Project launches webinar series on the value of veterinary nursing

The VN Futures project will be holding a series of three webinars this year addressing issues around recognising the value of veterinary nurses’ work, including maximising the potential of veterinary nurses and leadership opportunities within the profession.

The lunchtime webinars will be delivered between February and June 2020 via the Webinar Vet and were developed by the VN Futures Career Progression Working Group, one of the working groups set up following the publication of the joint Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA) VN Futures Report and Action Plan. This group was set up specifically to look at actions around developing more structured and rewarding career paths for veterinary nurses.

We encourage nurses, vets, practice managers and owners to attend these webinars as they address topics that will benefit the whole practice team.

All three webinars take place at 12.30pm and will last one hour. They are as follows:

• Tuesday 4 February 2020 – ‘Maximising the potential of the veterinary nurse’ presented by Louise Northway RVN, BVNA Council member and recipient of the RCVS Inspiration Award. The webinar will give an overview of the role of veterinary nurses under Schedule 3 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act, how VNs can develop their role in practice and take on extra responsibilities and how VNs can approach these conversations in practice through the creation of learning and development plans. This webinar will illustrate how fully utilising the nursing team not only hugely boosts the morale of the work force, but also enhances patient care and increases the efficiency of the business.
• Tuesday 10 March 2020 – ‘Veterinary nurses’ time is valuable: How and why to charge for it’ presented by Stephanie Writer-Davies MRCVS, Career Progression Working Group member. This webinar will provide examples and case studies of how veterinary nurses contribute to practice finances, how practice pricing structures can be developed so that the financial value of veterinary nurses’ time and effort can be better highlighted, and how veterinary nurses can demonstrate their value to clients.
• Tuesday 23 June 2020 – ‘Lead or Head RVN: What’s in a name?’ presented by Gillian Page RVN, President of the Veterinary Management Group. This webinar will look at the role of the traditional Head RVN and how development of ‘Lead RVNs’ in different areas of practice can help to allow for growth of other talented team members and provide increased and shared responsibility and progression. This webinar will explore how this enhances practice efficiency alongside development of team members, thus increasing job satisfaction and, ultimately, retention.

Racheal Marshall, Chair of RCVS Veterinary Nurses Council and the VN Futures Board, said: “We hope that veterinary nurses will engage with these webinars in order to gain some inspiration about how they can truly show their value to their team, their clients and the wider public.

"The VN Futures research clearly demonstrated that there was a desire from the veterinary nursing profession to find ways in which VNs could gain greater recognition for the work they do and progress in their careers. These webinars, and our talented presenters, will provide many practical examples and case studies on how this can be done, help build confidence and highlight opportunities for further learning and development.”

To sign up to the free webinars visit the Webinar Vet website.