Looking for the job description/day to day role of a Veterinary Nurse?

another question

I would like to hear from any qualified veterinary nurses if they have the time to respond it would be greatly appreciated.

1) I just have a few questions but primarily I would just like to know what the typical day-day role of a RVN is.

2) What if any are the chances for career progression.

3) What the payscale is like and

4) What are the chances of employment in this area at the moment? Given that the course is 3 years in duration I'm wondering what the forecast for employment in this area will be like in 3 years.


Thank you.

beardedmaster

I don't know a thing about Veterinary Nursing, other than the fact that the degree is 4 years, not 3 (in UCD at least.)
Source here. Detailed description of what is covered in the degree here.

another question

beardedmaster wrote: »

I don't know a thing about Veterinary Nursing, other than the fact that the degree is 4 years, not 3 (in UCD at least.)
Source here. Detailed description of what is covered in the degree here.

Thanks for the links. UCD is the only one that's 4 years actually. Dundalk, Athlone and Letterkenny are all 3 years.

Whistlejacket

Rather than having someone describing what the job is like to you, you should go and spend some time in a veterinary practice shadowing a registered veterinary nurse. They will all tell you there is really no such thing as a typical day, as it varies so much. Direct experience of it is by far the best way for you to get an insight into the job and decide if it is really what you want to do.

It can be a very rewarding job but the reality is often very different to what people expect it to be. For example it requires excellent teamwork, communication and writing skills, as well as an aptitude for science and you also need to be comfortable with basic mathematical concepts e.g. making up dilutions correctly, calculating drug dosages correctly etc. Wanting to work with animals is obviously required, but that alone isn't enough. You also need to prepared to work hard and for long hours, like most animal-related jobs it's not 9-5, 5 days a week.

It isn't a particularly lucrative career. Pay scales are typically from the minimum wage to about 30k for an experienced head nurse. Vet nurses who go on to work in industry e.g. animal nutrition, sales rep. etc. may earn more.

You are making a good start by wanting to find out as much as you can about it, best of luck.

another question

Whistlejacket wrote: »

Rather than having someone describing what the job is like to you, you should go and spend some time in a veterinary practice shadowing a registered veterinary nurse. They will all tell you there is really no such thing as a typical day, as it varies so much. Direct experience of it is by far the best way for you to get an insight into the job and decide if it is really what you want to do.

It can be a very rewarding job but the reality is often very different to what people expect it to be. For example it requires excellent teamwork, communication and writing skills, as well as an aptitude for science and you also need to be comfortable with basic mathematical concepts e.g. making up dilutions correctly, calculating drug dosages correctly etc. Wanting to work with animals is obviously required, but that alone isn't enough. You also need to prepared to work hard and for long hours, like most animal-related jobs it's not 9-5, 5 days a week.

It isn't a particularly lucrative career. Pay scales are typically from the minimum wage to about 30k for an experienced head nurse. Vet nurses who go on to work in industry e.g. animal nutrition, sales rep. etc. may earn more.

You are making a good start by wanting to find out as much as you can about it, best of luck.

Thank you very much for your answer, I really appreciate it. I am actually aware that there are many different aspects to the job such as the ones you mentioned above, this is one of the reasons I think I would be suited, I love variety.

I did physics, chemistry and biology for my Leaving Cert a few years ago and did well in all three, I am also quite good mathematically. I have always thought I would like to work in a clinical setting and I have spent many years in an admin role which I think would contribute positively to this career choice and of course I love animals as well. I have also worked as part of a team of 12 for over 5 years.

I think the only thing I would have a probably with is snakes. I really don't like them at all. I know there is a portion of the course on exotics and even though I'd have no problem with spiders or lizards etc, snakes I wouldn't be very happy. I'm wondering is this something I could overcome or how much they would feature in a day-to-day setting.

You seem to know a good bit about it from your answer above, you don't by any chance know if vet nurses get to spend much time on a farm setting if they are based in a large town/city practice.

Thanks again and I will request some shadowing in the new year.

Whistlejacket

Snakes are rare enough patients, unless you end up in a specialist exotics practice. I wouldn't consider being wary of handling them a major drawback.

Most Irish nurses don't provide much hands on care of cattle. However if you work in a mixed practice you need to be able to deal with telephone calls from farmers and prioritise urgent cases. Some practices will deal with sick calves and ewes for caesareans etc. on site so nurses will help with those. Plus you need to be confident when dealing with queries about farm animal wormers, vaccines etc. in the practice shop and when clients call to collect medicines etc. For these reasons all the Irish vet nursing courses cover farm animals as well as companion ones. Most students really enjoy their farm animal experience, even if it's not something they have had the chance to try previously or plan on specialising in.