22 May 2024
Helen Clarke now holds a senior leadership role with the practice she joined in 1994 and is keen to see further advances for her profession.
Vet Times
Job Title
Helen Clarke.
An RVN who is celebrating 30 years with her Derbyshire practice has hailed the progress of the profession during her clinical career.
Helen Clarke joined the Chapel House Veterinary Practice, which has branches in Chesterfield and Staveley, as an SVN in 1994.
Today, she is practice manager and while she acknowledges that further advances are needed, she said the nursing profession and wider sector have both “come a long way” since she first arrived in practice.
Mrs Clarke said: “Older vets were very hesitant about delegating clinical tasks early in my career. I think they felt the RVN’s role was more as a cleaner/receptionist/housekeeper, rather than integrating their combined knowledge to improve patient care.
“Now, I love how the roles of RVNs are evolving, the respect they receive from colleagues and the wide understanding of their RVN role and potential.
“However, I know more can be done here, as protecting the title of RVNs is paramount. Currently, anyone can call themselves a vet nurse, which undermines all the hard work and training that comes with those who are fully qualified.
“It is amazing what an RVN can now do in their own right and the services we can provide directly to clients with education and preventive health clinics.
“I really hope in the future our role can be expanded further to allow even more responsibility with the added duties to assist vets with prescribing for minor ailments and routine vaccinations.”
Mrs Clarke also recalled some memorable cases from her time in practice, including a terrier that was found to have both male and female sex organs, and a skunk that certainly made its presence felt during a clinical examination.
She said: “Within seconds, the consultation room was uninhabitable because of the stench, which then proceeded to spread throughout the whole practice and remained for well over a month.”
Now in a key leadership role, Mrs Clarke said she felt “empowered” to improve the practice’s operations, while she also regularly hits the target outside the practice as a multiple county rifle shooting champion.
