Dear Reader

Welcome to the July edition of the VNJ. This year truly seems to have flown past for me so far and in the fast-paced world of Veterinary Practice and/or Veterinary Education we all need the occasional reminder to slow down. We can often be too busy and too focussed on what needs doing, and the ever growing to do list, to reflect on what has been achieved, and be present in the here and now. So, just a little reminder from me that it is so important to remain resilient whilst working in such a demanding sector, and to do this you have to look after yourselves, stay present, focus on the positives, maintain a work/life balance and look after the others in your team. Not an easy ask but some food for thought whilst you are drinking a beverage of your choice and embarking on this month’s journal.

Whilst reviewing the proofs this month, I have been struck by not only the increase in the number of reptile articles that we are publishing, but also how the standard of care has increased for these animals during my nursing career. Undoubtedly the standards of care are being driven by better education to increase knowledge and understanding, and the evaluation and sharing of evidence based information. These things are clearly showcased in Aneesa Malik and Kelly Deane’s articles this month and I found them an enjoyable and informative read despite my lack of background with these species.

The VNJ is proud to not just be a typical journal and to facilitate the highlighting of the varied roles and efforts of the Veterinary Nursing community in our feature articles. The Global Vet Nurse aka Daina Rawlings provides an interesting and inspiring insight into her commendable global volunteering efforts. If you know someone who could inspire the profession through what they do in Veterinary Nursing (not necessarily through volunteering), then we would love to feature them – we all need a little motivation every now and again and reading about what can be achieved in veterinary nursing can sometimes be just what is needed.

This issue of the VNJ also features an article on Hypophysectomy, a cutting-edge surgery technique, for cats with Acromegaly by Georgina Blackman. I truly love that the VNJ is encouraging nurses to share new techniques and technologies and expand a ‘never stop learning’ culture. A growth mind-set is so necessary in nursing and something that we need to work hard to nurture in our student population. It is this mind-set that allows us to look for new ways around a problem, to not give up on our goals when we can’t do something, or something doesn’t go as planned, and to reflect with a ‘course you can’ attitude rather than a ‘can’t do’ fixed mind set. We hope that the VNJ continues to inspire you and to stretch and develop your Nursing knowledge to help enable your growth mind-set.

As always, the team work hard to provide a variety of content to appeal to all our readers but, if there is something that you feel the VNJ is lacking or a topic that you would like to see covered in more depth then please get in touch. Better still, embrace your growth mind-set and consider writing it for us!

Author

Sam McMillan BSc(Hons) VTS(Anesthesia/Analgesia) DipAVN RVN

VOL 33 • July 2018 • Veterinary Nursing Journal