Veterinary nurse

Veterinary nurses play a key role in delivering holistic medical care to animals, alongside veterinary surgeons and the wider veterinary team. To be a veterinary nurse, you'll need to have successfully completed a course accredited by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS).

As a veterinary nurse, you'll be involved in the hands-on nursing care of a range of animals, providing both emergency and routine healthcare. You'll work alongside veterinary surgeons to promote animal health and welfare through responsible ownership and play a key role in the education of pet owners.

Types of veterinary nursing

Depending on the practice and your own interests, you may focus in one of these areas:

• General practice (first opinion) - providing the first-line care of animals including routine vaccinations, neutering, worming, health checks, and the treatment of basic illnesses and injuries
• Emergency practice - working within a practice that sees urgent and critical cases, typically operating overnight and at weekends
• Referral practice - working in a specialist practice that tends to see the more complex cases. Examples include orthopaedics, oncology and ophthalmology. In some cases, these may be species-specific, e.g. canine, equine or exotics.

Responsibilities

As a veterinary nurse, you'll need to:

• confidently handle and restrain a range of animals
• provide nursing care to hospitalised patients, including patient monitoring and health checking, feeding, grooming and walking animals
• administer treatments including injections, tablets, fluids and blood transfusions
• perform diagnostic tests, e.g. blood sampling, urinalysis and radiography
• prepare animals for surgery
• perform minor surgical procedures under the direction of the veterinary surgeon, e.g. suturing wounds and dental hygiene
• monitor anaesthesia under the direction of the veterinary surgeon
• assist veterinary surgeons with operations
• maintain the cleanliness and hygiene of the practice
• communicate with pet owners, gaining their trust and reassuring them about their animal's treatment
• educate pet owners on animal health, including vaccinations, worming, flea prevention and appropriate nutrition
• support student veterinary nurses undertaking placements
• work to the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Nurses.

Salary

• At entry level, veterinary nurses usually start at £23,000 to £26,000.
• Qualified veterinary nurses with around five years' experience earn between £28,000 and £33,500.
• More senior veterinary nurses or lecturers can earn up to £40,000.

Locum nurses can earn £250 per day, with an average hourly rate of £24.

Income data from the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) 2024/5 Salaries Survey. Figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

Full-time veterinary nurses usually work between 38 and 48 hours per week.

The work includes regular unsociable hours, including weekends, bank holidays and possibly overnight cover. It may sometimes be necessary to work on after your shift has officially ended to help with emergency cases.

Part-time and locum (temporary) work is also an option within this profession.

What to expect

• Every day will bring different challenges, but variety is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the role.
• The job is physically demanding. You'll be on your feet for much of the day and will be involved in lifting and restraining animals.
• Practice hygiene tasks, including disinfecting patient accommodation and sterilising surgical equipment, are an important and integral part of the role.
• Working closely with a range of animals may carry a risk of minor injuries such as bites or scratches.
• You'll play a key role in supporting pet owners in making (sometimes difficult) decisions regarding their animal's care and wellbeing.

Qualifications

To practise as a veterinary nurse in the UK, you must hold a qualification accredited by the RCVS. If you're applying to university, you'll choose from two possible study routes:

• Foundation degree (FdSc) in veterinary nursing (typically a three-year course)
• Bachelor’s degree (BSc) in veterinary nursing (typically a four-year course).

If you already hold a degree-level qualification in another subject, or are looking for a more vocational approach, you may also consider a Level 3 work-based Diploma in veterinary nursing, which takes usually two and a half years to complete. For this option, you'll need to be employed by a veterinary practice before enrolling on the course. Some colleges offer support with placing students in practices, so it is worth contacting them to find out if this is available. In some cases, students can complete the course through a placement in a practice rather than being formally employed, however, this option is less common. The Level 3 Diploma is often offered via an apprenticeship route.

All three routes will provide you with qualified veterinary nurse status and provide eligibility to register with the RCVS and work in the UK as a Registered Veterinary Nurse. If you're interested in teaching or research, a degree-level qualification may be required, so it's worth considering this when choosing which route to study.

RCVS publishes a list of accredited further and higher education courses.

Once accepted on an accredited course, you’ll need to enrol as a student veterinary nurse with RCVS. Regardless of the study route you choose, you should check the entry requirements for each course as these vary but will almost certainly include relevant work experience and a form of interview.

