Dr. Roz Rowen: What You need to know before becoming a Vet Nurse | E35

[00:00:00] So I wouldn't be discouraged if you haven't got any educational background, you didn't

[00:00:04] finish school. There's always a pathway. It's just how you get to that end goal. So of course,

[00:00:10] if you finish school, that pathway is more traditional and you can go straight into,

[00:00:14] you know, a certificate two, three or four. If you have got a bachelor's degree, you'd

[00:00:19] most likely go straight into that as well. But if you've got no formal study, it's

[00:00:24] not to be discouraged. It just means you might start at a lower certificate level

[00:00:28] and then work your way up. And that's really all just about building the knowledge.

[00:00:32] Welcome to The Pet Care Report podcast by PetSummits. Here's your natural dog health

[00:00:46] care host, Alora McKinley. G'day guys, welcome back. Now I'm going to jump straight

[00:00:51] into today's episode because whether you're considering a career change or maybe you're

[00:00:55] in school and not sure what to do, why not consider becoming a vet nurse? To

[00:01:01] chat about everything you may need to know before becoming a vet nurse is Dr. Ros,

[00:01:05] a holistic vet nurse with expertise in animal rehabilitation, naturopathy and

[00:01:10] homeopathy, and is dedicated to teaching pet owners about natural and non-invasive

[00:01:15] care methods. Before her nursing career, she was a senior university researcher in human

[00:01:21] behavior and interaction. Her research experience and our guides are in finding

[00:01:25] innovative ways to benefit both pets and their owners. Thank you so much for joining

[00:01:30] me, Dr. Ros. It's lovely to have you on. Thanks for having me. I'm very excited

[00:01:34] to talk all things holistic vet nursing and vet nursing today. Very exciting.

[00:01:39] Now I know that nursing is a little bit more than just cuddling cute puppies

[00:01:43] and kittens. It takes quite a lot of training. What kind of skills and

[00:01:47] qualifications are needed to become a successful vet nurse? Yeah, so obviously

[00:01:51] it varies from country to country, but in Australia there's a few different

[00:01:54] pathways that you can now take. So if you've had experience in working with

[00:01:59] animals before, sometimes you can jump straight to a certificate four in vet

[00:02:04] nursing. You might have to if you haven't had experience in working with

[00:02:08] animals before start out in a certificate two or a certificate three

[00:02:12] in animal studies. But now in Australia some universities are offering

[00:02:18] two different types of degrees. So that might be a bachelor's degree in

[00:02:21] veterinary nursing or we are adopting more of the American model and

[00:02:26] offering bachelor's degrees in becoming a vet tech. Similar roles and

[00:02:32] similar job prospects at the moment in Australia for that.

[00:02:35] Interesting. So what kind of educational background or certificates

[00:02:39] are typically required? Do you need a U12 pass?

[00:02:42] It depends on the college or how you sort of want to go about it.

[00:02:47] So I wouldn't be discouraged if you haven't got any educational

[00:02:51] background, you didn't finish school. There's always a pathway. It's just

[00:02:54] how you get to that end goal. So of course, if you finish school,

[00:02:58] that pathway is more traditional and you can go straight into a certificate

[00:03:02] two, three or four. If you have got a bachelor's degree,

[00:03:06] you'd most likely go straight into that as well. But if you've got no

[00:03:09] formal study, it's not to be discouraged. It just means you might start

[00:03:14] at a lower certificate level and then work your way up. And that's really

[00:03:18] all just about building the knowledge. So when you get to that certificate

[00:03:22] or an advanced diploma, you've got all the knowledge that will make you

[00:03:26] really successful in completing it. So there isn't really a you can't do

[00:03:30] it. It's just it might be a different way to get there for you.

[00:03:34] I see. I see. And are there quite a lot of jobs for vet nurses?

[00:03:38] In Australia, yeah. There's a we're experiencing a shortage of

[00:03:43] vets and vet nurses. So if it's something that you're interested in,

[00:03:47] the job prospects are there. Obviously, it's not a lucrative industry.

