PART 2: A Day in the Life of a Registered Veterinary Nurse at Bay Vets

At 2:30pm I returned from my break and was informed by my colleagues there had been no changes in patient status. I carried out massage for Pickle and passive movements on his hind limbs; encouraging circulation to aid healing and comfort post-op. He was very tolerant while I then removed his IVC also.

His owners were due for discharge appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon within the hour, so I checked he was ready to send home, with all of his medicines and documents prepared for an efficient discharge.

I then returned my attention to Humphrey and measured his urine output after the increased IVFT rate had been running for a few hours. The result was 1.3ml/kg/hr – within the normal range. The vet advised to return his fluid rate to maintenance only and supplement his feed with added water to naturally increase his uptake. I also used the Doppler to measure his blood pressure and obtained consistent readings of 130mmHg; for a hospitalised cat this is normal and negated worries of concurrent kidney disease for the time being. His owners arrived for their visit with him shortly after this. I disconnected his IVFT line and closed urine collection system, then set up a quiet consult room with a couple of chairs and blankets and showed the owners into there before fetching Humphrey, advising his owners we were pleased with his progress so far and leaving them some time to fuss him.

In the wards, I rechecked Roxy and she was maintaining a regular heart rate around 120bpm with no signs of eclampsia returning. I took her outside again and brushed her coat while she sat with me on one of the benches in the garden. She ate a whole bowl of puppy food when she returned to her bed, and I was happy her discharge should go ahead. Her IVC was removed, and everything prepared for her to go home with the vet once her owners arrived.

It was time then for me to collect Humphrey for his next doses of anti-inflammatories and to reconnect him to the appropriate systems. His owners reported that he had eaten a few treats with them, and they left him with some fresh chicken also. The vet informed me that it was likely Humphrey would have his IUC removed the following day and given there were no signs of obstruction recurring, he would be discharged in the evening. I relayed this news to the owners, and they left happy.

Just as I was finishing with Humphrey, one of the consulting vets came into the prep area and asked if I would be happy to perform a stitch-up on a lurcher who had caught her ear tip on a barbed wire fence and was consequently haemorrhaging quite dramatically. Seeing as 3 of my 4 inpatients had been discharged and my 4^th was stable, I had the capacity and jumped at the opportunity to apply my surgical training within my remit under Schedule 3 of the VSA. Luna was brought through and while the vet was calculating her pre-medication, I applied a pressure bandage, encompassing the bleeding ear to suppress the haemorrhage. She was given her injection and within 10 minutes was sedated, with some vasodilation effects of the drug given hopefully already helping stem the bleed too.

(NB Staff pet on a primary school visit demonstrating a head bandage NOT clinical and NOT patient referred to in the text.)

I gathered the necessary equipment, scrubbed to become aseptic and draped the now-anaesthetised patient. The Vet was available for guidance, and I used simple interrupted pattern with non-absorbable suture material to close the gash made by the fence.

Once complete, I cleaned the surgical site, and my colleagues helped me clean up some of Luna’s coat where the haemorrhage had covered her.

She recovered well in kennels, and I called the owners to let them know they could head on back to collect her in an hour or so.

The rest of my shift consisted of parameter checks and medication administration when doses were due, supporting my colleagues in restraint, advice and daily tasks such as cleaning and updating task logs as well as answering the phone and processing client requests.

At 7pm the night RVN arrived, I informed her of Humphrey’s progress over the day as well as the plan overnight and for the following day as per Vet’s guidance. It was one of the easier handovers as she had already nursed Humphrey the night before so was aware of his case, personality and preferences.

I changed out of my scrubs and headed home at 7:15pm.