I began my career as an equine orthopaedic technician in 2009, just 9 years after the first equine veterinary nurses qualified. Since then, there have been huge changes to veterinary nursing as a whole, most notably with the Royal Charter in February 2015. More recently, the increased scope of the equine veterinary nursing role has been discussed in more depth, in order to maximise efficiency in practice and begin to tackle poor staff retention rates. With the British Veterinary Nursing Association's (2022) new bid to ‘Protect the Title’ also in full swing, this feels like a positive time to be working in our industry.
In 2017, just 5 years ago, UK-Vet Equine was launched as a separate title, providing a dedicated, evidence-based resource for the equine clinician. Since then, its target audience has increased to recognise the impact equine veterinary nurses and paraprofessionals have in practice. It now provides specific articles of interest to professionals in these roles, the overarching goal being to provide continuing professional development (CPD) for staff in all sectors of the veterinary profession, with a greater variety of evidence-based articles to enhance knowledge across the board.
But what else has changed in the equine nursing profession in the past 5 years? The VN Futures (2022a) project, launched in 2016, brought with it the development of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons accredited Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Nursing courses (Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, 2019), providing a clear path for those wishing to expand their knowledge, skills and qualifications. There is now a selection of courses for equine veterinary nurses, which may have seemed unfathomable just a few years ago.
More recently, the VN Futures (2022b) school ambassador scheme (2022b) is seeking to widen participation and increase awareness of the veterinary roles available to young people. Given how varied and exciting our role in practice is, this is a great way for us to step outside of practice for a moment, and remind ourselves how much we love our profession while inspiring future veterinary nurses.
The requirement for CPD has also changed over the last few years, with the change to 1CPD (Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, 2020) and the move away from the rolling 3-year period, and there have been more changes made to both further and higher education. City and Guilds diplomas in veterinary nursing are no longer registereing students, with Central Qualifications, Lantra and VetSkill currently providing the Level 3 Diploma in Equine Veterinary Nursing. There is now also a Bachelor of Sciences (level 6) option for equine veterinary nurses, providing variety to suit the learner and further improving the opportunities available for those joining the profession.
Additionally, this year has also seen the launch of the first British Equine Veterinary Association (2022) Veterinary Nurse Committee, with nine members appointed to share the voice of the equine veterinary nurse. The potential to further develop the equine veterinary nursing role is huge and the formation of this committee is a promising step on that ladder. Several members of the committee also presented at the British Veterinary Nursing Association Congress this year; it is reassuring to see sessions specifically aimed at equine veterinary nurses being provided at both at the British Veterinary Nursing Association and British Equine Veterinary Association Congress.
In light of these developments, it is worth considering what equine veterinary nursing might look like in the future. We are being inspired with ways to maximise our role and to work efficiently as part of the veterinary team; this may be enhanced with the options for career development presented by the Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Nursing courses. This can provide an opportunity to boost morale and job satisfaction, and begin to address and improve retention rates.
Alongside this, there is growing discussion around delegation and expanding opportunities for equine veterinary nurses to work under Schedule 3 (Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, 2022). This has historically been a challenge for veterinary nursing as a whole, and there may be lessons to learn from our colleagues in small animal practice here. There is also huge scope for equine veterinary nurses to be involved with and lead on clinical governance and quality improvement, from human factors to audits and beyond. Ultimately, the overarching aim of these initiatives is to improve outcomes for equine patients and their owners.
Equine nurses, and indeed all veterinary nurses, also have an important part to play in increasing inclusivity and diversity within our profession. There is a great opportunity to improve this across the sector and we must recognise that changes implemented to help one, help all.
Equine veterinary nursing is a relatively new profession, and while this can pose challenges, it brings with it the opportunity to have a say in how our profession grows and fulfils the needs of both the public and our patients, and perhaps also to tailor our careers in new ways.
Equine nurses work incredibly hard, with long hours in often hostile or at least inclement weather, and occasionally all we get for our troubles is the baring of teeth, or the swishing of an irritable tail from our patients. People may ask why we do what we do, but the clearest answer is because we love it! As such, we need to be better advocates for our profession, as no one else is going to do this on our behalf. We are typically even less represented than our colleagues in small animal practice, and that simply will not do. With more possibilities for advancement than ever before, we need to work together to raise our collective voice, have our say and strive for the progression and roles we want. After all, nurses are the backbone of the veterinary profession.