A deep dive into protecting the VN title

Alex Taylor is the current Senior Vice-President of the BVNA and is writing a guest blog for the RCVS on the organisation’s recent launch of a survey aimed at the veterinary professions to better gauge views on protection of the veterinary nurse title. A similar exercise is also being carried out with the public.

On 26 September 2022 the British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA) released a survey to gather views from the veterinary profession and the public about statutory protection of the title ‘veterinary nurse’, which is not currently protected by law. This means that despite registered veterinary nurses following a Code of Professional Conduct and being accountable for their own actions, anyone, regardless of their training or experience can call themselves a veterinary nurse, or be referred to as such.

This could have serious negative consequences for animal and public health, as well as the profession itself, where most veterinary nurses and other veterinary professionals believe protection of the title 'veterinary nurse’ is long overdue.

The 2019 RCVS Survey of the Veterinary Nursing Profession showed that the second most common reason for veterinary nurses planning to leave the profession was not feeling rewarded or valued, and whilst this may be multifactorial, not having our title protected plays a part here and affects the retention of veterinary nurses and the sustainability of the workforce.

History

In 2015 an online e-petition to Parliament and the UK Government was started by the RCVS and supported by the BVNA to try and gain enough signatures for protection of the title ‘veterinary nurse’ to be debated in Parliament. The petition achieved 36, 862 signatures, which was not enough to trigger a debate in Parliament, but a government response was issued in 2016 stating: ‘We recognise the important role that veterinary nurses have in animal care, but we do not recommend that Parliament should give legal protection to the title’.

The unintended consequence of an unsuccessful petition was that many veterinary nurses were left feeling disappointed and undervalued. However, the petition was important because it did raise awareness about the profession with the public, and also spark further conversations about statutory protection of the title from within the veterinary profession itself, where recognition and support from veterinary surgeons in particular was clear (and still is to this day).

Where are we now?

At almost 60 years old, the 1966 Veterinary Surgeons Act is outdated, with many parts not being fit for purpose or requiring modernisation. In 2017 the RCVS Legislative Working Party (LWP) was formed to review the Act and make recommendations for any necessary changes.

After several years of discussion changes to legislative reform were recommended by the RCVS Legislative Working Party and a consultation with the veterinary profession and the public was held. In 2021 statutory protection of the title ‘veterinary nurse’ was put forward to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) by the RCVS Council as part of a wider package of legislative change.

Several other recommendations affecting veterinary nurses were also put forward, including separating employment from delegation, extending the veterinary nurse’s role in anaesthesia, allowing veterinary nurses to undertake cat castrations and updating the disciplinary system.

Why survey now?

The aim of the BVNA survey is to really dig deep and find out what this means to veterinary nurses, the wider profession, and the public. Although change can take time, it is happening, but we need to produce evidence that will further support this change - filling in the survey will do just that. The need for statutory protection of the title has been recognised by the profession, representative associations, regulatory bodies and now the government, but this is not a quick process.

Selection of any new bills will go through an internal bidding process at the relevant government department before they are sent to the Cabinet office and then the Cabinet itself. Other pressing issues such as Brexit, the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis all take up Parliamentary time, in addition to this, we have another new government.

However, supporting these proposed changes with the views and information gathered from the ‘Protect the Title’ survey is vital, as it will highlight how important statutory protection of the title is to the veterinary nursing profession and clarify the public’s understanding and perception of the role of the veterinary nurse, as well as how it might affect themselves and their pets.

Protection of the title ‘veterinary nurse’ is essential now because it will help to protect the public, their pets and gives veterinary nurses the recognition they deserve #ProtectTheTitleVN