A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A HOSPITAL VETERINARY NURSE
9am
The start of today's shift. My head nurse allocates me with the vet I will be assisting throughout the day. I then can organise a list of patients for the vet.
 9.10-10.30am
I then help the vet check all their in-patients that have been hospitalised over night. This generally involves taking and recording the patient's temperature, heart and pulse rates and its weight. Four of these patients need to have a blood sample taken, which I carry out with the assistance of one of the student nurses. One of the cats is dehydrated so we set up an intravenous drip. I administer any medications required and provide care instructions for the ward staff.
10.30-11am
My vet is due to consult so I prepare theatrefor the day's surgery. This involves damp dusting all the surfaces with disinfectant, setting up the anaesthetic trolley, making sure the room temperature is warm enough, set up a heater on the operating table.
 11-11.15am
It is back to wards again to liase with the ward nurse and check on my vet's patients. I check to see if their blood results are back and that the cat's drip is all in-order.
11.15-11.25am
Tea break! A bit short today as I am busy, usually this is 20 minutes.
11.25-12.50am
I answer the telephone enquiries from the owners of my inpatients who ring to check on their progress. A couple of clients arrive at the hospital bell needing general care information - I deal with these then collect messages from our lost and found voice mail.
12.50-2pm
My vet calls me in to a consult as she needs help to restrain a dog for a booster vaccination then nail clip. After this I help one of my colleagues give one of our canine patients a full bath and blow-dry. My vet has finished her consults now and wants to get her cases ready for their anaesthetics - I help her administer a premed injection to each case.
2.00-3pm
Its now my lunch hour, so I hand over to another nurse. This gives me time to glance over my nursing journals and latest Veterinary Times newspaper so I can catch up on new developments.
3-4.20pm
I take over again. The vet's next operation is a cat spay. I monitor its anaesthetic - which involves regular recording of its heart, respiratory rate, blood oxygen levels and adjusting the anaesthetic gases where necessary. I record all this on its anaesthetic monitoring sheet. As the cat recovers from its operation it is settled into a recovery kennel and monitored by another nurse.
A German shepherd dog is next. He has a very painful ear, so I help the vet to sedate him. I stay with him so I can monitor him as the drugs take effect. This monitoring continues as the vet examines his ears - she finds a grass seed, the cause of the ear pain - down his right ear canal. After cleaning out both ears we reverse the sedative and the dog is sat upright 10 minutes later.
 4.20-6.20pm
I load the details of the patients going home onto the computer, then talk to the owners about their pet's post operative care before discharging them from the hospital. This is a very busy part of the day.
6.20-6.40pm
I have to help my vet in the consultation room again. This time it is to assist with a cat's euthanasia. I discuss the cremation details with the client.
One of the other vets needs me to admit a dog that he has just seen in consults. I then fill out a hospitalisation record for the dog and give him some medication as instructed by the vet.
7.15pm
Home time - it has been a very busy day at the hospital today so I am late again.
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