From burnout to building a thriving diabetic service with Catriona

Today I’m joined by Medical Nursing Academy member Catriona Muir. In this post, Cat shares her journey from finding her love for medicine and building a niche, to her role in implementing diabetic clinics and seeing her own patients.

Cat shares some amazing insights about the difference good nursing care can make, finding your voice, and advocating for your patients - and whatever your role in practice, I know you’ll find so many gems in her post today.

Where it began

Cat qualified in 2021, after spending her SVN placements in a variety of GP and referral hospitals. At the end of her training, her placement practice offered her a position and she’s been working there ever since - in a busy, varied, first-opinion clinic.

Discovering her niche

Cat initially wasn’t sure what she wanted to focus on within nursing, but discovering medicine changed that - and as she began building that niche, she found more and more satisfaction in her career.

“After seeing some of Laura’s posts I realised just how much involvement we can have as nurses to help better the lives of patients as well as their owners.

I get a lot of satisfaction from nursing patients at their worst and seeing them make improvements everyday.

It sounds cheesy but it really is the best feeling to see a patient thrive and know that your nursing has helped them get to that point!”

That love of nursing patients through illness has been some of the most rewarding aspects for Cat. Her words of wisdom? Never underestimate the impact your nursing care has:

“The impact that good medical nursing care can have on a case is incredible and I find it so rewarding to watch a patient’s quality of life improve thanks to the nursing care provided.”

Feeling valued as an RVN and using new skills

One of the things I admire most about Cat is her focus and dedication to getting the nurses in her hospital to develop their skills.

“I feel really lucky to work somewhere that really does value their nurses and want to see them progress & experience job satisfaction to the fullest.”

One of the ways Cat has managed to increase her role is by developing diabetic clinics in her hospital.

Implementing diabetic clinics

With the support of her vet, she worked on a protocol to create nurse clinics for diabetic patients. And soon after this, her vet referred Cat her first case - a lovely little Westie with previously unstable diabetes and bilateral diabetic cataracts.

“I really do love caring for diabetic patients because it can be such a scary and overwhelming disease for owners to manage and come to terms with, but with the right support and help it can become so much less daunting and scary. I have loved watching and helping my diabetic clinic patients improve and thrive while adjusting to a new way of living.”

Cat has since successfully supported this patient and their family through cataract surgery, and has recently taught them how to use continuous glucose monitors - bringing this new technology into her practice for the first time!

Being an advocate and finding your voice

One of the most important aspects of nursing for Cat is standing up and advocating for her patients. And in medical patients this is arguably even more important - as we are the ones watching them respond to treatment, and supporting them through often long-term, complex illnesses.

“I think being an advocate for our medical patients has the biggest impact on their well-being.

When you are nursing a medical patient, you are their constant and are witness to how they are responding to treatment.

Your voice really does matter in terms of communicating with the rest of the veterinary team about their care and being able to collaborate with the veterinary surgeon on what the patient needs.”

Lessons learned from medical nursing

I asked Cat to share the most valuable lesson she has learned in her nursing career so far. She shared an important message that we (me included!) all need a reminder of every now and then:

“I think the most valuable lesson I’ve learned in my career so far is to never underestimate what your nursing care can do for a patient as well as their owners.

The nursing profession can sadly often be forgotten about as we are more in the background when it comes to helping with patients, but our skills are crucial in helping to treat these patients.’

Advice for any nurse wanting to move into medicine

Cat is such a fantastic example of someone who went from not really knowing what they wanted to focus on, to realising how much medicine had to offer and really jumping in with both feet.

I asked her what she would say to someone who wanted to explore medical nursing further. Her advice? Go for it - because you’ll make such a big difference to your patients!

“100% go for it! It is such a rewarding area within the nursing profession and can make such an impact on patient care for the better.”

Turning burnout into opportunities to make a difference

We know that the veterinary industry demands a lot from us. Both physically and emotionally, it can be a draining job and burnout is a common occurrence. Cat herself has experienced this in the past, and found herself doubting her future in the profession at times.

But, with the support of her practice and the rest of her nursing team, she was able to reignite her passion for nursing and use it to learn new skills.

“For a while I genuinely didn’t know if I wanted to continue to work within the industry but thankfully with support from my work and nursing team, I was able to identify parts of my role that I love and really dive back into them. This is when I really got stuck in with getting diabetic nursing clinics up and running and I’m so glad I did because seeing the positive impact it’s had first-hand has been really rewarding.”

Joining the academy

Cat joined the academy when doors opened earlier this year. She knew she wanted to develop her medical niche, and wanted to prepare for a medical nursing certificate in the future.

“I loved the way that Laura would explain all things medical nursing and the community she has created as well.

I would love to pursue a certificate in Medical Nursing in the future and I knew that by joining the academy, I would receive the support and guidance to help get me closer to that goal, as well as make me a better nurse for my patients.”

Fast forward a few months, and Cat is already making so many waves for her patients and I just know her team is so grateful for that!

Her vets are using new technology that she has suggested and discussed with them, and they have a nurse they can delegate to and rely on - especially with those chronic medical patients.

And the rest of her nurse team benefit, too - with them working together to plan care for the medical patients they see:

“I feel that I’ve already learned so much from being a part of the academy in terms of different conditions and how best to nurse them and it has definitely been reflected in the way I nurse my patients.

Having a better understanding of different medical conditions has meant that I can give more specific care to each patient I see, as well as collaborate with other team members to create the best nursing plan for every patient we encounter in practice.”

Go, Cat! I can’t wait to see how you continue to make a difference in the lives of your patients.

I’m so proud of Cat, her journey so far, and what she’s been able to achieve for her patients. And I’m so grateful to have nurses in the academy who are as passionate about nursing care as I am - because it really does make the biggest difference to our patients.

Want to learn more? You can join Cat and a community of other inspirational nurses inside the academy here.