Veterinary Webinurse Nurse Blog and FAQs

 

By Meg Richards RVN

It’s the worst part of the job right? But they don’t really tell you that when you sign up. They don’t tell you you’ll drive home crying over that patient you lost, or over that family who gave you a big hug and a thank you for taking care of their pet in those last moments. We know it comes with the job, but we don’t know what to expect. I think it’s something that isn’t really covered enough in the Veterinary Nurse course syllabus. Surely we should be taught extensively how to look after our clients, pets, ourselves and each other during some of the most emotional scenarios that our career presents?

As Veterinary Nurses, we may jump from a second vaccination for a gorgeous new puppy, to monitoring an anaesthetic for a cat spay, to restraining a patient for a blood sample, to taking a phone call from an aggressive client, to performing CPR on a crashing patient that you’ve co...

 

I have wanted to discuss this in a post for a while now. Unfortunately, there are many inflammatory posts circulating via social media that suggest charity veterinary practices use euthanasia in an “off the cuff” manner. I believe it would be beneficial to discuss some of the factors that are considered before a serious decision like euthanasia is made.

These are my own personal opinions that have been formed by working in a variety of environments and veterinary practices, in addition to knowledge I have obtained during my completion of the Level 3 Diploma in Veterinary Nursing and current studying of my BSc Top Up Degree in Veterinary Nursing. This is not to be perceived as veterinary advice nor is it to be interpreted as a replacement for any form of decision-making process. Each veterinarian will make their own decisions prior to undertaking or advising a treatment option including euthanasia.

Many veterinary charity organisati...