the term "animal nurse"

Ortho_RN · Apr 8, 2004

Just to add.......I have researched vet tech and even applied to a program near me. I wanted to do it because it is less stressful than nursing, less technical, and better hours. I know in England they do call vet techs "vet nurses". Just the way they do it I guess. But I do think that nursing is much harder than vet tech. Some days I wonder why I am still in nursing school and not playing with puppies all day?????

Less technical??? I think you need to research a lil more.... Also the statement about playing with puppies all day is part of the reason techs are so bitter.. Thats like saying you wipe butts all day!!! Much more to the job than just playing with the puppies...

And yeah in England they are called Veterinary Nurses.... They don't seem to have an issue with it over there... Why should we over here...

imenid37 · Apr 8, 2004

I have less of a problem w/ people who call themselves veterinary nurses, than the MA I took care of last week who told me she was dr so and so's "nurse". At least the RVT's are educated in both a clinical and scientifically based curriculum and posess a specific defined body of knowledge, rather than doing things like billing, receptionist, and learning how to give shots or draw blood from dr. so and so. AND WORST OF ALL...people think that they really are a nurse-for humans and they offer advice (often ill-informed or lacking depth) which people think they are getting from a "real" nurse. IF vet techs were to call themselves veterinary nurses, would people not think of them in the same way they think of the veteranarians as an "animal doctor." That doesn't seem to threaten human doctors or cause confusion. It certainly doesn't cause the same type of confusion as when MA's, receptionists, CNA's or whatevers try to pass themselves off as human nurses. As for those vet techs on the bord, yeah they were rather rude. There are people like that in every profession. here's two good links about the topic. http://www.bvna.org.uk/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onelife/work/what_job/animal_nurse.shtml

Fuzzy · Apr 9, 2004

Maybe this is the title that I'm most familar with since I 've been a vet. tech. for nearly 13 years. To me "nurse" implies that I heal people in the human medical field. "Vet tech" means that I heal animals and many times people in the veterinary field. Although a veterinarian may be referred to as a doctor in the barn or exam room, S/he is still referred as the vet. when someone is called with an animal problem. My duties are similar to nurses as many of my nurse clients tell me. Clients are the owners-animals are the patients in this profession. My main focus is on patient care and client education. Client education ranges from the care of young animal's :) to sitting with clients after a precious member of their household has passed away. :crying2: Patient care includes everything from keeping the patient clean, dry, and comfortable to more technical tasks such as radiology, ultrasoundgraphy, laboratory, and yes anesthesia. Like your profession of human nursing, compassion and empathy are a huge part of my job. Many times I go home sad, beat, physically and mentally exhausted. However, more times I go home happy elated and proud because I have made a difference in someone's life. This could be the 10 year old with the guina pig that had diet questions (they need Vit C or they get scurvy) to the grizzled rancher whose colicy horse survived the night. I work in a mixed practice where we see everything. This makes this profession very challenging at times.

As far as nurses and other people in the human medical field being ignorant owners or hard to work with, I have not found that as a rule at all. Sure there are some memorable moments like the M.D. who gave lamictal to his dog for siezures. :uhoh21: Lamictal is toxic to dogs but the M.D. didn't know that. He figured that it worked well in people so.... Likewise if I get stepped on by a horse, I'm not going to put a cast on my busted foot although I apply casts to animals at the vet's direction as part of my duties.

I tried to give this answer to those people who posted on live community but was locked out because I wasn't a friend of the poster. All I can say is that with friends like that who needs enemies. :angryfire

The veterinary technlogy field is quite young when compared to the nursing field. I hope that we can grow into a proud profession just as you nurses have. We still have a long way to go.

I'm proud to be a vet. tech. :specs:

telenurse04 · Apr 9, 2004

Yes, I agree these individuals are ignorant. First, nurses can independently draw blood as all us nurses know. I think if these tech people want to be called nurses then they should develop their profession and get a name like "veternary nurse" VN. After the intensive schooling we nurses go through, take a state boards exam, and keep up on continuing education that we should not let "techs taking care of pets" use our professional name-nurse. To me, that would be like someone calling themselves Doctor when they don't have an MD or phD. We already have enough trouble trying to educate people on the education and professionalism of nurses much less let people call themselves nurses when they are not. Nursing education is too confusing to lay-people as it is.

