What Veterinary Nurses Really Do and Why Training Practices Matter
- May 18
- 11 min read
By Nicola Roberts RVN
When people bring their pets into practice, they naturally expect to see the vet. But behind every successful veterinary practice is an incredible team of Veterinary Nurses whose skill, compassion and dedication make an enormous difference to patient care every single day.
At Roundwood Vets in North West London, our Veterinary Nurses are at the heart of everything we do. They are often the reassuring voice on the phone, the calm face in theatre, the person sitting quietly beside a recovering patient and the team member supporting owners through some of the most emotional moments of pet ownership.
Veterinary nursing has been my life for nearly three decades. I first entered the profession in 1997 as a Veterinary Nurse Assistant, or Veterinary Care Assistant (VCA) as we now call them. I later became a student Veterinary Nurse and qualified in 2003. Looking back now, the profession has evolved enormously, and I can honestly say Registered Veterinary Nurses are one of the greatest assets any veterinary practice can have.
Over my six years at Roundwood Vets as Practice Manager, I have never really been able to fully step away from nursing. It is a profession I genuinely love, so I still regularly jump in to support the team when needed. Once veterinary nursing becomes part of who you are, it never truly leaves you.
As a training practice, we are also passionate about helping shape the future of the profession by supporting student Veterinary Nurses through their training. It is something I care deeply about because I know firsthand how important support, mentorship and real clinical experience are when developing confident and compassionate Veterinary Nurses.
Contents
What Veterinary Nurses Really Do
One of the biggest misconceptions is that Veterinary Nurses simply “help the vet.” In reality, Registered Veterinary Nurses are highly trained professionals with extensive clinical responsibilities and practical skills. Many people also assume Veterinary Nurses are training to become vets, when in fact veterinary nursing is a highly skilled and rewarding profession in its own right. Nurses play a vital role in patient care, anaesthesia, inpatient treatment and client support, and their work has a huge impact on patient welfare, comfort and recovery. Many choose the profession because they love the hands-on nursing care and close bonds they build with both pets and their owners.
A Veterinary Nurse’s role can include:
Triage
Monitoring anaesthetics during surgery
Caring for hospitalised patients
Taking blood samples
Running laboratory tests
Operating diagnostic equipment
Placing intravenous catheters
Wound management
Pain management
Giving medications and treatments
Providing emergency and critical care
Assisting during surgical procedures
Supporting pets prior to surgery, right through to their recovery
Advising owners on nutrition and preventative healthcare
Running nurse clinics and patient rehabilitation
Taking diagnostic x-rays
Carrying out minor surgical procedures and dental care under Schedule 3 guidelines
Education
Emotional support to both patients and their families
Processing insurance claims
Maintaining the in house pharmacy
Many owners are surprised to learn quite how much Veterinary Nurses are trained and legally permitted to do.
Under Schedule 3 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act, Registered Veterinary Nurses who are appropriately trained and supervised can carry out certain minor surgical procedures delegated by a veterinary surgeon. Veterinary Nurses are also highly trained in radiography and frequently take diagnostic x-rays, carefully positioning patients while maintaining strict radiation safety standards.
Veterinary Nurses also play a critical role during anaesthesia. Monitoring an anaesthetic requires constant vigilance, clinical knowledge and rapid decision-making. During surgery, the Veterinary Nurse continuously monitors heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, oxygen levels, temperature and pain management to help keep patients as safe and stable as possible.
Sometimes the first thing a frightened patient needs is not treatment, but someone sitting quietly beside them until they feel safe enough to relax. That compassionate side of nursing is just as important as the clinical skill.
I still love supporting our student nurses through this process. There are moments where a student nurse starts the day nervously monitoring their first high-risk anaesthetic and leaves theatre a few hours later smiling with confidence.
Watching students grow into capable, calm and compassionate nurses is one of the most rewarding parts of my job.
In many ways, Veterinary Nurses are the constant thread throughout a pet’s care journey. We are often the people checking in on your pet throughout the day, ensuring they are comfortable, safe and recovering well.
How Veterinary Nurses Train and Qualify
Some pet owners do not realise just how intensive veterinary nurse training really is.
In the UK, it typically takes between two and four years to qualify as a Registered Veterinary Nurse depending on the training route taken. Some students complete a diploma alongside practical training in practice, while others study for a veterinary nursing degree at university.
Student Veterinary Nurses balance academic study with hands-on clinical training in busy veterinary practices. During this time, they build both theoretical knowledge and practical competence across a huge range of areas.
Student nurses study subjects including:
Anatomy and physiology
Pharmacology
Anaesthesia
Surgical nursing
Emergency and critical care
Diagnostic imaging
Infection control
Laboratory procedures
Animal behaviour and welfare
Nutrition
Alongside coursework and written exams, students complete practical assessments throughout training. They must demonstrate competence in essential nursing skills such as monitoring anaesthetics, taking x-rays, maintaining sterile surgical environments, performing laboratory tests and handling patients safely.