[00:03:53] It's well known that nurses don't particularly get paid the highest

[00:03:57] salaries. We tend to do things for the love of it. But that's where

[00:04:02] adding to your skill set can make you more employable, can give you

[00:04:06] options for a side hustle and things like that to boost that income

[00:04:11] that might not be exactly what you want.

[00:04:13] Yeah. And now I know that nurses have such a huge role they have to play.

[00:04:20] What does a typical day look like for a vet nurse?

[00:04:22] So if you're a vet nurse working in a clinic, traditionally speaking,

[00:04:26] you might be on one of three shifts. And that depends on if you're

[00:04:29] a 24-7 clinic or a nine to five clinic. But there's a morning shift,

[00:04:34] usually a midday shift and like an evening or a night shift.

[00:04:37] Morning shift tends to be you're doing nurse consultations.

[00:04:41] So that's when you're working alongside the vet before the vet comes

[00:04:46] into the consult room and you're taking the animal's history.

[00:04:49] You're doing all the important nurse checks like their vitals,

[00:04:53] their dental, you're talking to them about nutrition.

[00:04:56] You might be admitting patients ready for surgery.

[00:04:59] Then during the middle of the day most clinics shut in terms of they

[00:05:03] don't see consultations, we switch into surgery mode.

[00:05:06] And that's where a nurse might be a surgical nurse.

[00:05:11] And their role is to get the patients ready for sedation,

[00:05:15] get them ready for anesthesia.

[00:05:17] They might induce a patient and then they're responsible for keeping them

[00:05:21] anesthetized during a surgery.

[00:05:23] And some surgeries might be 10 minutes, some surgeries might be

[00:05:26] four hours or longer, depending on what kind of surgery that is.

[00:05:31] And those surgeries can be anything from, you know, a spay or a cast

[00:05:35] rate to a wound repair, to an exploratory laparotomy or,

[00:05:42] you know, orthopedic surgeries are really common in clinics now as well.

[00:05:45] So there's lots of lots of different surgical procedures.

[00:05:48] And then in the afternoon that tends to switch back into

[00:05:53] preparing patients to be discharged or if they're going to be

[00:05:57] in the hospital for a while, you'll be handing back over to that

[00:06:02] clinical nurse to monitor and recover those patients

[00:06:05] or to stay overnight with them.

[00:06:07] So where I have practiced, we don't have 24 seven clinics.

[00:06:11] So you're either working late and then just making sure that the animal

[00:06:15] can cope on its own overnight.

[00:06:17] But a lot more clinics interstate are 24 seven clinics.

[00:06:21] So you're a shift worker.

[00:06:22] It just blows my mind how many roles that nurses have to do.

[00:06:25] You really have to be trained in so much.

[00:06:28] Not only that, I'm sure there's also like a lot of admin stuff

[00:06:30] that they have to do in dealing with pet owners.

[00:06:33] Yes, obviously anything in the health industry, there's a lot of paperwork.

[00:06:37] So paperwork is important in terms of that's how if you have pet insurance,

[00:06:42] that those pet insurance claims get paid.

[00:06:45] It's also how we keep track of your animals health,

[00:06:48] how they're progressing or they're deteriorating or, you know,

[00:06:52] if we need to inform other people involved in their health,

[00:06:56] how that is transferred across.

[00:06:58] So, yeah, there's lots of paperwork.

[00:07:00] It's like any job, we always sort of diminish the paperwork

[00:07:03] because nobody loves it.

[00:07:05] No, it drives me crazy.

[00:07:07] So what are some rewards then that come from working as a vet nurse?

[00:07:10] For me, like particularly because I'm sort of can split between clinic

[00:07:15] and my own mobile practice is that recovery.

[00:07:18] You know, when you see a dog that's really, really unwell

[00:07:23] and then, you know, over time you work with them

[00:07:24] and then they're back to their normal selves

[00:07:26] and just seeing how happy that makes the owner, that's, you know,

[00:07:29] that's of course really rewarding.

[00:07:31] But also when you see owners who get a puppy

[00:07:35] and then you get to see that puppy or kitten

[00:07:38] or whatever their animal is, literally through their whole life,

[00:07:42] you know, you grow up with that person and the animal

[00:07:45] and they become a really key part of your life too.