I wish I could have accessed that forum to educate these people. But, I have a feeling they wouldn't be open to becomming educated.

telenurse04 · Apr 9, 2004

What is the education of "vet tech"? My nursing professor explained yesterday that for the federal goverment to recognize as someone as a professional, they have to have a bachelors degree at the very least. That does not make sense when ADN nurses can be RN's. Also, my mom (non-nursing person) is a professional..but she never went to college. So I think that is a weird definition of professional.

But, I agree that BSN nurses are better prepared to take care of groups of people and society than ADN nurses therefore they are better prepared and more professional. I am certainly NOT knocking ADN programs. I was an ADN graduate. However, in my RN-BSN program we are learning about legislative issues in health care, how to change policies, what nurse managers and administrators do, what nursing reserach is about..none of that I learned in my ADN program. If I didn't go through the RN-BSN program, I would be lost when it comes to issues beyond the bedside care of my patient. If nurses want to be empowered to take control of their work, they need to know about the larger picture. Devils advocate...sure if you are an ADN graduate and you work for years and years..you'll eventually pick up on some political savvyness and maybe even be offered education on reserach and do your own reserach through your employer.

orrnlori, RN · Apr 9, 2004

Yes, I've taken those "advanced" BSN classes that teach you all that ideal information about making changes to the healthcare system. I hate to inform you that it doesn't matter what your bachelor's level nursing instructor teaches, you're still going to deal with the same administration that's going to tell you no or worse yet, not even addresss your nursely concerns that you have been taught so carefully by your nursing instructor. That's another fallacy of nursing education (kind of like those infamous care plans you suffer over during the first years in school). It's a business first and it doesn't matter if you have a master's degree in nursing, if they don't want to listen they won't.

I could care less if those who take care of my scotties when needed refer to themselves as vet nurses. I hope they do a great job. As far as the poster's on the other board, they obviously know not of where they speak. So what else in new :rotfl: ?

SmilingBluEyes · Apr 9, 2004

But, I agree that BSN nurses are better prepared to take care of groups of people and society than ADN nurses therefore they are better prepared and more professional. I am certainly NOT knocking ADN programs. I was an ADN graduate. However, in my RN-BSN program we are learning about legislative issues in health care, how to change policies, what nurse managers and administrators do, what nursing reserach is about..none of that I learned in my ADN program. If I didn't go through the RN-BSN program, I would be lost when it comes to issues beyond the bedside care of my patient. If nurses want to be empowered to take control of their work, they need to know about the larger picture. Devils advocate...sure if you are an ADN graduate and you work for years and years..you'll eventually pick up on some political savvyness and maybe even be offered education on reserach and do your own reserach through your employer.

I am sorry ----But you post has really touched on nerves w/me today.

You are being fed the same propoganda my first RN-BSN program fed me, day in and out. I don't want to go onto a huge ADN/BSN debate but let me say--- use your critical thinking and realize the stuff you being told and why it is in the universities' best interests to say these things!

BSN's are NOT prepared better to take care of people! Think about that before you say it. Their education is does NOT make them better able to care for people or be better nurses--- it makes them more eligible to advance in management and other areas. LORD, I hate when people buy into these things self-serving universities feed them. Go to any floor, watch the nurses at work and without knowing more about them, point out the BSN versus the ADN nurse. Good luck!

And you think ADN's have no POLITICAL SAVVINESS---- REALLY?????

How long HAVE you been a nurse? Are you a member of ANY professional organization like I AM? DO YOU VOTE ? Are you politically active? DO YOU SUBSCRIBE TO PROFESSIONAL JOURNALS? IF SO, guess what, you CAN be politically-savvy with "just" an ADN!

PLEASE THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK! This post was highly insulting to those of us who are ADN's and CAN think for ourselves. I am working on a BSN myself (scenic route to say the least), but I would NEVER make statements like you are. I guess I can see clearly what many universities are trying to do. Talk about politics at its finest. I know better. Don't let university indoctrination and brainwashing prevent you from seeking a REAL education out there. :uhoh3:

