When you look back on your student VN days, what do you see?

Do you see a young nurse with a brain like a sponge, full of excitement and passion? A nurse who is a little nervous and who perhaps was afraid to speak up? Or a nurse excited to learn everything that this profession has to offer?

Looking back at my own journey, I think I was a big mixture of all of those!

From the moment I put my stripes on for the first time I knew I was about to embark on a big journey - but I didn’t really understand just how much it would impact my life.

This month, as we’re celebrating Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month 2023, I wanted to share my reflections on my own SVN journey. From the initial steps of uncertainty to the fulfilment of getting my greens, my path to qualifying was filled with so many lessons.

And today I’m going to share my top 5 of those with you. Whether you’re a student or aspiring student, or a fellow RVN, I know there’ll be something for you to take away from this - so come along with me as we explore the highs and lows of SVN life, and everything in between!

Where it began

I was a young student. I started at 17, having finally realised life as a veterinary surgeon was not for me, and leaving my A-levels mid-way through to pursue a nursing apprenticeship.

I was lucky enough to secure a position quickly at the practice not far from me and began college a few months later.

The diploma wasn’t a thing, then - I did my NVQ and had a paper portfolio of case logs to write up and send to the RCVS. College was one day a week, at a now-closed training centre called Cerberus in Buckinghamshire.

I worked in a small branch practice - 2.5 vets, 2 RVNs and 2 SVNs. We were part of a group of 6 practices, with a larger hospital, and the students would be sent on rotations for a week a month to the other branches.

Lessons learned as a Student VN

One: Take the pressure off

Very quickly, I felt like I needed to prove myself. I didn’t like feeling like I didn’t know what I was doing, and needed to show the team that I could work just as hard and be just as good as the other nurses in the team.

This made me constantly compare myself to others - and cemented an ‘I’m not as good’ mentality that stuck with me throughout my entire training period.

Looking back, I can see that the only person putting pressure on me was myself! How could anyone expect me to prove that I knew what I was doing when I was just starting a brand new career, and hadn’t started any formal training yet?!

You are not expected to know everything as a student nurse. You’re in a training position - you’ve been employed to learn, take on board what your team are telling you, and put those new skills into practice as you learn them.

Stop beating yourself up for not knowing ‘enough’ - that’s not what a student nurse is employed to do!

Two: You WILL make mistakes

And that is ok.

Everyone makes mistakes - because we’re human, and they happen. Most of them actually have very little to do with us not knowing enough, they are usually because of issues with the caseload, tiredness, communication breakdowns, etc.

The most important thing is that we look at those mistakes objectively, learn from them, and put strategies in place to prevent them from happening again.

• What happened? Take yourself out of this and talk about it in the third person if you need to - this will help you look at the situation in an impartial way, and stop you beating yourself up about it.

• Why did it happen? What were the circumstances leading up to the mistake? Were you trying to recover your last patient, monitor the next one, and get something for the vet at the same time? Were you distracted or pulled away from your task by an emergency arriving? How could these factors have influenced the situation?

• What do you need to stop it from happening again? Is there a protocol that needs tweaking to improve things? Do you need to look at the rota or diary and tweak things to ensure enough people are available? Do you need to make sure you speak up when you need a break?

The other thing to remember is that we will always learn from these mistakes. So the next time something happens, remember - look at it impartially, and ask yourself how you can learn from the situation. 

Three: Get out of your comfort zone

I was terrified of so many things as an SVN. Every time we had a student rotation, or had to go to a different branch to cover or work with different vets, I became this small, terrified little SVN.

It hugely impacted my confidence. And looking back, I can see that it also impacted my nursing.

I spent so much time in my head, worrying about not knowing where things were, how the vets would be to work with, or what I might be expected to know. This meant that I wasn’t able to work to my full potential, and I couldn’t learn from those new team members, different patients, and new surroundings.

Looking back now, I know that asking questions, not knowing the answer to something, or not knowing where something is, have no reflection on my nursing ability or knowledge. And that pushing comfort zones a little (in this case taking some time out of my ‘comfort’ branch) is necessary for us to learn.