[00:07:48] You not just know the story of that animal,

[00:07:50] but you know how that animal fits into that person's life

[00:07:54] and that family and then that family might expand,

[00:07:57] whether it's more animals or kids and things like that.

[00:07:59] So you become quite intimate about the day-to-day lives

[00:08:03] of a lot of people and a lot of dogs.

[00:08:05] And I always say, I'm terrible with people names,

[00:08:07] but I'll see a person and then ask them,

[00:08:09] how's their dog?

[00:08:10] Not necessarily how they are because we just get so used

[00:08:14] to treating all their animals.

[00:08:17] And that's just, you know,

[00:08:18] that's a very typical vet and vet nurse thing is

[00:08:21] we're always asking how the animal is before the person.

[00:08:24] Don't take it personally.

[00:08:26] And then in terms of challenges, you know,

[00:08:28] I know there's a huge crisis that you mentioned

[00:08:31] a little bit before facing our veterinary industry.

[00:08:34] Here in Australia, we've got a huge shortage of vets

[00:08:37] and not only that the job carries like a huge mental burden

[00:08:39] at times and I read one statistic that said

[00:08:43] that vets are almost four times as likely

[00:08:45] to take their own life when compared

[00:08:47] to the general Australian population,

[00:08:50] which is just phenomenal statistic.

[00:08:52] And now of course, our vet nurses are on the frontline

[00:08:55] and they cop a lot of this stress as well.

[00:08:57] So I guess what kind of hardships does having

[00:09:02] being a vet nurse carry as well?

[00:09:03] Yeah, there's definitely a lot of hardships.

[00:09:05] I mean, nobody likes saying goodbye.

[00:09:08] The euthanasias are very stressful

[00:09:11] because you're there.

[00:09:12] Like I said, you've just seen this animal probably

[00:09:14] through its whole life and then it's time to say goodbye

[00:09:16] and that can be often in tragic circumstances,

[00:09:19] but also it can be because of old age.

[00:09:23] So euthanasia at end of life is always really distressing.

[00:09:28] Most people who work in the health industry,

[00:09:31] whether it's human or animal, they tend to be empaths.

[00:09:34] So it does impact them deeply.

[00:09:37] And then we also deal with welfare cases.

[00:09:40] So even doing holistic stuff and going to people's houses,

[00:09:44] there are still times where I walk into those environments

[00:09:47] and that's a welfare case that needs to be either

[00:09:49] reported to welfare or the RSPCA,

[00:09:52] depending on what jurisdiction we're in or the police.

[00:09:55] And we're often just the messenger.

[00:09:59] We don't often get to see how they,

[00:10:01] the outcomes of those cases, but we see that.

[00:10:04] And that's very confronting some of the things

[00:10:06] that we see, especially if you love animals

[00:10:09] and then you see animals maybe not being treated

[00:10:12] how you would like to see that

[00:10:14] and then not having control over that.

[00:10:17] Yeah, that's very confronting.

[00:10:20] And the biggest thing that was told to me

[00:10:22] when I started the industry was you have to have someone

[00:10:25] that you can talk about these things with.

[00:10:28] And sometimes that can't be your family

[00:10:30] because it's confronting things

[00:10:33] or it could be confidential things that you can't discuss.

[00:10:36] So having a confidant in the industry,

[00:10:38] whether it's someone in your practice

[00:10:40] or someone outside of your practice

[00:10:43] or a fellow nurse or a fellow vet,

[00:10:46] some sort of confidant that you can discuss

[00:10:49] these things with so you're not bottling them up.

[00:10:53] But also don't be afraid to have a good cry.

[00:10:58] Some days I just get in my car

[00:11:00] and you just have a really good cry

[00:11:03] or you just play Shania Twain really loud

[00:11:06] and get it all out, but you have to have those outlets

[00:11:09] because you're dealing with it all the time.

[00:11:13] And we love animals,

[00:11:15] but it's just like we love any job we do,

[00:11:18] but there are days where it's not so lovable.

