I am a current year 12, I am wondering what the easiest pathway into Vet Nursing is for me?
Unless you have already completed a formal vocational course in animal care as part of your high school VET program, we recommend starting your pathway by completing ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care. This course, meets the prerequisite for the formal qualification to become a qualified veterinary nurse. Here’s some great information for High School Students and Graduates to help you get started.
A vet nurse’s duties explained
A veterinary nurse is expected to know how to look after and care for their patients and this will involve various skills including nursing and monitoring patients, surgical preparation and assistance, monitoring patients under anaesthesia, administering medications, taking x-rays, performing laboratory tests, assisting with dental procedures, assisting with emergency situations and providing critical care nursing.
From these examples, you can start to appreciate the knowledge and skills required to ensure that these types of procedures are carried out correctly to ensure the safety and well-being of the patients.
A vet nurse’s role in communication
A veterinary nurse’s role involves as much interaction with people as it does with animals. This means excellent communication and customer service abilities are also essential. Good interpersonal skills are required to be able to interact with and convey important information to clients and other members of the hospital team. Nurses are often required to educate and assist clients with the many health protocols for their pets as well as be knowledgeable on the administration side of things, for example, managing a busy schedule, booking appointments, greeting clients and putting them at ease, processing and receipting invoices and balancing the till.
The demands of being a veterinary nurse
On top of all of this, not only do veterinary nurses need to learn a great deal of information and be trained in multiple areas, including patient care and client communication, but they also need to be suited to the industry. Learn more in our article: Top Qualities of a Veterinary Nurse
Veterinary nursing can be physically and emotionally challenging at times. Due to the nature of the veterinary industry and the types of situations that you will face, it requires a certain amount of resilience and maturity.
Veterinary nursing is one of the most rewarding careers, but it requires study and hard work to become a skilled veterinary nurse.
