Our veterinary team brings a wealth of experience to the practice and have individually obtained exacting standards of professional qualifications.
An example is our dedicated nurses who can carry out minor surgery and procedures as well as delivering some medical treatment and tests.
Our nurses will remove sutures, change dressings, clip nails, empty anal glands and hold clinics for geriatric pets. They are highly trained and offer a wealth of friendly knowledge.
We have several nurses who are keen to help with any clients whose animals are overweight. They will advise on the best diet for your pet. Remember that an overweight animal can develop various conditions such as heart problems, diabetes and joint disease.
To book a nurse consultation call our surgery,
Our wonderful team of nurses also carry out nurse consultations. Nurse consultations are friendly, relaxed and have a personalised approach. The main aim is to improve welfare and to work with owners to offer advice and assistance.
Nurse’s can carry out consultations involving things such as:
And much more….
One of the roles of a Veterinary Nurse is Phlebotomy – Blood Taking!
This involves taking a blood sample from a patient from either a vein in the neck or from the patients front legs… Which nurses do multiple times a day!
Nurses are required to take a blood samples from patients either for pre – anaesthetic blood testing before a procedure or for routine profiles either run in-house or at the external laboratory!
This photo shows one of our nurses taking a blood sample from a patient who was advised a general blood test after a recently illness. He was a very good boy for his blood sample and was given cuddles after the blood sample was taken!
We all know that the veterinary surgeon performs the surgery, but what many people do not realise is that it is up to our dedicated nursing team to monitor your pets anaesthetic under the direction of the veterinary surgeon.
There are a few stages to any anaesthetic but the largest part is carried out once the vet induces the anaesthetic. At this point the nurse supports your pet, monitoring their response to the anaesthesia. Once your pet is asleep the vet or nurse will pass an endo-tracheal tube down the throat, which allows your pet to be given oxygen and anaesthetic gas, which will keep them asleep throughout the surgery.
At this point the nurse is responsible for monitoring:
Breathing
Heart Rate & Pulses
Eye Position (the position changes dependant on how asleep your pet is)
Monitor certain reflexes such as blink and jaw tone whilch gives information on your pets level of anaesthesia
The nurse will also use equipment which gives information such as oxygen levels in your pets blood, levels of carbon dioxide present in the breaths your pet breaths out, blood pressure levels, temperature to ensure your pet is a comfortable temperature and again so much more!
All this information is monitored, recorded and relayed to the veterinary surgeon. Dependant on this information the nurse will make alterations to the anaesthetic as needed, with consent from the vet. Sometimes other interventions will be required such as intravenous fluids or additional medication, this is something that the vet would delegate to the nurse to carry out.
X-Rays or Radiology allows the veterinary surgeon to see inside your pet’s body to assess their bones and organs for any issues or diseases. X-ray is a commonly used imaging technique within small animal practice, to provide veterinary surgeons with more diagnostic information about your pet.
Veterinary nurses…
Position patients for X-rays usually using wedges etc for support and restraint for the patient
Adjust the X-ray machine to get the area of interest into view, only the area of concern is X-rayed
Take the X-ray
Attach the diagnostic images to the patients file for the veterinary surgeon to view
Patients undergo a general anaesthetic or sedation for this procedure as it requires pets to remain still in different positions for us to take the X-ray. Which requires another member of the nursing team to monitor the patient throughout
We are lucky here at Tower to have our own blood machines enabling us to carry out some blood work in house.
Once a blood sample has been taken from a patient (by a vet or nurse) a nurse or vca will take the sample and process it efficiently through the machine, getting results for our vets as soon as possible.
Our nurses also test urine and examine samples from urine, ear swabs etc under the microscope and report the results to the vet. This is very important as there are a variety of bacteria, parasites, urinary crystals etc that could be seen under a microscope, which will help the veterinary surgeon determine the best course of treatment.
Dental Health & Hygeine
Dental health is extremely important for our pets, in practice we routinely see pets for dental treatment. The nurse’s scale and polish the teeth, which removes the tartar and plaque from the teeth then polish them to make them sparkle. Once this has been done by the nurse the veterinary surgeon can then investigate the teeth clearer for potential problems such as potential extractions, gum disease etc.
Bandaging & Wound Care
Some of the pets we see within practice require wound care either from an injury or post operatively. Veterinary nurses provide owners with wound care advice and carry out bandage changes on a regular basis.
Bandaging may seem simple enough but there is a technique to applying each layer correctly, which will provide support and aid healing without causing further complications from slipping etc.
Microchipping
Microchipping is an important part of owning a pet, ensuring pets are reunited with their owners as soon as possible.
Our veterinary nurses routinely place microchips which are placed in the loose skin between the shoulder blades of you pet. Microchipping is legal requirement for dogs and soon will be the case for cats too!
Scrub Nurse
Another role the veterinary nurse undertakes is a scrub nurse, which assists the veterinary surgeon and anaesthesiologist prepare patients for surgery. This includes clipping the patient hair, cleaning the patient, ensure the operation site is sterile and hand sterilised instruments and equipment to the veterinary surgeon in order for them so start the patients procedure.
In some cases the veterinary surgeon may ask for the veterinary nurse to scrub into a surgery to assist, acting as another pair of hands for the veterinary surgeon holding certain equipment etc.
Intravenous Catheter
When your pet is admitted to the practice, they will be placed with an intravenous catheter. This involves clipping a small patch of hair on their front legs, or ear if they are a small furry! This allows our team to administer medication and give intravenous fluids if required.
This is something our team of nurses carry out multiple times a day, with the help of another nurse or veterinary care assistant to give your pet a nice snuggle whilst they are brave.
Pharmacy
As part of the nurses role they routinely calculate drug doses for patients alongside the veterinary surgeon for procedures, administer medication and also prepare and dispense medication that the veterinary surgeon has prescribed.
Schedule 3 Procedures
Registered Veterinary Nurse’s not only can assist the vets in surgeries, they can also perform many minor surgical procedures themselves, as well as many non-surgical procedures!
Procedures which RVN’s can undertake are called schedule 3 procedures, which involves things like… suturing, placing urinary catheters, placing surgical drains, biopsy lumps and remove skin lumps.
Inpatient Care/Hospitalisation
Each day one of our dedicated nurses is assigned to inpatient care, ensuring all patients get the attention and care required throughout their stay.
They monitor….
All of this information is recorded so that they veterinary surgeon can review the patients progress throughout the day.
Most of all the inpatient nurses provide reassurance to pets away from their family and provides extra snuggles.
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