[00:11:21] So you gotta get back up and have ways to get back up.

[00:11:25] And yet it is hard for vet nurses and vets.

[00:11:28] So yeah, find someone,

[00:11:30] even if it's just one person,

[00:11:32] you have to have someone.

[00:11:32] I love that, that's such a great tip.

[00:11:34] It's so important to debrief sometimes,

[00:11:36] especially when we have a really stressful situation happen,

[00:11:40] really good to talk it out.

[00:11:42] And how about pet parents?

[00:11:43] How do you find dealing with some difficult pet parents?

[00:11:46] Look, I think a lot of the time

[00:11:49] it's pet parents are just passionate.

[00:11:52] Yeah, and sometimes the line between passion

[00:11:56] gets blurred, right?

[00:11:58] We talk about in animal behavior,

[00:12:01] we can go one of two ways and that's lust and rage.

[00:12:03] It's not really any different

[00:12:04] when we have passionate pet parents.

[00:12:07] But a lot of that comes down to is they just want time.

[00:12:11] They just need the time to process the information,

[00:12:14] understand how that impacts both them and their pets

[00:12:17] and what's the way forward.

[00:12:19] And I completely understand

[00:12:21] that in traditional clinic models,

[00:12:23] that's crammed into a very short period of time.

[00:12:27] So that's the beauty of what I get to do being mobile.

[00:12:30] If it takes me an hour or it takes me two hours,

[00:12:32] I'm at that house explaining those things

[00:12:34] or going through options or administering that care.

[00:12:37] So that's something I think pet owners

[00:12:41] or even nurses should be aware of is don't forget

[00:12:45] that time is important and don't rush somebody

[00:12:48] because it's their pet and they deserve to understand

[00:12:52] exactly what we're doing to them,

[00:12:54] why we're doing it to them

[00:12:56] and then the impact it's going to have on them

[00:12:58] because we hand them back to the owner

[00:13:00] and then they have them

[00:13:01] and it's their responsibility to look after them.

[00:13:04] So definitely don't just rush that.

[00:13:08] I'm that nagging nurse in the clinic

[00:13:10] that probably does slow things down,

[00:13:12] but I think we see a lot more worth

[00:13:15] and I think we get repeat business

[00:13:17] if we take the time with pet owners

[00:13:19] to spend time explaining and educating them.

[00:13:23] Yep, and I love that you touched on the differences

[00:13:26] just being a mobile vet.

[00:13:28] So what are some of the differences that you've noticed

[00:13:30] being a mobile and holistic vet nurse

[00:13:34] from just working in a clinic?

[00:13:35] Yeah, so for me I get to really just focus on

[00:13:38] the niche things that I love,

[00:13:40] which is really herbal medicine, homeopathy, rehab

[00:13:45] and I can schedule my day.

[00:13:47] So I can take as long as I want to see a patient,

[00:13:53] I don't have to rush,

[00:13:55] but for me I'm really dealing with a lot of referrals.

[00:13:58] So a lot of the things I see

[00:14:00] in my mobile vet nursing business

[00:14:02] usually are come from vets that refer to me.

[00:14:05] So that might be a traditional vet

[00:14:06] who doesn't practice in integrative or holistic medicine,

[00:14:10] but they don't feel like they can manage the case

[00:14:14] or they wanna give the pet owners some different options.

[00:14:17] So they might refer to me, which is really cool

[00:14:20] because I get to see cool cases

[00:14:23] and work that with a traditional vet,

[00:14:24] but sometimes I get referred cases too

[00:14:27] from holistic vets that just have really full workloads

[00:14:30] and wanna share that or wanna brainstorm stuff together,

[00:14:35] which is really cool because it's also like a message.

[00:14:38] Sometimes I think vet nurses feel like

[00:14:40] they sit under vets and they're not valued,

[00:14:44] but we do have a lot of knowledge

[00:14:47] and a lot of skills and a lot of things

[00:14:48] that we can bring,

[00:14:50] particularly if we have additional skill sets

[00:14:53] in different modalities and things like that.

