Equine Veterinary Nursing by Abigail Dowdy
There is so much more to being an equine nurse than just helping the vets! To highlight the importance of this role within veterinary practice, we have pulled some top tips from our own Registered Veterinary Nurses (RVNs) to share with readers. To find out more about building a veterinary nursing career, read on!
T
owcester Equine Vets is an RCVS Accredited Training Practice, training aspiring equine veterinary nurses to achieve their qualifications and join the RCVS Register of Veterinary
Nurses. It’s an exciting career path as every day is different. Not only will you be dealing with horses in the clinic, you will also be travelling to yards, helping to treat athletes and comforting four-legged best friends.
Once qualified, there are many different ways that veterinary nurses can help a veterinary practice to run efficiently and adhere to the highest clinical standards. Some of these are listed below:
l Complete x-ray studies under veterinary guidance: To assist busy vets in performance/lameness workups, oſten our RVNs will step in to acquire x-ray images of the suspected painful area. This requires a detailed knowledge of anatomy as well as a thorough understanding of how the images are produced to ensure nobody is put at risk from the radiation. The vet will then review these diagnostic images which will help guide appropriate treatment moving forward. l Surgery preparation: Prior to any surgical procedure taking place, the patient must be prepared. Not only will the nursing team prepare the patient by clipping, cleaning, bandaging and removing shoes, the RVN can also place a catheter into the vein for medication administration. These are sutured into place and provide direct access to the blood stream for the anaesthetist to keep the horse anaesthetised, as well as giving any medication required quickly throughout the procedure and during recovery. The preparation of patients for surgery requires a good understanding of hygiene practices and thorough anatomical knowledge combined with practical skill in order to place an intravenous catheter successfully. l Administration of medication: If horses need medication as part of their treatment, our RVNs can administer this intravenously (into the vein) either via a catheter or a needle or intramuscularly (into the muscle) via a needle. RVNs are not allowed to prescribe drugs so all drugs and dosages must be decided by a vet first. l Bandaging: RVNs are oſten excellent at bandaging thanks to the eye for detail and commitment to regular practice which is critical to the role. Bandages can be anything from a light covering to protect a small wound up to a Robert Jones Bandage which is a multi-layer bandage designed to immobilise the limb, oſten consisting of up to 10 layers! Inpatients with wounds or surgical sites require regular bandage changes so the RVN is essential in keeping the patient comfortable during recovery. l Laser: Our practice owns a grade 4 medical laser, a rehabilitative treatment option to aid soſt tissue healing. Once trained, our qualified equine veterinary nurses are able to carry out laser treatments which are oſten courses of 6-10 treatments. Depending on the patient, this can be completed in clinic or out at the yard. l Fluid monitoring: For any patients that are staying at the clinic on intravenous fluids, our nursing team will be on hand to monitor and change the fluid bags when necessary; essential when helping a poorly pony back to full health. This requires a good knowledge of the horse’s condition to know what signs of deterioration or improvement to look for in the patient, and maths skills in order to
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calculate the rate at which the fluid should be administered. l TPR checks: these are done at least twice daily on all inpatients to monitor their temperature, pulse and respiratory rate, these are reliable indicators of pain and deterioration or improvement in the patient’s condition. These checks enable the vet to assess whether the current treatment plan requires alteration or not. l Assisting in surgeries: RVNs ensure that surgeries run smoothly. From setting up theatre, preparing the patient, nursing during the procedure, recovery and beyond, our nursing team will be there to assist the surgeon. They may also be required to be ‘scrub in’, meaning that they are sterile and can hold/pass surgical equipment to be used and otherwise assist as required. l Nasogastric intubation: RVNs can place a tube through the nostrils and into the stomach, helping to flush horses with fluids; particularly useful when treating colic inpatients. This requires a detailed knowledge of horse anatomy combined with the practical skill of passing the tube. l Handling and riding horses: All patients require some form of handling for a veterinary procedure so an RVN must be proficient in handling a wide variety of different horses, from foals to thoroughbred racehorses! In a lameness examination the vet needs to see the patient trotted up, lunged and potentially ridden so veterinary nurses must be capable of basic equine groundwork. At both of our practices, our nursing team assist with these cases once their horse handling and riding ability has been assessed. Riding is not a pre-requisite and not every veterinary practice has the facility to provide a rider, but it allows us to offer our clients this additional service as required. l Inhouse laboratory: Our nursing team process samples in house; essential when results are time critical in determining the treatment options for patients. Some samples will also be prepared and sent off for external analysis, before reports are sent back. The nurses will then process this report for the treating vet to see so they can create a treatment plan in conjunction with the horse’s owner. l General Horse Care: Inpatients need to be mucked out, watered, fed, groomed and cuddled just like any other horse! Our nursing team manage this and will help to admit and discharge patients when they need veterinary care. They also keep the inpatient yards and boxes immaculate as well as all of the clinical spaces. l Supporting Owners: Veterinary nurses enter the profession as they have a genuine love for animals and want to provide care and support. l Cleaning and Sterilising Equipment: Our nursing team ensures that all the vet’s instruments are clean and sterile ready for the next procedure. l General cleaning: Our nursing team are not afraid to get their hands dirty and always muck in to ensure the clinics stay clean, tidy and well maintained.
Routes into Equine Veterinary Nursing
There are two routes to qualify as an Equine Veterinary Nurse. For the past few years the course was combined with small animal so
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