So if you’re in an unfamiliar environment or situation, don’t be afraid to speak up:

• “I’m not sure where you keep that, would you mind showing me?”

• “I’m unfamiliar with that procedure. Do you have a kit list I can use, to ensure I haven’t missed anything?”

• “I’ve not done that here before. Is there an SOP I can read or a guideline I can follow?”

No one will think badly of you - in fact, quite the opposite. Speaking up shows that you’re keen to do things right, and you want the best outcome for your patient.

Four: Being a student nurse doesn’t mean you don’t have a voice

I am guilty of thinking this.

I let people speak to me badly thinking as an SVN I had to tolerate that. I also felt afraid to raise concerns about a patient in case I was wrong, or the vet thought I was stupid.

You always have a voice. ALWAYS.

VCA or nurse, student or qualified, your role is to speak up for your patients first and foremost. If you’re concerned, say. 

Worst case scenario if you speak up? The patient is fine, and you’ve wasted 5 seconds of someone’s time.

I probably ask more questions and raise more concerns now than I did as an SVN - because as time has gone on, I’ve learned that being “wrong” is ok. But I wish I had spoken up more when I was a student.

Alongside this - you also need to speak up for yourself. Being an SVN is not a reason for you to be treated badly, to be overworked, or to not get breaks. Please, make sure you advocate for yourself, too.

Five: Advocate for your own training

I remember not asking if I could do things, and only doing things like blood samples or IVCs if the RVN invited me to. This meant that, because I didn’t ask, I didn’t do as many - meaning I qualified feeling like my skills were lacking.

That was ok when I worked in a smaller practice, with a reduced caseload. 

But when I jumped to a surgical referral centre 6 months after qualifying, and needed to place saphenous IVs in all of my forelimb orthopaedic cases - having never seen one before, let alone done one myself, it made me realise how little I had done!

If you want to learn how to do something, ask. Don’t wait to be invited - make sure you take as many opportunities to develop your skills as possible.

The worst-case scenario is someone says no, and gives you a reason why it isn’t appropriate. But if you don’t ask, you won’t get it!

Falling in love with nursing

I am definitely guilty of looking back at my own SVN journey and seeing a list of things I could have done differently. But in reality, our SVN years are the most pivotal in our careers - they really do lay the foundation for everything ahead!

So make sure you celebrate your wins, too!

For me, student nursing is where I learned that building deep relationships with my clients and patients really lights me up.

In fact, one of my all-time favourite medical patients (Badger, if you’ve been to any of my endocrine talks there’s a good chance you’ll have heard about him!!) was a patient I met as a puppy in my training practice all those years ago. When I saw him for his puppy appointments/neutering etc, I had no idea I’d be there 14 years later changing his glucose sensors every fortnight, looking after him through his DKAs, and supporting his family with his QOL. The industry has a funny way of bringing things full circle!

I also learned that making a difference isn’t always big and fancy - the simple things are huge

Never forget the impact that small, simple nursing changes can have on your patient. Especially for those medical patients - the importance of a clean bed, comfortable IV catheter bandage, mental stimulation and TLC, and grooming, for example, cannot be overlooked.

It seems minor, but these things will have important effects on things like food intake, comfort and well-being in the hospital, and even things like how likely it is our patient will accept their medication and treatment!

Nursing doesn’t always have to be placing fancy lines and schedule 3 skills - the simplest changes are often the ones that make the biggest difference.

Falling in love with learning

The other thing I quickly realised during my training is that learning really is lifelong - and that it’s important to keep that desire to learn more even after you’ve got your greens and badge.

No, this doesn’t mean going to collect a ton of qualifications and letters after your name - though you can, if you want to! Keeping an open mind, asking questions, and identifying new skills you want to practice, for example, are just as important tools to learn more throughout your career.

So remember - no matter what stage you’re at in your nursing journey, you’re always learning. Keep reminding yourself why you’re doing it, and the difference you’re making to your patients. And take that pressure off, push your comfort zone, and speak up for yourself and your patients.

What lessons would you tell your student nurse self? Drop me a DM on Instagram and let me know!