[00:14:55] So that's why I always encourage nurses

[00:14:58] if they're feeling a little bit out in the industry,

[00:15:00] what is it that you're passionate about?

[00:15:02] Go and upskill in that

[00:15:02] and see if your clinic will offer that.

[00:15:04] And most of the time they probably will

[00:15:06] because it's gonna bring in new clients to them anyway

[00:15:09] and if they won't, you can go

[00:15:11] and offer that on the side.

[00:15:13] So yeah, that's the cool thing about

[00:15:15] having a bit of ownership in your day

[00:15:18] is you can make it what you want.

[00:15:21] Yes, and I love that that's what you've done

[00:15:23] because you've gone to explore holistic alternatives

[00:15:26] such as herbal medicine and rehabilitation.

[00:15:28] What led you to do that?

[00:15:30] So I kind of came to the industry in a roundabout way,

[00:15:33] although it's probably a common way

[00:15:36] that most people come to the industry is,

[00:15:38] I say it all started with a dog.

[00:15:41] So in my adult years, I had dogs as kids,

[00:15:44] but I didn't take full ownership of them,

[00:15:48] but I got a dog and I was like,

[00:15:51] we had dogs as kids, I've got this.

[00:15:52] And then I realized I actually didn't have it.

[00:15:57] He was an absolute nightmare.

[00:15:59] And all the things that were being told to me were like,

[00:16:02] he's gotta be on medication, he's just a nut cake,

[00:16:05] you've got to feed him all this highly processed food.

[00:16:07] And I'm just in my head going,

[00:16:09] I'm a senior researcher,

[00:16:11] I work on all these medical and health projects.

[00:16:14] There's nothing sound,

[00:16:15] there's no sound evidence

[00:16:16] to support why I should be doing this.

[00:16:18] I need to go and do a bit more digging.

[00:16:21] So I just went down, obviously my own little research path.

[00:16:25] And I remember saying to my husband,

[00:16:28] I think I'm just gonna become a vet nurse

[00:16:31] and I think I'm just gonna become a naturopath.

[00:16:33] And he just was like, here we go.

[00:16:37] Because he knows that that's just me.

[00:16:39] Like if I want information, I'll go and find it

[00:16:43] or I'll find it to a point where then

[00:16:45] I just may as well get the skill set in it

[00:16:47] because I've just got so entrenched in it.

[00:16:50] But yes, my dog Sid, he didn't have all these problems.

[00:16:55] He just needed good food and some natural healthcare

[00:16:59] and some basic behavioral modification.

[00:17:02] But he was certainly not the extreme dog

[00:17:06] that was led to believe.

[00:17:07] So I went in a roundabout way and then went,

[00:17:10] you know what, I'm a bit tired of working in academia.

[00:17:14] I might just sit on the periphery of that

[00:17:16] and have it there and pursue this.

[00:17:18] And yeah, I haven't really looked back since.

[00:17:20] Wow.

[00:17:21] And so I'm sure then your day looks so different

[00:17:24] depending on what type of patient you're seeing.

[00:17:27] What kind of things do you do during the day?

[00:17:29] So it can vary.

[00:17:31] So it can be a day where it's just normal nursing things.

[00:17:34] Like I might go and be asked to collect bloods

[00:17:37] or give some injections for a vet or do anal glands.

[00:17:40] No one wants to do that.

[00:17:42] Or nail clipping or I might then have a day

[00:17:44] where I'm going to do palliative care.

[00:17:48] And the dog's at home, it's on fluid therapy

[00:17:51] and it's just there until the owners

[00:17:53] are ready to say goodbye.

[00:17:54] I might go and see a dog or a cat or a horse.

[00:17:58] You never know.

[00:18:00] And be looking at some herbal ways

[00:18:03] we can support the diagnosis that they've been given.

[00:18:05] Whether it's skin, it might be gut health.

[00:18:08] I do a lot of nutrition consults.

[00:18:10] And then also I do rehab.

[00:18:12] So I get a lot of referrals from vets to do physical therapy.

[00:18:15] So whether that's massage or hydrotherapy or cold laser.