Students also complete a Nursing Progress Log documenting a large number of practical competencies that must be signed off by experienced clinical coaches within practice.
At Roundwood Vets, we currently have four clinical coaches supporting both our student Veterinary Nurse apprenticeships and student placements. Their role is incredibly important, helping guide students through practical skills, professional development and the realities of day-to-day practice life. From teaching clinical techniques to building confidence and resilience, strong mentorship plays a huge part in shaping capable and compassionate future Registered Veterinary Nurses.
Training to become a Registered Veterinary Nurse requires dedication, resilience, compassion and an enormous amount of hard work.
The Advanced Skills Veterinary Nurses Perform
One of the things I feel most passionate about is helping owners understand just how skilled Veterinary Nurses truly are.
A Registered Veterinary Nurse is not simply “helping out.” Veterinary Nurses are regulated professionals who have studied extensively and developed practical skills over years of training.
Veterinary Nurses regularly:
Monitor complex anaesthetics
Recognise early signs of patient deterioration
Provide emergency life-saving care
Perform laboratory diagnostics
Take and process diagnostic x-rays
Carry out minor surgical procedures under Schedule 3
Support diabetic, elderly and critically ill patients
Assist in emergency surgeries and intensive care
Educate owners about long-term conditions and preventative care
In many situations, Veterinary Nurses are making critical observations that directly influence patient treatment and recovery.
Much of veterinary nursing also happens quietly behind the scenes, long before owners arrive and long after the day officially ends. While owners may see the consultation or surgery itself, much of the ongoing care afterwards is provided by Veterinary Nurses. They are often the people preparing patients for surgery, carefully monitoring recovering patients, checking pain levels, keeping them warm, safe and comfortable, encouraging nervous pets to eat and quietly reassuring them as they wake from anaesthesia. Alongside this hands-on patient care, nurses are also preparing theatre equipment, calculating medications, monitoring inpatients and keeping worried owners updated throughout the day.
Veterinary Nurses learn to move from moments of joy to moments of heartbreak within minutes, while still providing calm, compassionate care to every patient in front of them.
Why Continuing Professional Development Matters
Qualifying as a Veterinary Nurse is not the end of learning. In many ways, it is only the beginning.
Registered Veterinary Nurses are professionally accountable for the care they provide and are required to continue their professional development throughout their careers in order to remain registered and up to date.
Veterinary medicine changes constantly. Advances in anaesthesia, pain management, surgery and patient care mean Veterinary Nurses must continue studying long after qualification.
Continuing professional development may include:
Attending courses and conferences
Completing online training
Updating emergency care skills
Learning new clinical techniques
Studying advances in anaesthesia and surgery
Undertaking additional qualifications and certificates
Many Veterinary Nurses also choose to develop advanced skills or specialist interests in particular areas of nursing. This may include fields such as emergency and critical care, anaesthesia, feline nursing, behaviour, rehabilitation, inpatient care and dentistry. Some RVNs go on to complete further certificates or advanced nursing qualifications, while others move into leadership, teaching, coaching student nurses or practice management roles.
Even after nearly thirty years in practice, I am still learning all the time. That is one of the things I love most about the profession. There is always more knowledge to gain and always new ways to improve patient care.
Why Student Veterinary Nurses Are So Important
As a training practice, we believe strongly in supporting student Veterinary Nurses because every experienced nurse once started exactly where they are now.
No Veterinary Nurse becomes confident overnight. Experience is built carefully over time through learning, practice and support.
Allowing student nurses to be involved in your pet’s care is one of the most valuable ways we can help develop skilled future nurses for the profession.
Student nurses are always appropriately supervised, but those real-life opportunities are essential. A student nurse may be:
Learning how to monitor an anaesthetic
Developing confidence with blood sampling
Practising radiography positioning
Learning sterile surgical technique
Building communication skills with owners
Gaining experience in post-operative care
One of the most rewarding parts of my career has been watching student nurses grow from nervous beginners into confident Registered Veterinary Nurses. Seeing students pass their exams, qualify and eventually mentor others themselves is incredibly special.
Finding a Veterinary Nursing placement or apprenticeship can also be incredibly competitive. Opportunities are limited, and practices offering high-quality training placements are often heavily oversubscribed.
When we advertise student nursing opportunities at Roundwood Vets, we frequently receive well over 200 applications within hours. That alone reflects the level of passion, commitment and determination people have to enter the profession.
Behind every student nurse is someone who has worked incredibly hard for the opportunity to train, often balancing study, work experience and years of determination just to begin their journey into veterinary nursing.
Every confident Veterinary Nurse started as a student being given the opportunity to learn. The trust owners place in training practices helps shape the future of veterinary care for generations of pets to come.
The Emotional Side of Veterinary Nursing
One of the parts of nursing people perhaps see the least is the emotional side of the profession.
Veterinary Nurses are often there during some of the hardest moments owners face. We support families through difficult decisions, comfort pets during recovery and spend long hours caring for vulnerable patients.
