Vet Times

Tag: Clients

  • Schedule 3 – evidence of our role secured

    Schedule 3 – evidence of our role secured

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    by

    Dan Amos

    As well as traditional Halloween high jinks, 31 October 2017 marked a truly happy day for veterinary nurses, as the RCVS published results of its survey into VNs and vets‘ knowledge and use of – as well as future wishes for – the VN role under Schedule 3. As the full document is more than…

  • We’re not ‘taking the weight off’

    We’re not ‘taking the weight off’

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    by

    Dan Amos

    As vet nurses, we are on our feet a lot. If we’re not on our feet then we’re on our knees or generally bending, reaching and rolling around in pursuit of the holy trinity of care, cuddles and cleanliness. Over the years, I’ve noticed this led to a phenomenon where it is assumed if VNs…

  • If only they could talk

    If only they could talk

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    by

    “It must be so difficult,” the old woman says, as I listen to her cat’s chest. As ever, this puts me in the awkward position of either taking the stethoscope out of my ears and interrupting my clinical exam, or politely ignoring her so I can listen. As usual, I opt for the third, least…

  • Language: lost (or gained) in translation?

    Language: lost (or gained) in translation?

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    by

    Kele Harris

    We spend five years at vet school learning a myriad of vet jargon; a whole new language, with a fair bit of Latin thrown in too. When you think about it, even the “simple” descriptive and directional words – e.g. caudal/cranial – were alien to us before vet school. The funny thing is, just as…

  • Arguments

    Arguments

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    by

    I am not a naturally confrontational person – I am British, slightly shy and not especially self-confident, which means I am effectively Arthur Dent (except I prefer coffee to tea). I am generally pretty popular with clients, though it makes my humility gland twinge to admit it, and I used to joke this was because…

  • Bonus culture

    Bonus culture

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    by

    Things are changing in veterinary medicine, and quickly. Close your eyes for a few minutes, or – more accurately – take a few months off from general practice, and you can feel rather lost when you’re greeted by all the new products on the shelves. Except most of them aren’t new at all, they’re the…

  • Take a message, please…

    Take a message, please…

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    by

    I’m not a fan of the telephone. I don’t mean my smartphone (you’d be hard pressed to prise that from my fingertips), I mean the telephone – the 19th century invention that all started with “Mr Watson, come here. I want to see you”. I appreciate it has revolutionised communication and changed society completely –…

  • Animal abuse: are we right to be suspicious?

    Animal abuse: are we right to be suspicious?

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    by

    When I was 14, I watched a documentary aired as part of Channel 4’s “Banned” season. Called The Animals Film, the programme was about the way humans use and abuse animals for their own ends, with the emphasis very much on abuse. I didn’t sleep very much that evening and became a vegetarian overnight. The…

  • Reflection rebranded

    Reflection rebranded

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    by

    Dan Amos

    Reflection. Yep, it’s the R word again. Now, don’t turn off, because I’m actually thinking we need a rebrand. Bear with me. As an idea, reflection seems to cause a whole heap of negativity in people. But, when you think about it, isn’t it just a process of reviewing new information and applying it to…

  • Professional conduct

    Professional conduct

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    by

    “Profession” – here’s what the Oxford English Dictionary has to say about the subject: “[noun] A paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification.” And on “professional”, it says the following: “[adjective] Worthy of or appropriate to a professional person; competent, skilful, or assured.” That doesn’t cover all of it, of…