[00:18:20] And we just tailor that depending on

[00:18:22] what kind of case it is.

[00:18:24] It might be, we get lots of like dashhounds

[00:18:27] who are paralyzed.

[00:18:28] So from introvertible disc disease,

[00:18:31] lots of cruciates I think, you know,

[00:18:34] we're seeing just a huge rise in cruciates

[00:18:36] and lactating cartilages.

[00:18:37] So they become surgical cases

[00:18:40] and then they become rehab cases.

[00:18:42] And in some instances now,

[00:18:45] looking after pets has become expensive.

[00:18:47] So physical therapy and rehab has become

[00:18:51] a more conservative way to manage these conditions

[00:18:54] outside of surgery.

[00:18:56] So giving more options to pet owners

[00:18:59] who really wanna look after their pet,

[00:19:02] but completely understand that

[00:19:05] five, 10, $15,000 for a surgery,

[00:19:08] we're looking at remortgaging your house.

[00:19:11] So providing that has become a lot more popular

[00:19:16] over the last few years

[00:19:17] and still really with successful outcomes,

[00:19:19] but it just gives this whole new avenue

[00:19:22] to caring for dogs and cats.

[00:19:25] Yeah.

[00:19:26] And then in your clinic,

[00:19:26] cause I know you're based up in Darwin.

[00:19:28] Do you travel far?

[00:19:30] Yeah, so sometimes I travel up to 300 kilometers to see.

[00:19:36] So I sort of service,

[00:19:38] not just like the Darwin grade area,

[00:19:39] but sometimes I'll go further down

[00:19:42] into sort of Catherine, Central Australia.

[00:19:45] But we also like, we've just set up a clinic space

[00:19:48] so we can have people come to me as well.

[00:19:52] And also we have placed an integrative vet there as well

[00:19:56] and a dog behaviorist.

[00:19:57] So we've kind of created a hub now,

[00:20:00] but yeah, I do travel a lot.

[00:20:03] That abdominal in my car just seems to be,

[00:20:06] hitting the hundreds of thousand kilometers a year.

[00:20:10] But I like being able to get on the road

[00:20:13] because seeing where animals are

[00:20:15] in the environment they live in

[00:20:16] tells us a lot about how we can support them as well.

[00:20:19] And it also reduces the stress,

[00:20:21] particularly for cats.

[00:20:22] When someone rings me and says,

[00:20:23] can you come and see my cat?

[00:20:24] They just, you hear the sigh of relief on the phone

[00:20:27] because they know that their cat's not going

[00:20:29] to have a meltdown at home.

[00:20:31] And I'm glad too,

[00:20:32] because I know in clinics,

[00:20:34] we would always have the bet on

[00:20:35] who would get scratched first from the stress cat.

[00:20:38] So we can minimize that stress by visiting their home.

[00:20:42] I'm all for that.

[00:20:43] That is so, so cool.

[00:20:45] Now what led you to start your own raw food range?

[00:20:48] Yeah, so we started Australian Pet Nutrition,

[00:20:51] which is like the raw food and the supplements.

[00:20:55] Knowing that we were entering a market,

[00:20:57] especially in Australia that was flooded,

[00:20:59] it's everywhere.

[00:21:00] And you only have to like one dog picture on Instagram

[00:21:04] and then there's 40 ads

[00:21:05] for different supplement companies coming up.

[00:21:08] But we really wanted to disrupt that.

[00:21:10] And I don't discredit any supplement company out there,

[00:21:13] but we really wanted to try

[00:21:15] and have supplements only if needed,

[00:21:18] but guide them through food first

[00:21:19] and be really honest and transparent

[00:21:22] and educate around only supplementing

[00:21:26] if it's absolutely needed.

[00:21:27] It seems to me as we were entering into the market,

[00:21:32] that there is just this trend now

[00:21:35] that if your dog's or cat's bowl

[00:21:37] isn't literally just like full of all these powders,

[00:21:40] you're not a holistic pet parent,

[00:21:43] which just blows my mind

[00:21:44] because my challenge on the flip of that

[00:21:47] is can you try and have nothing in your pet's bowl

[00:21:50] except fresh food and utilize food first?

