vet techs using the term nurse

SmilingBluEyes · Jan 4, 2003

So, the majority of animal abuse such as this is committed by RN's? Just curious, I cannot imagine an RN being so stupid and abusive! Before I forget, do you recommend PET INSURANCE? does your office accept any of it? JUST CURIOUS! thinking of insuring my 2 year old GOLDEN while she is young and healthy.

911fltrn · Jan 4, 2003

Wow, Im way late in this post. Call yourself a nurse. Against the law in every state i know of! Unless you have gone to school to be an a l.v.n or r.n.

RN2B2005 · Jan 4, 2003

Nah, the most difficult owners--'difficult' not being equal to 'abusive'--are definitely those guys with Ph.D.'s in, say, English, who try to intimidate the veterinarian by identifying themselves as 'Doctor'. Chiropractors (and other pseudo-physicians) also have a tendency to do this--calling up and saying "This is Doctor So-and-So....". No different than in human medicine. :rolleyes:

The R.N.'s and M.D.'s who try to expand the scope of their practise into veterinary medicine tend to be those whom, I would guess, do not themselves represent the best and brightest of their professions. Most R.N.'s and M.D.'s make fabulous clients--they understand what we're doing, and why, and they understand why it costs what it does.

The problem is, when an R.N. or M.D. decides to attempt home veterinary practise, they tend to have more supplies (IV caths, meds, fluids) at their disposal and thus can wreak more damage on their pet before bringing it in for proper care.

ANYHOW! Enough of this thread for me. When I graduate from nursing school, I'll call myself a nurse. I won't worry about whether calling someone a "veterinary nurse" diminishes the RN licensure, the graduate degree or the nursing profession, because I know that licenced veterinary technicians are proud of their profession, and because I know that NOBODY is dumb enough to confuse an L.V.T. wrestling a Rottweiler with an R.N. cradling a newborn. I WILL worry about cheap-a$$ hospitals and doctors who call any breathing body in scrubs a "nurse".

SmilingBlu, check your PM's re of pet insurance.

RN2B2005 · Jan 4, 2003

Oh, and to CLARIFY...I have NEVER known ANY licenced veterinary technician to call herself a 'nurse' without the modifier--and the MODIFIER in this instance, for those who are grammatically impaired and/or insecure about their position in life, is the word 'veterinary'. That would just be stupidness.

Susan, read the WHOLE thread before "tsk, tsk"-ing me. :rolleyes:The point of the thread is, the term 'veterinary nurse' is a PHRASE (not a single word) used to identify veterinary assistive personnel who have completed a certain set of national licensing exams and boards and who meet certain standards imposed by the North American Veterinary Technician Association. I called myself a 'veterinary technician', as do most vet techs here in the States, but the PHRASE 'veterinary nurse' is considered INTERCHANGEABLE with the former and in fact appears on some state and provincial licences, as in "Jane So-And-So, Registered Veterinary Nurse". The point of the thread is, there is no cohesive identification for licenced veterinary technicians as there is for registered nurses.

And yes, I know that identifying oneself as an R.N. or L.P.N. or 'nurse' (as a single word) without actually being an R.N. or L.P.N. is fraud. Duh. I work in HUMAN medicine now, and I certainly don't consider myself or refer to myself as a 'nurse'--and I won't until I have the A.D.N. degree in one hand and the R.N. licence in the other.

**SKM-NURSIEPOOH, BSN, RN** · Jan 4, 2003

originally posted by rn2b2005
oh, and to clarify...i have never known any licensed veterinary technician to call herself a 'nurse' without the modifier--and the modifier in this instance, for those who are grammatically impaired and/or insecure about their position in life, is the word 'veterinary'. that would just be stupidness.

susan, read the whole thread before "tsk, tsk"-ing me. :rolleyes:the point of the thread is, the term 'veterinary nurse' is a phrase (not a single word) used to identify veterinary assistive personnel who have completed a certain set of national licensing exams and boards and who meet certain standards imposed by the north american veterinary technician association. i called myself a 'veterinary technician', as do most vet techs here in the states, but the phrase 'veterinary nurse' is considered interchangeable with the former and in fact appears on some state and provincial licenses, as in "jane so-and-so, registered veterinary nurse". the point of the thread is, there is no cohesive identification for licensed veterinary technicians as there is for registered nurses.

and yes, i know that identifying oneself as an r.n. or l.p.n. or 'nurse' (as a single word) without actually being an r.n. or l.p.n. is fraud. duh. i work in human medicine now, and i certainly don't consider myself or refer to myself as a 'nurse'--and i won't until i have the a.d.n. degree in one hand and the r.n. license in the other.

i think you've made your point about the *veterinary* being the qualifier for the title of veterinary nurse...whether registered veterinary nurse or licensed veterinary nurse...i think the general public would understand & *know* the difference between nurses & veterinary nurses :rolleyes:

...they aren't *that* far gone...yet :mad:

!

