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Vets invited to events to empower vet nurses
RCVS seeks to promote veterinary nurses' involvement in a multi-disciplinary team.
VN Vision hopes to strengthen the vet nurse role.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) has invited veterinary professionals to its VN Vision workshops.

The UK-wide sessions, which are open to the entire veterinary team, will seek to gather the insights needed to empower veterinary nurses in the workplace.

RCVS’ sessions are informed by VN Vision work, carried out in 2024, which is seeking to encourage a cultural shift to effectively integrate veterinary nurses into veterinary teams. Previous findings have revealed that many nurses felt their skills and capabilities were not fully utilised in the tasks they complete.

As part of these new sessions, RCVS will seek to promote veterinary nurses' involvement in a number of areas.

RCVS hopes to shift to veterinary nurses are those involving direct client engagement. They will also be recommended to support with long-term condition management.

Veterinary nurses could also be empowered to conduct routine appointments with clients. This might include post-operative checks and booster vaccinations.

Finally, RCVS suggests that minor surgical procedures, such as suturing and wound care, become part of a veterinary nurse’s role.

The workshops, titled ‘A vision or necessity: strengthening the role of veterinary nurses in team-based healthcare’ will be free to attend and count towards CPD. They will be taking place across the UK throughout the second part of 2025.

Jill Macdonald RVN, VN Futures lead, said: "These interactive sessions will play an important role in this new branch of VN Vision work, helping to define long term goals, identify the practical steps needed to achieve them, and determine how success will be measured and shared with the wider public.

"We were honoured to have so many fantastic nurses come together last year to help shape the future of the profession, and we’re looking forward to many more engaging conversations with vet team members this time around. This is more than just a conversation though – it’s a national effort to strengthen the RVN role through collaboration, clarity and confidence."

More information about the sessions can be found here.

Image © Shutterstock

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Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

Click here for more...
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RCVS pays tribute to well-loved equine vet

The RCVS and the Riding Establishments Subcommittee has paid tribute to well-loved veterinary surgeon and riding establishment inspector, Rebecca Hamilton-Fletcher MRCVS.

Linda Belton MRCVS, RCVS President, said: "I, along with my colleagues on the RESC, RCVS Council, RCVS Standards Committee, as well as RCVS staff, was very saddened to hear of the sudden death of Rebecca, or Becca as we knew her, last week.

"She was a true advocate for equine welfare and in her many years on the RESC worked to continually improve the quality and consistency of riding establishment inspections, all in the interests of enhanced horse welfare and rider safety."