[00:21:54] And then if absolutely necessary

[00:21:56] or you're treating a specific condition,

[00:21:58] then great, okay, well let's add something in

[00:22:00] that's really high quality and really necessary.

[00:22:04] But yeah, so people find it funny

[00:22:06] when they ask me like,

[00:22:08] what supplement of your range should we buy?

[00:22:11] And I say nothing unless you're focusing on food first.

[00:22:15] So a big thing for me is like,

[00:22:16] yeah, we offer these supplements,

[00:22:18] but it's really about trying to disrupt

[00:22:21] what's going on in the industry

[00:22:23] and pushing for a lot more honesty and education

[00:22:26] and not just pushing a lot of people into supplements

[00:22:30] for the sake of it

[00:22:31] and then guilting them that they haven't got 20

[00:22:34] in their pet's regime.

[00:22:36] And I get lists,

[00:22:37] I get lists when I go to people's houses,

[00:22:39] they bring out like a trolley full of all these

[00:22:41] supplements and I go, they're great,

[00:22:44] like they are all amazing supplements,

[00:22:46] but are they really needed?

[00:22:48] Most likely not.

[00:22:49] So simplifying things and educating

[00:22:52] is really why we did it.

[00:22:53] And it's expensive too, goodness.

[00:22:55] If I was to feed three dogs a whole list of supplements,

[00:22:58] I couldn't imagine what my bank account

[00:23:00] would say about that.

[00:23:02] I know, I know.

[00:23:03] Now long-term careers in vet nursing,

[00:23:05] what kind of opportunities exist?

[00:23:08] So it depends if you wanna go down the holistic path

[00:23:11] or you wanna go down the traditional nursing path.

[00:23:14] So I'll talk to both.

[00:23:15] In terms of traditional nursing,

[00:23:18] you can upgrade to like an advanced diploma.

[00:23:22] That's really more if you wanna go down

[00:23:24] the administrative line, in my opinion.

[00:23:26] So if you wanna be a practice manager,

[00:23:28] if you wanna stay sort of in the clinical side of things,

[00:23:31] you of course should be a registered vet nurse

[00:23:34] and then you can upskill to an accredited vet nurse.

[00:23:37] And being registered and accredited is really important

[00:23:39] because you're responsible each year

[00:23:41] for filling professional development.

[00:23:45] And that's really important, you wanna stay current.

[00:23:47] And then if you're really passionate

[00:23:49] about particular areas of veterinary nursing

[00:23:52] or vet medicine, we have in Australia now

[00:23:55] sort of adopted or we work alongside

[00:23:58] what's called the VTS,

[00:23:59] so the Veterinary Technician Specialist

[00:24:01] or specialization sort of model

[00:24:04] where you can pick say rehab

[00:24:06] or internal medicine or dentistry

[00:24:08] or there's 16 different specialties.

[00:24:11] So don't ask me to rattle them all off.

[00:24:14] And you can go and study and upskill

[00:24:17] and then sit exams to become a VTS specialist

[00:24:20] in that area.

[00:24:22] And I'd really like to see that progress

[00:24:24] obviously in Australia to be a way

[00:24:27] to manage the shortage of staff

[00:24:29] that's happening across the industry.

[00:24:31] So nurses are really even more valued

[00:24:33] in their skills and their knowledge

[00:24:35] to support this shortage

[00:24:37] of particularly vets that's happening.

[00:24:40] And then in terms of holistic,

[00:24:42] well, I say work out what you wanna do

[00:24:44] because there's lots of modalities, right?

[00:24:48] So two main ones to consider obviously

[00:24:51] is your herbal medicine and homeopathy

[00:24:54] and then there's lots of different rehab type modalities

[00:24:56] like massage, kinesiology, taping, hydrotherapy.

[00:25:01] So if there's a particular one that interests a nurse,

[00:25:04] go down that path and find an accredited course.

