Dear Reader

It’s official – Spring is here! By the law of averages we have the delights of a Summer of fair weather and al fresco events to look forward to. Admittedly there is the looming iceberg of the World Cup lurking just over the horizon but with a bit of skilful manoeuvring we may manage to avoid it!

I am sure that you are also eagerly anticipating the forthcoming election which I gather should come our way in May, I am a fervent supporter of the right to vote but consider that it is also a responsibility for each individual who has a mandate to do so and will bend ears whenever I get the opportunity regarding the need for people to ‘stand up and be counted.’ I will admit that it has become increasingly difficult to decide who to vote for and the oft heard phase they are all as bad as each other is one that I cannot argue wholeheartedly against. Having said that, politics is not just about Westminster as anyone who has protested against a proposed new development, be it a by-pass or a new Tesco’s, will know. Representation of the interests of a group is an indispensable feature of any community and the veterinary community is no exception. How many of you have seen the petition to protect the title veterinary nurse on the Vetnurse.co.uk website? Some of you may even have signed it. Readers of Nursing Times may have come across reference to a lobby who want the title nurse to be restricted to ‘human-centred’ nurses only – a wish that is highly unlikely to be fulfilled as, to quote an authority on the subject, once the genie has been let out of the bottle it would prove almost impossible to return it, and we are all aware of the ongoing debate regarding the future role and regulation of RVNs. So whilst you may not consider it too important to vote in the national elections I would urge you to think about supporting your representative organisation the BVNA! The nomination period for Council closes at the end of the month and if you are toying with the idea of standing for Council you will find the form in last month’s VNJ. If you don’t want to go that far you have the opportunity to make your views known by completing the two surveys in this month’s issue, the readership survey will enable us to tailor the content of future VNJs to suit your requirements whilst the wages survey will provide a current snapshot of remuneration for veterinary nurses and support staff.

This month’s bumper VNJ contains a wide spectrum of articles from a comprehensive introduction to the issue of animal welfare by Angela Wright to consideration of a range of diseases from dermatitis to anal glands. Nursing care of both the adrenalectomy and the cruciate patient is discussed by Claire Bloor and Laura Daniels respectively. With Rabbit Awareness Week at the end of the month we have not forgotten to include consideration of things lagomorpha including a fact file on the Hare. These fascinating animals can be seen on their hind legs boxing with each other at this time of year if you are lucky!

Wishing you a happy Easter and all the chocolate you can eat if that is your wish!

Author

Sue Badger MEd CertEd VN Executive Editor

• VOL 25 • No4 • April 2010 • Veterinary Nursing Journal