Dear Reader

We have yet another fantastic journal for you to read through this February.

The article written by Stephanie Almond makes for some interesting reading, on one way to help to reduce stress in our hospitalised patients. This is so important for maintaining welfare whilst providing much needed treatment. We write these editorials quite a bit in advance so I have just recently returned from London Vet Show where I got to hear Shakira Free Miles speak in the BVNA stream. Shakira spoke about dog bite prevention and stress, especially within the practice setting, this is a common cause for dogs to bite. Dog bites affect everyone from the person being bitten, the dog itself, the impact on the owners to the additional work for the NHS and potentially the police if it is serious. Shakira reminded us that is we, as Veterinary Nurses, who are among the biggest advocates for animal welfare, and if we are causing so much stress to our patients by being in the practice, are we truly promoting welfare? Of course, at times these patients require hospitalised care, so we must try to consider different approaches to reduce stress and pass this information on to our clients. Shakira also highlighted that for elective patients who are overwhelmed with stress, we have to consider if the procedure is really worth doing at this time. Is there an option to postpone and provide some positive experiences in the clinic first before returning for the procedure at a later date? This is something I can admit to not having thought about before, it takes someone passionate about a topic to educate us all and make us take that step back to think about our actions. We definitely all want hap-pier pets with happier visits to the vets!

A fast growing area of practice is laparoscopic ovariectomy in dogs. The article we have included for you in the issue discusses the equipment used, advantages to the procedure and the potential complications. We hope this will serve as a good introduction for those who have yet to use this equipment. After reading the article why not test your knowledge with our multiple choice questions afterwards? The answers can be found on the BVNA website.

We are always keen to champion and improve the role of the RVN within practice. We have included an article for you which considers the veterinary practice’s role in ensuring compliance to a treatment plan for dogs with insulin-deficient diabetes. The study recommends that staff promote the benefits provided by RVN consultations as they may decrease the client’s long-term financial burden. During a recent VN voice poll, we did find that RVNs were not very confident conducting these in-depth consultations. It would be great to see articles like this and other courses providing much needed CPD, increasing our confidence and consequently the use of RVN’s more in long term chronic disease management being championed.

I think this issue provides something for you all, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did. Whilst enjoying these articles you may find you have an area of particular interest and feel inspired to share this and your passion by writing your own article! If so, please get in contact with us and we can guide you through the process.

Author

Sam Morgan DipAVN (Med & Surg) RVN Senior Vice President and VNJ Executive Editor

VOL 33 • February 2018 • Veterinary Nursing Journal