[00:25:08] So that's something you need

[00:25:09] to really keep your eye out for

[00:25:11] because you need to then be able to get insurance

[00:25:14] to allow you to use it in your practice

[00:25:16] whether it's with your clinic

[00:25:18] or if you're going out on your own.

[00:25:20] So making sure that you don't just find a course

[00:25:22] that looks interesting, make sure it's accredited

[00:25:24] so you can go and get that insurance to practice in it

[00:25:28] and make your money back.

[00:25:29] Yes, yeah, good tips.

[00:25:31] So then what has been the most rewarding thing

[00:25:33] out of your, if you can just sum up your career,

[00:25:36] what to you has been the best thing?

[00:25:38] I think for me is when I get a case

[00:25:42] that has kind of been just like disregarded

[00:25:45] that they've run out of traditional options

[00:25:49] and I get the referral kind of, I guess in a joking way

[00:25:53] but as a means for the owner to explore

[00:25:57] like last-ditch efforts

[00:25:58] and then that pet makes a full recovery

[00:26:01] using holistic treatments,

[00:26:02] whether it be rehab modalities or herbal medicine.

[00:26:07] That's always really rewarding

[00:26:08] but it also is a way that we plant seeds, right?

[00:26:11] When things change and an outcome changes

[00:26:14] that wasn't expected for someone,

[00:26:16] they then will refer again.

[00:26:18] So we sometimes get really staunch traditional practitioners

[00:26:24] starting to see maybe there are some things

[00:26:27] we can explore differently, which I love, right?

[00:26:30] Because it happens just by nature

[00:26:34] that they might be led down a different path.

[00:26:37] So they're always like the highlights for me.

[00:26:39] Yep and then what is your number one tip

[00:26:41] for those that may be considering career change

[00:26:44] or taking up vet nursing?

[00:26:46] What would you say to them?

[00:26:47] I would say like find a mentor,

[00:26:49] find someone that you can bounce your ideas off.

[00:26:53] I think the biggest detractor from the industry

[00:26:56] is the remuneration.

[00:26:58] So maybe start and just start it as the side

[00:27:03] and then you can transition into it as a profession

[00:27:06] if you're really passionate about it

[00:27:09] but to start somewhere.

[00:27:11] I get lots of nurses all the time message me

[00:27:15] and it's purely because they're looking for a mentor.

[00:27:18] It can be an industry that sometimes is

[00:27:21] not so collegial in that sense.

[00:27:23] So find someone that's willing to chat

[00:27:26] about courses they can do or ways you can up skill

[00:27:31] or just go and do a day in a clinic

[00:27:33] or go and do a day with a mobile vet nurse.

[00:27:35] See if you like it before you rush in.

[00:27:39] I guarantee you, you'll like it

[00:27:41] but there's always ways you can sort of try

[00:27:44] before you buy.

[00:27:45] Yeah, thank you so much, Dr. Ros.

[00:27:47] That's been so insightful into vet nursing

[00:27:49] and how people can take up the career.

[00:27:52] Where can our audience find you?

[00:27:54] So you can find me on Facebook

[00:27:56] and Instagram at The Natural Vet Nurse

[00:27:59] and also Australian Pet Nutrition.

[00:28:02] So you can see I've flit across both channels

[00:28:04] so you can join us on both.

[00:28:06] Awesome and then if our listeners are in Darwin

[00:28:09] are you taking on any new clients?

[00:28:10] Yes and you can come and visit our clinic

[00:28:12] and see our awesome clinic

[00:28:15] or if you wanna brave the heat

[00:28:17] or the rain this time of year,

[00:28:19] yeah, reach out, we'd love to see you.

[00:28:22] Beautiful, I wanna come and work with you.

[00:28:24] Thank you so much.

[00:28:25] We'll put some links in the show notes

[00:28:28] for our listeners that want to find you.

[00:28:31] And thanks so much for joining us on another episode.

[00:28:34] I'd love if you follow or subscribe

[00:28:36] and leave a review, that would be great.

[00:28:38] This helps us reach more pet owners

[00:28:40] who might also find our podcast beneficial.

[00:28:43] And that's it, we'll see you next time.