Survey investigating factors affecting recruitment and retention in the UK veterinary nursing profession.

BACKGROUND: Recruitment and retention have been identified as contributing factors to workforce shortages in the veterinary team. METHODS: Results from veterinary nurses to an online questionnaire regarding recruitment and retention were analysed. RESULTS: Veterinary nurses had few job changes (median 2); however, 53.8% (n = 1060) reported they were likely or very likely to leave their employment within 2 years. Respondents who were recently qualified (p < 0.001) and on lower salaries (p < 0.001) were significantly more likely to plan to leave. The most frequently chosen reasons to stay in a position were team, location and working hours, while reasons to leave were salary, management and work-life balance. Respondents most disliked 'dealing with people', remuneration and work-life balance and would like to change the salary, management and team aspects. Employers reported difficulty in employing an experienced veterinary nurse. LIMITATIONS: A questionnaire simplifies the nature of retention. Also, a comparatively low number of responses was received, with overrepresentation of some groups. It was conducted in 2018; however, it still provides a useful comparison for studies regarding recent world events. CONCLUSION: The shortage of veterinary nurses is due in part to the lack of retention within the profession. Adequate recompense for work undertaken and value attributed to the role are suggested as contributing factors.

Experiences Introducing a Team-Based Knowledge Summary to Student Veterinary Nurses/Veterinary Technicians.

It is a responsibility of veterinarians and veterinary nurse/veterinary technician practitioners to ground their decisions on sound, objective, and current evidence. Fundamental to this process is the ability to critically analyze available evidence and apply this alongside existing clinical expertise to inform clinical decision making and practice. This teaching tip describes the design and implementation of a knowledge summary and peer feedback as elements of a summative assessment of third-year veterinary nursing degree students at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London. Underlying educational theories and practical details on how to carry out the proposed innovation are discussed. Students' feedback of this assessment method was largely positive, with acknowledgment of its value in facilitating the answering of clinically relevant questions in a practical, structured, and evidence-based format that is directly transferrable to veterinary practice. For those continuing to the fourth year of the Bachelor of Science (BSc) program, it was considered good preparation for the research and literature review conducted as part of the final-year project. Feedback from faculty suggests that the assessment fulfilled its aim of ensuring improved constructive alignment and facilitating the development of higher-order cognitive skills. Others are encouraged to adopt this method of assessment to develop students' interpersonal skills, encourage their critical appraisal of evidence, and challenge traditional theories and practice.