JMICAWE Release of Vet Nursing Skills Resource!

A free online resource has been launched by the University of Edinburgh to mark Veterinary Nurses Day on Friday the 9th October.

Veterinary Nursing Skills provides vital insights into the principles and practice of nursing dogs and cats in a clinic setting. Content is provided by the Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education (JMICAWE) at the University’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies.

The new resource, which is aimed at qualified and student veterinary nurses, will provide fresh perspectives on the interactions between nursing care, animal health and patient behaviour. Its content – also a valuable teaching tool for vet nursing lecturers – will highlight how focusing on these vital overlaps can improve patient welfare and clinical outcomes. Vet technicians and veterinary assistants are also expected to benefit from the new material, which includes video tutorials, downloadable fact sheets and interactive quizzes. Topics covered include clinical skills, patient handling and behaviour, wound management and bandaging, animal welfare and inpatient care. Registration is free via the University website. 

Demand for the resource has never been greater. There are some 15,000 registered veterinary nurses in the UK alone and an estimated 400 million cats and 500 million dogs worldwide. The Royal (Dick) School’s Welfare and Anaesthesia Nurse Hayley Walters, who teaches final year vet students, said the role of the veterinary nurse is being increasingly recognised. Ms Walters said the module was an attempt to address the fact that not all para-veterinary professionals have access to the same professional training resources.

This new resource aims to support vet nurses in providing the best clinical care and welfare for their patients no matter where in the world they work.

Knowledge and compassionate veterinary nurses improve patient welfare, so we want to share some of our educational and animal welfare expertise with a global audience, this new resource will help to promote the role of the veterinary nurse as a para-professional who is an essential part of the veterinary team.

Hayley WaltersJMICAWE Welfare and Anaesthesia Nurse

Summer School is here

It's that time of year again - the annual R(D)SVS 3 weeks international summer school which focuses on the veterinary medical experience, specifically to our international partner institutions.

This year the group visiting comprised of 12 Undergraduate veterinary medical students ranging from 1^st-4^th year all coming from China Agricultural College (CAU) which Jess (Veterinary Nurse) had the pleasure of visiting with Cathy Dwyer (Director) in 2017.

Jess gave a talk about behaviours recognitions of dogs and cats and what we can do to improve their experience in the clinic through appropriate handling. Then we went in to the clinical skills lab to practice low stress handling on the models (shown in the photo on the left), we have available for student teaching, before moving on to discuss the behaviour of resident Labrador Seil and how we would remove her form her kennel safely. There was much hilarity when Seil decided to show off her agility skills and jump on the table to wait for her treat!

The student group will be moving on to spend time in the hospital for small animals (HfSA) next week and Jess will be responsible for showing them around the anaesthesia area and discussing inpatient management for two days.