but i guess it's *o.k.* to place dozens of other qualifiers in front of the title tech (surgical, respiratory, physical/occupational, patient care, etc)...no one seem to mind that though . why??? because...what...techs aren't seen as valuable or educated as nurses???....this should be a no brain-er here...hell, why the title: cna has the nurse as part of it & *they* are not licensed nurses....man this sounds like another case of superiority (i'm better than you because i'm a nurse & you're just a tech) again :angryfire! it seems that nurses that have a problem with the concept of the title nurse being used with the veterinary qualifier must feel threaten in some way...sounds like insecurity to me....i can't understand why they would feel insecure though...this *is* two different field of practice...like vets & dos/mds have very different philosophies & scopes of practice. christ...if veterinarians are docs & the ama have no problems with *them* using the title (dr.)...as long as they (the vets) don't practice medicine on humans...why can't the title veterinary nurse be used with the same stipulation??? if states *are* now applying the title of veterinary nurse with certification/licenses after individuals have *satisfied* all required didactic & clinical education/hours at *accredited* colleges/universities....& of course they pass all written state exams....what's the big deal with awarding the title veterinary nurse :confused: ???

why are nurses so threatened with this??? can anyone justify this question without coming-off sounding superior to, dismissing of, looking down on, or disrespecting veterinary techs/nurses??? just a thought~

cheers!

moe

RNFROG3, BSN, RN · Jan 4, 2003

I have to agree with Deb & opalm here.Every profession has highly trained individuals who deserve respect. Anyone who has to deal with the public for clients deserves respect-even cashiers at the the grocery store, but I wouldn't call them nurses. Be proud of whatever title your job or degree gives you and act professional- then some of the time some of the public (on a good day) might give you the respect you are due. But don't count on it. Joe public have their own agenda. I'm proud to be a nurse and I know I value and respect what vet techs do cuz I know fer sure I can in no way shape or form do that job. (to much empathy for the animal and anger with the folks that own irresponsibly! Thank you for what you do now and welcome and goodluck to your choice to go into nursing.

fab4fan · Jan 4, 2003

The post about RN's treating animals made me think of something that happened to me a few years ag

fab4fan · Jan 4, 2003

The post about RN's treating animals made me think of something that happened to me a few years ago.

My cat got sick and needed to stay overnight at the animal hosp. for s.c. IV's. The next day, the vet offered me the option of taking him home and doing the last day of infusions myself because I was a nurse (not my idea...his).

I figured, "Well, I guess it won't be that hard to manage." After all, he was still a little slow from being sick.

Ha ha ha. Fifteen minutes later, blood dripping everywhere (mine, not his), I decided I would much rather put an IV in a 2y old than an elderly cat. He seemed to have 16 paws, five heads, and for a cat that had several teeth extracted, plenty of teeth left over.

I called the vet and said, "If he can fight me that hard, then I think it probably won't kill him to skip the last day of infusions."

The vet agreed, and eventually my cat and I were on speaking terms again.

(Sorry about that messed up post!)

Q. · Jan 4, 2003

Originally posted by RN2B2005
The problem is, when an R.N. or M.D. decides to attempt home veterinary practise, they tend to have more supplies (IV caths, meds, fluids) at their disposal and thus can wreak more damage on their pet before bringing it in for proper care.

Your story was heart-breaking and to say the least, shocking. I couldn't tell in your response if you answered Deb's question on if this is a "general rule" or not.

The only thing is I don't have IV supplies at home and I don't know many RNs who do and it's pretty hard to leave work with tubing, a couple liters of fluid and some catheters without at least being looked at funny. I'd imagine if ANY nurse is stealing supplies like this, most likely he/she is questionable to begin with.

sbic56, BSN, RN · Jan 4, 2003

I already posted my thoughts on this on the other thread, but I have to say that to call those who want to call themselves veterinary nurses fraudulent or even worse, CRIMINAL is just plain ridiculous at best. The definition of a nurse according to dictionary.com:

A person educated and trained to care for the sick or disabled.

It says absolutely nothing to indicate the term is privvy to the care of humans. As RN2B2005 states, the modifier qualifies what type of nurse is being referenced.

SmilingBluEyes · Jan 4, 2003

originally posted by skm-nursiepooh
?

why are nurses so threatened with this??? can anyone justify this question without coming-off sounding superior to, dismissing of, looking down on, or disrespecting veterinary techs/nurses??? just a thought~

cheers!
moe

i tried. i do not believe i have justified my opinions with any air of superiority, rather i have told the techs to be proud of their job, title and what they do. if i have come across as having a superior attitude to anyone on this thread, esp. the techs, i am sorry. like i said, i believe i did justify my point, several times in my posts, so it' moot to re-state what is already said. my feelings are unchanged, but i do have a much clearer picture of what techs do and their struggles. we all have them, i guess. that much, i am glad for; i am always willing to listen to opposing views and learn from the others here. g'day you all.

SmilingBluEyes · Jan 4, 2003

Originally posted by fab4fan
The post about RN's treating animals made me think of something that happened to me a few years ago.

My cat got sick and needed to stay overnight at the animal hosp. for s.c. IV's. The next day, the vet offered me the option of taking him home and doing the last day of infusions myself because I was a nurse (not my idea...his).

I figured, "Well, I guess it won't be that hard to manage." After all, he was still a little slow from being sick.

Ha ha ha. Fifteen minutes later, blood dripping everywhere (mine, not his), I decided I would much rather put an IV in a 2y old than an elderly cat. He seemed to have 16 paws, five heads, and for a cat that had several teeth extracted, plenty of teeth left over.
I called the vet and said, "If he can fight me that hard, then I think it probably won't kill him to skip the last day of infusions."

The vet agreed, and eventually my cat and I were on speaking terms again.

(Sorry about that messed up post!)

TOO FRIGGIN FUNNY! THanks for that shot of humor..I love it!