from her jugular vein.

One of the roles is to take the dogs outside to allow them to go to the toilet and get some fresh air.
One of our inpatients is going home this morning so it is part of my role to make sure the patient, all their medication and post-operative instructions are ready to go home with them.

Once their owners are here I go through their discharge notes and arrange any appointments needed for a check up. Its always lovely to see the patient see their owners as they are so happy to see them, even if they have been away for just one night.

We had an unusual patient in today that needs treating. A young hedgehog had been found injured so the kind member of public brought him in so we could treat him.

He was not happy being examined so we had to put him under general anaesthetic to allow the vet to examine him thoroughly. Hedgehogs are now an endangered species so it’s important we take extra care of them.

The poor little guy has a wound on his face which should heal by itself with the help of pain relief and antibiotics. We work closely with a local hedgehog rescue so I weigh him, administer the medication and arrange for the rescue centre to collect him in the hope he is released back to the wild.

The best part of the role is seeing the patients go home, happy and healthy back to their owners. We had a dog come in at the weekend that needed emergency surgery. I was involved in the surgery which was life threatening but today he came back in for a check-up and I’m pleased to say he is doing well. It’s always great to hear this news.

After lunch I catch up with the rest of the team to check on how the patients have been. More cleaning will need to be done as well as medication dispensing and hopefully sending patients home.

A sad part of the role is when we can’t help our patient and its time to say goodbye. I am often told by clients, they don’t know how I can be involved in euthanasia so often and how they could never do my job.

Being a nurse means you need to be there in the good times and the bad and that means holding that patients paw whilst they pass on to the Rainbow bridge. We must remember we did everything we could for that patient and comfort the client whilst they say farewell to their pet.

It sadly can be a daily occurrence but it doesn’t mean it gets any easier. On days like this I go home and give my own pets an extra cuddle and treasure those moments I have with them even more.”

“My name is Natalie and today I’m on nurse clinics.

My appointments run throughout the day and include vaccinations, microchipping, nutrition, behaviour, tick removal, laser therapy, stitch removal, flea and worming, Golden oldies and new puppy/kitten advice consults.

As you can see, the role of the Clinics nurse is a varied one, but my most rewarding areas are when that ‘porky pet’ club member walks onto the scales and has reached their target weight after a few months of regular appointments, or when the pet that ‘Hates the vets’ bounds in through the door to greet you after carefully building their confidence with the practice and its staff through our ‘happy visits’.

From the day you pick your pet up, be it your 1st or your 100th! We are here to help guide you towards the perfect healthy happy pet, and the best thing is our appointments are FREE!

Come and get to know your nurses, I think that this team is especially awesome!!”

My name is Gemma, I am a Student Veterinary Nurse here at Wood Vets

I am currently in my second year of training for my Veterinary Nurse Diploma.

Throughout training I am required to complete guided studies, assignments and my nursing progress log. My log consists of practical tasks I need to carry out until I feel confident before my clinical coach will sign them off.

I am also studying one day a week at college and have passed two written exams. I am currently revising for my next written exam in June, and practicing for my practical examination tasks.

I love my job as I am able to help animals, which provides me with a sense of fulfilment.”

Here is a photo of Gemma being mentored by Hannah, one of her clinical coaches and a qualified Vet Nurse here at WVG preparing to take a blood sample.