A night in the life of a veterinary nurse in North Devon

I’ve been a veterinary nurse for 19 years now, but I worked in practice as a nursing assistant for many years before I decided to do my formal training to become a registered veterinary nurse (RVN).

I currently work nights at MiNight Vet in Barnstaple, and I love the varied nature of the job and I have recently studied for and achieved my City and Guilds certificate in Emergency and Critical Care. 

Of course, nights aren’t for everyone, but I’m a bit of a night owl and when I was offered the opportunity to become a night nurse back in 2019, I jumped at the chance.  

Our nights run from 7pm to 8am and we look after any patients in North Devon that need to stay over for the night. 

These cases vary from those who have had surgery and aren’t quite awake enough to go home, to the complex cases that require intense monitoring. 

We also see any urgent cases or emergencies that arise overnight. 

People often ask veterinary nurses if they are going to become vets. 

The answer is no – veterinary nursing is a profession, just as different as a human doctor and nurse, except we don’t do humans! 

The training pathways are intense and once qualified, a registered veterinary nurse is bound by a strict code of conduct set in place by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. 

They are also required to undertake at least 15 hours of additional training per year in order to stay on the register of veterinary nurses.  

So, what exactly do we do? 

Well, a registered veterinary nurse is multiskilled. 

For example, a detailed knowledge of anaesthesia is required and is a big part of our training. 

In general practice, it will almost always be a registered veterinary nurse monitoring your pet under anaesthetic so excellent observation and monitoring skills are a must, along with technical knowledge of the monitoring devices and how to interpret them. 

Other skills include triage, taking x-rays and basic ultrasound skills, basic oral hygiene, carrying out diagnostic tests in the practice laboratory, taking blood samples, placing intravenous lines, administering medication under direction of a veterinary surgeon, monitoring of patients parameters such as blood pressure (yes animals can have problems with that too, especially when sick!) and ensuring their comfort, giving advice to clients about their pet’s general wellbeing, the list goes on! 

Our night shifts involve all the above and more, as well as helping with any emergencies that come in.

During quieter times, we’re busy cleaning, tidying, laundry, admin, restocking and giving advice over the phone. 

This means that the teams that work during the day can go home and have a good night’s sleep so that they are refreshed for the next day.

In the “old days”, each practice would have a vet and nurse on call for the night. 

However, these would often have worked the day before and/or would be working the next day, so tiredness was a major problem, especially on busy nights. 

A dedicated night team ensures that not only can the day team have uninterrupted sleep, but all inpatients have a team who work all night to ensure an excellent standard of care before going home for a much-needed sleep when the day team takes over at 8am. 

Over the next few months, I’ll be talking about different aspects of the job as well as talking about common problems we encounter, how to care for your sick pets and when to call for advice, and there may well be the odd anecdote too!