This is the time of year when we celebrate a largely unknown day called ‘Vet Nurse Day’ to recognise all of the veterinarian nurses out there. It’s a day to raise awareness of the importance of their work and their contributions to helping animals everywhere. They are the ones with cast iron constitutions. They prep animals for surgery, work the machines and comfort animals while they are recovering. Their roles are varied, and they approach each one with professionalism and quiet determination.
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At RSPCA ACT, we currently have five vet nurses working in our clinic. We also have another half dozen or so certified vet nurses working in other roles around the shelter too. The skills and knowledge that they bring to caring for animals are invaluable and often under-appreciated.
Every day they come into work and face the unknown. Some days are relatively routine (or as routine as it can get at an animal shelter). Other days it takes everything they have – including a strong mind and stomach – to get through their patient-load to save and improve the lives of animals. As you imagine, they see everything from animals with minor abscesses to the worst cases of cruelty and neglect. And yet despite it all, our vet nurses come back every day to do it all over again.
One of my favourite things to do when I need a break from meetings and desk work is to go into the vet clinic to watch our team in action. I never know what they will be doing at the time, but I can honestly say that they are always busy. Their work can range from assisting in emergency surgeries to something mundane such as cleaning cages and feeding animals.
When I walked around this afternoon, I found two nurses assisting a vet with a complex teeth-cleaning on an old dog named Charlie. I found another nurse helping our inspectors with a case. Then I saw another one moving a king parrot into a hot box after its vet check, as it was just hit by a car. Finally, I found a nurse doing some much needed painting of the walls in the vet clinic.
By the time I walked to the other side of our facilities, I found one of the same nurses that had helped with Charlie, now assisting a vet to assess some abandon kittens that just came into the shelter.
While we may joke that our veterinarians would be lost without vet nurses, but it’s not without truth. They themselves would say the same thing. It truly takes the entire team to keep our animals healthy, but the efforts our nurses go to ensure the smooth running of our vet operations for thousands of animals each year cannot be underestimated.
To every vet nurse out there – thank you. You are making a very real and tangible difference in the lives of animals. We really couldn’t do it without you!
- Tammy Ven Dange is the CEO of RSPCA ACT. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @tvendange.