VN Futures: 25% of nurses plan to leave profession

A quarter of veterinary nurses are planning to leave the profession due to poor pay rates and a lack of career progression opportunities.

The findings come from the VN Futures Interim Report 2021 – a joint initiative from the RCVS and the BVNA – and the culmination of five years of research into the veterinary nursing profession.

It shows that 24.8% of VNs surveyed declared their intention to leave the veterinary sector in the next five years, citing reasons ranging from pay to poor work-life balance.

The survey found that around 80% of those who plan to leave the profession cited pay as their primary reason, while the second most frequent reason (60%) was feeling unrewarded or unvalued.

Other reasons cited include dissatisfaction with career opportunities – with around 40% stating it as a reason to leave – closely followed by long, unsocial hours and chronic stress (around 30%).

Addressing issues

The VN Futures interim report aims to help address many of the issues affecting the profession, and improve the standards and well-being of the profession as a whole.

Addressing the finding that 25% of nurses plan to leave the profession, the report stated: “Many veterinary nurses do not feel valued in their role, they struggle to have a good work-life balance, and a clear career structure is not always visible or achieved. Furthermore, VNs are often not effectively utilised or delegated to within practice, and remuneration is frequently identified as a cause for concern.

“Despite the challenges faced by veterinary nurses, the profession is moving forward and the signs are that it has a bright future ahead of it.

“To mitigate the challenges and make sure the profession seizes the opportunities, it is imperative that its development continues to be supported.”

Phase one

The interim report marks the end of the first phase of the VN futures project, with the report intended to provide information on what the RCVS has been doing as part of initiatives to support the profession.

It comes following ongoing issues around retention and pay across the industry, but acutely felt by vet nurses, with many calling for better pay and better recognition from the rest of the industry.

BVNA president Alex Taylor said: “The VN Futures report sums up which areas of the profession needed to be highlighted and then looked for ways to make change – it’s not just about looking for problems, it’s about looking for solutions.

“A lot of what we have covered in the past five years has shaped part of what we are going to focus on in the next phase of VN Futures. Two of the aims of the previous phase included creating a more sustainable workforce and a confident, resilient, healthy and well-supported workforce.”

Ms Taylor detailed how the BVNA recognises the nationwide shortage in VN staff putting additional pressures on practices, but highlighted that the number of registered VNs had jumped to 20,000 – a significant increase from 13,678 in 2016.

She added: “It is no secret that the veterinary profession is under a lot of strain at the moment, with the pandemic, Brexit and increased number of pets obtained during lockdown all contributing factors.

“However, veterinary professionals everywhere have adapted, and some of the measures put in place over the lockdown period will continue as the they have proven to be effective and time-saving.

“Veterinary nurses are key members of staff in practice, but sometimes their skills are not properly utilised; however, this is starting to change as people are becoming aware of just how valuable we are.”

Crisis

Responding to the report, VMG president Rich Casey said remuneration must be a part of the conversation going forwards, “despite it being outside the control of associations and regulators”.

Mr Casey said: “While salary is certainly an issue, given that the second most important reason for RVNs leaving the profession is that they don’t feel valued, it’s possible that a perceived avoiding of conversations about pay may be making things even worse.

“What we don’t want is a situation in which RVNs are paid more, but continue to leave the profession because it turns out that the cumulative effects of not feeling valued and challenged, limited career progression and a poor work-life balance are also root causes of their dissatisfaction.

“I don’t believe it’s an impending crisis. If so many RVNs are feeling this way, then that’s their reality and we are already in a crisis.”

• The full report can be found online.