20 Oct 2017
“Time spent sitting down as a VN should improve the time spent standing up,” writes Jane Davidson as she highlights the importance of desk duties and discusses how it could improve client interaction.
Jane Davidson
Job Title
Desk work is every bit as important as the time VNs spend on their feet, says Jane. IMAGE: iStock/Rene Mansi.
As vet nurses, we are on our feet a lot. If we’re not on our feet then we’re on our knees or generally bending, reaching and rolling around in pursuit of the holy trinity of care, cuddles and cleanliness.
Over the years, I’ve noticed this led to a phenomenon where it is assumed if VNs are sat down, they aren’t “working”.
While it is true they may not be carrying out hands-on care, many aspects of the veterinary nursing role need someone to sit down at a desk or in an office. These are roles essential to providing care, yet sometimes I know other staff resent the office time or desk time of others.
It appears the prospect of a nurse sitting down and “not working” is not just in veterinary nursing. Regular posts are made online about people in the human care team seeing others as “lazy” for sitting at a desk. Patients can also perceive a nurse is more often at the nurse station than by their bedsides. In fact, google “nurse sitting” and you get the option of “nurse sitting down clearly photoshopped”.
These opinions seem to be linked to the idea a nurse is only a nurse if he or she is hands-on with the patients. The fact nurses need to document all they have done with a patient (charting for our US friends) – as well as plan for their future care, and communicate with other staff and clients – all seems to be forgotten. Additional to this, you are likely to be ordering new stock and taking care of such delights as the dispensary audit, the dangerous drugs book and much more.
I’m not even going to start on the staff rota.
These jobs cannot be done while helping directly with patients – although I’m sure we’ve all tried and found out the hard way desk duties don’t get completed correctly, easily or on time when you’re also with patients.
We need some of the team, some of the time, to be sat at a desk to guide staff on what is happening to patients, then looking at what has happened and ways to improve it.
The clinical coach and training roles in practices are also important. We need veterinary nurses who know what the expected standards in your practice are and how to access the information that supports your work. Training staff needs some time spent planning what to teach and when – and we’re back to the rota again. Sorry.
I’m not saying we’re all perfect and that no one ever checks their personal emails or sends a quick text to friends while at their desk, but, in general, time spent sitting down as a vet nurse should improve the time spent standing up as a vet nurse.
In teams, it can be easy to fall into the trap of being envious of those with desk time. Taking the weight off their feet, having a cup of tea while it’s still warm, leaving work not sniffing their hair to see if it smells of anal glands. What luxury. But what people do at their desk is every bit as important to the patients as cleaning up those anal gland expulsions.
In related news, it would appear sitting while working with human patients has a positive effect on the interaction. The patients are more alert and attentive, and rate the communication as better.
Perhaps this may be a point to remember when speaking to clients – and maybe for colleagues who don’t believe sitting down can improve veterinary nursing.
