The importance of Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month

What is VNAM?

The purpose of VNAM is to celebrate all things veterinary nurse (VN). We often feel overlooked and underappreciated, despite being a crucial part of the vet-led team. This month celebrates the talent and diverse skills that our nurses possess. The focus of our 2023 campaign is 'empowerment'!

Why are VNs great?

If you don’t know already, we do many things! From taking the call to book in a client, triaging emergencies, admits, venepuncture and IV catheterisation, monitoring anaesthesia, performing diagnostic tests, preparing medication, discharging patients back to their owners, and we generate income through nurse clinics. We can even perform minor surgery under Schedule III legislation.

Some of us are practice managers, senior nurses or specialists. Some of us work in education cultivating the next generation of nurses, and some work in industry, the charity sector, or research. We have a wide range of skills, and of course, we make your days run smoother.

Why should vets get involved?

We are all part of the same team, and we all want the same thing - healthy pets and happy clients!

Celebrating your nurses is free, will help your nurses feel valued, and there is even the chance of winning prizes! BVNA are holding two competitions, one for individual nurses to say what they enjoy most about being a vet nurse. The other competition is for practice teams. If you want to get involved, submit a short reel-style video (up to 60 seconds) which showcases:

“What do your VNs mean to your practice?”

The clip should include why VNs are so important to patient and client care, plus the wide range of responsibilities which veterinary nurses undertake within your practice. Don’t forget the nurses in non-clinical positions too!

For more details of the competitions, visit our VNAM webpage.

How can vets support VNAM?

Fortunately, it’s really easy! Give the nurses a shout out in your practice this month for the fantastic job they do - either on your notice board, in the practice newsletter, or in the consult room. You can do the same on social media too. Our BVNA webpage has our logo that you can download and use. Don't forget the hashtags:

#VNAM2023 | #WhatVNsDo | #EmpowerOurVNs

Oh, and of course, tell your nurses to their faces what a great job they do! We honestly can’t hear it enough.