My course is two years, and will give me a Diploma of Veterinary Nursing at the end of this year. It is a very practical course, and we spend a lot of our time learning things in a hands-on way. There are two clinics nearby who allow students to work in their facilities during their study, which is built in as one of the papers we take. One clinic is a specialist clinic, and this is only open to second-year students, as the work done there involves much more expensive equipment, and much sicker animals. They handle orthopedic surgery, as well as accident victims and other extreme cases. The other vet clinic attached to the course is run as a usual vet hospital, although they conform to Best Practice standards, and are one of very few clinics in the country to practice sterile surgery for animals. We also spent a week last year looking after various rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, mice and chickens, as part of the Small Animal unit.
In addition to the work we complete within the program, we are also expected to fulfill externally based obligations in regard to hands-on experience. This year, I am required to complete a number of hours of work experience in an unrelated clinic, which must be completed around course requirements, and in our own time. Lectures and practical work are structured to accommodate this. We also need to complete eight hours in a rescue or wildlife care facility, such as the Zoo, the SPCA, or Bird Rescue.
I will most likely be referring to time I spend in each clinic during the next year, so this is just to clarify terms:
By external clinic I mean the clinic I am doing work experience at, not run by my course.
By vet hospital I mean the basic clinic run by my course, where I have already spent time last year.
By specialist clinic I mean the specialist clinic connected to my course, only available for second-year students.
The extensive practical parts of the course are inspiring. They show me, on a weekly basis, why I do what I do. Every animal that comes into any of these three clinics is partly my responsibility, and it is for them that I put the work in to my study that I do. I don't want to fail these animals and give them substandard care. I don't want to shame my clinics, and waste materials or lives by inefficiency, or not knowing what I should do in a given situation. I don't want to let my instructors down, by not listening or being lazy, and therefore putting the lives that are in my care, at risk. Understandably, I am not perfect, and I am still learning, but it is both my responsibility and my pleasure to do the best I can by any animal that walks through their doors.
The practical work is also extremely rewarding, however. Last year in the vet hospital I helped the surgeons remove a number of tumors from a Golden Retriever, assisting as the surgical nurse. In a subsequent rotation, the same dog came in to see the vet while I was acting as the clinical nurse helping with consultations, and I got to see how well the surgery had healed over the intervening months, and how happy the owner was that she still had her dog. There were also a number of very cute puppies, kittens, and other animals that came in for routine visits or basic treatments, and I don't recall any clients being unhappy at the amount of attention that these cuties received. In addition, both my external clinic and the vet hospital on site have personal clinic cats, who are always happy to be fussed over by any vet or vet nurse in need of a pick-me-up.
All of the work I have been doing during the last year has made me more and more determined to do the absolute best I can for my clinic and for my clients. I truly feel like I've found my calling in life, and I can't wait for my course to begin so that I can get back into the thick of things. The holiday has been good, and has been a great chance to recharge and refresh myself, and spend time doing other things, but I am ready to head back, and more excited than ever.
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