🐶 🐱 Veterinary Nurse Awareness Month 🐱 🐶
The last and most certainly not least role of our series is: Ward nurse!
The ward nurse is responsible for the care of all the inpatients, the ward and isolation area, kitchen and the washing.
The ward nurse will check all their patients at the start of the shift to see what they’re all in for, any special requirements and information. Those who have stayed in with us for hospitalisation will get a check over with a vet and a plan made with the nurse. All patients for procedures are cared for by the ward nurse. Pre and post operatively. Offering them food, support, medications, vital checks and love!
The duties of the Ward Nurse include:
🔹Taking bloods
🔹Placing patients on intravenous fluids
🔹Monitoring IV fluids and calculating the rate
🔹Administer medications
🔹Receive patients from theatre and monitor whilst they come around from their anaesthesia
🔹Monitor patients when they’ve had their pre-medication
🔹Monitor patients intensively post surgical and minor procedures
🔹Monitor sick patients intensively whilst hospitalised
🔹Check heart rates, respiratory rates, wounds, temperature, mucous membranes and demeanour
🔹Recording all checks of patients on hospital charts
🔹Alerting the vet on any complications
🔹Perform pain scores on patients
🔹Booking if patients for their procedures or long inpatient stays
🔹Arrange home times for patients
🔹Discharge their patients
🔹Clean the kennels
🔹Make up the kennels
🔹 Feed and Water patients
🔹Wash your any dishes and other equipment used
🔹Maintain a clean environment in dog ward, cat ward and isolation
🔹Wash bedding
And much more!
The ward nurse is the perfect role for the nurse who loves to provide love and care to patients.
It’s a very rewarding role, especially when nursing very sick patients back to full health!
All of our roles within the practice are just as important as the n
🐶🐱Veterinary Nurse Awareness Month🐱🐶
This week we did some behind te scenes on the role:
Head and Assistant Prep!
The Head Prep role is always an RVN, to oversee, organise, and a set tasks to the assistants - who are our VCAs or ANAs.
They both do the same tasks, however Head prep is responsible for the organisation of the day.
The ”Prep” area includes theatre, prep room and the diagnostic imaging room. So the nurses and assistants are responsible for the maintaining of these areas.
In a typical day, they will maintain these areas, setting up for procedures and other tasks, ensuring a clean and tidy work place.
Their duties include:
🔹Setting up theatre for procedures
🔹Setting up Anaesthetic Machines and maintaining them
🔹Setting up for x-rays or ultrasounds
🔹Set up for minor procedures or dentals
🔹Prepare areas for inductions of anaesthetics
🔹Prepare areas for minor procedures
🔹Maintain all three rooms and equipments
🔹Clean sides and surfaces
🔹Clean theatre between uses
🔹Deep clean theatre for shut down
🔹Deep clean prep for shut down
🔹Scrub, ultrasonic, pack and autoclave Surgical Kits and Instruments.
🔹Maintain instruments
🔹Clean dental area and machine
🔹Hold patients for Vets and RVNS on ward
🔹Perform Theatre Nurse Duties if a second vet comes to operate
🔹Scrub into Surgeries to assist the Vet
🔹Set up for Blood samples and Intravenous Fluid Therapy
🔹Draw up medications, anaesthetic induction agents
🔹Restrain patients for samples or Diagnostics
🔹Draw up and Administer Pre-Medications
And lots more!
The Prep Nurse is a demanding role due to keeping up with the work pace, load and ensuring the areas are clean, maintained and ready for the next procedure. You must be one step ahead to ensure smooth running of this area!
🐱🐶 Veterinary Nurse Awareness Month 🐶🐱
Last week we saw the role of our dispensing and floating nurse, this week it is our theatre/ operating nurse!
A normal day for this nurse would be monitoring the anaesthetics of all patients that come in on the op board. We assist the vets in checking the animals pre-op, assist to induce anaesthesia, prepare them for the theatre or other procedures and monitor them throughout their sedation or general anaesthetic ensuring their parameters are within normal range and they stay anaesthetised. We they pass our patients onto the ward nurse post op.
Theatre nurses duties include:
🔹Restraining patients
🔹Holding for induction of anaesthetic agents
🔹Minor procedures such as Scale and Polish, minor stitch ups
🔹 Possition, take and process patient Radiographs
🔹Clip, initial prep and final prep of theatre patients
🔹Placing IV cannulaes in these patients
🔹Monitoring of patient whilst undergoing the surgery or procedure under sedation or general anaesthetic
🔹 Open kits and other instruments used for procedures
🔹Administer injectable medications to patients
🔹Perform CPR
🔹Intubate patients undergoing General Anaesthetic
🔹Cleaning of patients Post Operatively
The theatre nurse will see a range of procedures and operations throughout their week on this area of the rota.
Stay tuned for next week!
