ABSTRACT: Veterinary nursing has dramatically advanced as a profession in its own right over the past few years (O’Dwyer, 2013). This should cause registered veterinary nurses to be treated as professional personnel, not only by colleagues but also by veterinary clients due to their professional status. The study intends to acquire the client’s perspective on what tasks a veterinary nurse can perform and what their personal opinion is of veterinary nurses. The subject chosen is designed to highlight the need for further client education and show “gaps” in current knowledge, provide more evidence for the need to protect the veterinary nurse title and in turn, increase job satisfaction among present and future veterinary nurses. The research completed is a prospective survey in the form of a questionnaire. Using SPSS as the statistical analysis tool, the association between the variables has been tested. The results showed there to be a statistical significance in the relationship between the participants’ age and their knowledge of tasks an RVN can legally perform. This indicates that age has an effect on the level of knowledge participants had about RVNs.

Author

Ashleigh Megan Elizabeth Bourne Bsc (Hons) RVN

Ashleigh is a recently qualified registered veterinary nurse who continued studying at the Royal Veterinary College to gain her BSc (Hons) degree in 2017. She has wanted to be a veterinary nurse since she was 7 and after her first day of work experience, she never looked back. Her main interests are in critical care, emergency nursing and radiography. She has recently qualified as a clinical coach and is really enjoying teaching and guiding student veterinary nurses.

Email: ash.bourne@talktalk.net

Keywords: Registered Veterinary Nurse; public perception; opinion; RVN

To cite this article: Veterinary Nursing Journal • VOL 33 (06) • June 2018 pp162-165

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