Over the last six years at Roundwood Vets, I have hand reared fourteen kittens whilst teaching members of my team how to do the same. Anyone who has cared for neonatal kittens knows the reality behind it: the sleepless nights, round-the-clock feeds, constant monitoring and emotional ups and downs that come with such fragile little patients. Despite every ounce of care and determination, some sadly do not survive, and it is heartbreaking to lose those battles. But every moment of exhaustion becomes worthwhile when those same kittens return to the practice months or years later as healthy adults.
One kitten in particular will always stay with me, Jessie Bo Jangles.
She arrived unconscious, fitting, severely malnourished and needing intensive critical nursing care. I stayed with her throughout the night, constantly monitoring and nursing her, quietly hoping she would make it through, at times I thought she wouldn't. Pictured here the following morning, standing and beginning her road to recovery.
Thankfully, she recovered so well that she never actually left my care and remains my biggest critic to this day.
Over the years at Roundwoods, I have also stayed overnight with many patients requiring continuous care so they are never alone and always safe. Those nights often involve constant monitoring, medication checks, regular updates to worried owners and occasionally sitting on the sofa with a patient in the staff room with some truly terrible late-night television in the background. But knowing a patient is comfortable, stable and cared for through the night is always what matters most.
Another hugely important part of my role has been supporting families through palliative and end-of-life care. Veterinary Nurses are often the consistent point of contact during this journey, helping owners navigate difficult decisions with compassion and honesty.
Sometimes that means helping families recognise when their pet’s quality of life is changing. Sometimes it means talking through what they want their pet’s final days to look like and ensuring they feel supported throughout the process. Often, it means helping families celebrate the life and bond they are about to lose.
One of the privileges of veterinary nursing is supporting pets and owners through every stage of life, from tiny newborn kittens needing round-the-clock feeds to elderly companions needing comfort and dignity in their final days.
In October 2025, I was invited by the British Veterinary Nursing Association to speak at their congress about how Veterinary Nurses can support families through this final journey. It was an incredibly proud moment for me and reinforced just how important the role of Veterinary Nurses is, not only in caring for patients but also in supporting the people who love them.
Why Involving Student Nurses Benefits Your Pet
Sometimes owners understandably feel uncertain when they hear a student nurse may be involved in their pet’s care. But in reality, training environments often provide incredibly attentive and thorough care.
Student nurses are eager to learn, highly motivated and closely supervised. They often spend extra time observing patients carefully, asking questions and ensuring they are doing everything correctly.
Your pet also benefits from being cared for by a collaborative team where learning, discussion and best practice are encouraged every day.
Many of today’s exceptional Veterinary Nurses only became confident and skilled because previous owners kindly allowed them those same learning opportunities years ago.
Why “Registered” Matters
In the UK, the title “Veterinary Nurse” itself is unfortunately not currently legally protected, which means some people may use the term without being fully qualified or registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS).
Registered Veterinary Nurses (RVNs) have completed formal training, passed professional qualifications and are accountable to the RCVS professional code of conduct. The veterinary nursing profession has long campaigned for stronger title protection to help improve public understanding and protect patient welfare.
If you would ever like to check whether a Veterinary Nurse is registered, you can do so through the RCVS “Find a Vet / Find a Vet Nurse” register online.
A Profession I Am Proud to Be Part Of
Veterinary Nurses are not simply support staff.
We are patient advocates, anaesthetic monitors, radiographers, laboratory technicians, educators, surgical assistants, emergency responders and compassionate carers.
A strong nursing team elevates the entire standard of care within a practice.
For me personally, veterinary nursing has been an incredibly rewarding profession. Since starting as a Veterinary Care Assistant in 1997 and qualifying as a Registered Veterinary Nurse in 2003, I have seen the profession grow into something truly remarkable.
Nearly thirty years later, I still feel incredibly privileged to do this job. Few professions allow you to combine science, compassion, teaching and patient care in quite the same way.
From my first days cleaning kennels and preparing feeds as a VCA to mentoring the next generation of nurses today, one thing has never changed: the privilege of caring for animals and supporting the people who love them.
Veterinary Nurses are there from the very beginning of a pet’s journey through to their final moments. From first vaccinations and nervous rescue pets to emergency surgeries, critical care and end-of-life support, nurses work quietly behind the scenes every day to make veterinary care safer, calmer and kinder for both pets and their owners.
At Roundwood Vets, we are incredibly proud of our Veterinary Nurses, student nurses and clinical coaches who care tirelessly for patients while also helping shape the future of the profession.
By allowing student nurses to be involved in your pet’s care, you are not only supporting their learning but also helping develop the next generation of compassionate and skilled Registered Veterinary Nurses.
Whether it is monitoring a complex anaesthetic, comforting an anxious patient or supporting a family through difficult decisions, Veterinary Nurses play an extraordinary role in the lives of both pets and the people who love them.
If you would like to know more about the role of our Veterinary Nurses or what it means to be a training practice, our team is always happy to chat during your visit to Roundwood Vets.
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