orrnlori, RN · Apr 9, 2004

I am sorry ----But you post has really touched on nerves w/me today.
You are being fed the same propoganda my first RN-BSN program fed me, day in and out. I don't want to go onto a huge ADN/BSN debate but let me say--- use your critical thinking and realize the stuff you being told and why it is in the universities' best interests to say these things!
BSN's are NOT prepared better to take care of people! Think about that before you say it. Their education is does NOT make them better able to care for people or be better nurses--- it makes them more eligible to advance in management and other areas. LORD, I hate when people buy into these things self-serving universities feed them. Go to any floor, watch the nurses at work and without knowing more about them, point out the BSN versus the ADN nurse. Good luck!
And you think ADN's have no POLITICAL SAVVINESS---- REALLY?????
How long HAVE you been a nurse? Are you a member of ANY professional organization like I AM? DO YOU VOTE ? Are you politically active? DO YOU SUBSCRIBE TO PROFESSIONAL JOURNALS? IF SO, guess what, you CAN be politically-savvy with "just" an ADN!
PLEASE THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK! This post was highly insulting to those of us who are ADN's and CAN think for ourselves. I am working on a BSN myself (scenic route to say the least), but I would NEVER make statements like you are. I guess I can see clearly what many universities are trying to do. Talk about politics at its finest. I know better. Don't let university indoctrination and brainwashing prevent you from seeking a REAL education out there.

You are soooooooo right.

SmilingBluEyes · Apr 9, 2004

To me, that would be like someone calling themselves Doctor when they don't have an MD or phD.
.

They ARE: HOW about D.C. and D.O. And D.D.S. and D.V.M. to name a few----they are ALL called "doctor" and NO ONE GETS CONFUSED I know of.

SmilingBluEyes · Apr 9, 2004

I have vehemently defended the name "nurse" for human nursing only. I have rethought my position since then. I think the term "veterinary nurse" would be fine-----with some of the stipulations others have already mentioned. Board certification and consistency of education and preparation seem reasonable to me. Why NOT? IF they get degrees and pass certs and are competent as such then to me, they will have earned that title as much as an LPN or RN has in similar fashion. Why not V.N.? I think they will have earned it.

Ortho_RN · Apr 9, 2004

I have vehemently defended the name "nurse" for human nursing only. I have rethought my position since then. I think the term "veterinary nurse" would be fine-----with some of the stipulations others have already mentioned. Board certification and consistency of education and preparation seem reasonable to me. Why NOT? IF they get degrees and pass certs and are competent as such then to me, they will have earned that title as much as an LPN or RN has in similar fashion. Why not V.N.? I think they will have earned it.

THANK YOU!!!

The sad thing is about the Vet Tech field is that it is so not regulated. Veterinarians can get away with hiring someone with no animal experiance and train them to do Tech work... But most do go to school and get an Associates in Veterinary Technology, have to take State and Local Exam to become Certified/Registered/Licensed and have to have CE hours to maintain their license... So they actually do go through the same thing as human nurses... How can anyone get "Veterinary Nurse=VN" Confused with Registered Nurse=RN... Seems quite impossible to me..

And honestly if they were called VN and they ALL had to go through schooling I would feel much better about them caring for my furrbabies,, than if they were just on the job trained... Wouldn't you??

Gompers, BSN, RN · Apr 9, 2004

On a side note, I think you all should be aware of a "hot topic" in vet med currently - the use of yearly vaccinations for dogs and cats. Multiple studies have shown that immunizations given in the puppy or kitten series have long lasting immunity, and annual vaccinations are not necessary. There are also negative side effects from all this over-vaccination, namely, vaccination-induced sarcomas in cats, and hemolytic anemias in dogs, caused by immune hyperstimulation.

Thanks for the heads-up! Our cats have always been strays that "found" us and basically invited themselves into our lives. Once tamed, we take them in for neutering, initial bloodwork, and vaccines...and that's it. Of course if they're sick or hurt we take them in, but we've refused yearly vaccines and all of our cats have lived to at least 12-13 years. Pretty good for indoor/outdoor cats that like to eat mice and fight with the neighborhood animals. I do love most of the vets at our animal hospital. One of our cats has FIV and many people were telling us to put him down, because he'd die anyway and probably infect our other cats. Every one of those vets told us that was nonsense and that if we wanted him put down, they'd refuse and take him to be adopted instead. We didn't have a problem with his FIV status, and in the 5 years we've had him none of our others are infected. (He, of course gets some nasty infections and needs ABX at least once a year, but this might happen anyway because he's a tomcat who loves to fight.)

This whole thread is just very interesting!