Skills

You'll need:

• the ability to communicate with pet owners, veterinary professionals and people from a range of backgrounds
• effective teamworking skills, as you'll be working closely with veterinary surgeons and other professionals when caring for patients
• the ability to work independently and use your own initiative. There may be times when you’re working alone at the veterinary practice, for example during out of hours.
• strong attention to detail, particularly when administering medications and monitoring multiple patients
• a calm and composed manner for dealing with stressful situations and pressure when dealing with emergencies.

Work experience

To apply for any of the accredited courses to become a veterinary nurse, you'll need to have already completed relevant work experience. This will include spending several weeks in veterinary practice and may involve additional animal related work experience, for example working in a rescue centre.

Some courses will allow you to complete your veterinary practice work experience as individual days, whereas others may require week-long blocks. While weekend work experience is beneficial to understanding the role, many courses will not count this towards the pre-application required work experience.

Securing this work experience will be challenging. Due to the popularity of veterinary careers, there's a lot of competition for work placements. You'll need to allow time to source and complete your placement, and you should be prepared to approach a few practices. Speaking directly to the practice may be more successful than simply emailing your request.

It's worth attending open days and seeking advice from different courses to ensure you fulfil the course specific entry requirements.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

Most veterinary nurses work in veterinary practices, which may be independent, part of a larger corporate group or run by a charity or animal welfare organisation such as a rescue or rehoming centre.

These include:

• CVS Group
• IVC Evidensia
• Medivet
• Vets4Pets (Pets at Home Group)
• Linnaeus Group (part of Mars Veterinary Health, but operates UK practices such as Willows, Parkvets and Village Vet)
• Godiva Group
• VetPartners
• Mars Veterinary Health UK (umbrella group including Linnaeus and AniCura)
• PDSA
• Blue Cross
• RSPCA
• Dogs Trust.

Some employers focus on emergency and critical care, while others specialise in referral or specialist cases, such as orthopaedics or oncology. You may also work in education, training, rehabilitation or physiotherapy.

Veterinary nurses can also be employed by zoos, research facilities or the armed forces, and there are public sector and teaching roles within government departments and universities.

Look for job vacancies at:

• British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA) - Careers
• Vet Record Careers
• Vet Times Jobs
• VetNurse.co.uk

Many large veterinary groups, such as CVS, IVC Evidensia and Medivet, advertise vacancies on their own websites, so it's worth checking those directly.

Taking a proactive approach to your job search and contacting practices directly can boost your chances of finding a role. It's common for veterinary practices to offer a short trial or working interview to prospective employees.

Professional development

Once you're qualified and meet the RCVS registration requirements, you can register with RCVS as a registered veterinary nurse (RVN). CPD is an essential part of ongoing RCVS registration - you'll be required to complete 15 hours of CPD per calendar year.

CPD activities can include attending training courses, seminars and lectures, being mentored in your practice or carrying out research or critical reading of relevant journals. Find out more at RCVS Continuing Professional Development.

Membership with the British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA) will provide you with access to CPD, seminars, events, a monthly professional journal and an advisory helpline.

There are also various postgraduate opportunities available depending on your interests and aspirations.

As a qualified and registered veterinary nurse, you can undertake additional qualifications, such as the Graduate Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Nursing or Postgraduate Certificate of Advanced Veterinary Nursing. These are university programmes accredited by the RCVS, and successful completion can lead to an RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Nursing.

The courses are designed to be flexible, and you can study at your own pace while working. Institutions will offer flexibility in the modules you choose, and you can work towards awards in small animal or equine nursing or veterinary nursing education, depending on your interests. For more information see RCVS postgraduate qualifications.

Career prospects

It's possible to become a clinical supervisor in practice, where you'll help and support student veterinary nurses to develop their clinical skills and other competencies required to become a RVN. There may be options to progress to deputy head nurse and then a head nurse role, supporting the development of a whole team of nurses.

There are opportunities to develop your career and focus in a specific area of work depending on the practice that you work in and your interests. For example, within referral practice, you could focus in a specific type of nursing care, e.g. anaesthesia, rehabilitation, inpatient care or diagnostics. Alongside the clinical work, there are also options for you to progress and specialise in non-clinical roles such as a practice manager.

Outside of practice, you may choose to embark on a related career within education, such as teaching veterinary nurses or lecturing on animal management related courses. Education offers many career pathways, such as roles focused on student support as well as positions in quality assurance. There may also be research opportunities depending on your additional qualifications or opportunities arising within pharmaceutical or nutritional industries.