Next steps taken in VN Regulation move
Members of the Veterinary Nurses Council have voted to alter the RCVS charter to include a new category of college membership for nurses at their last Council meeting on 8th May, but the wider profession will not be consulted as the proposal goes forward.
At the meeting, council members voted in favour of both continuing to be regulated by the RCVS, and for the RCVS charter to be amended to provide a new category of membership for VNs - thereby potentially addressing the legal anomaly that allows RVNs struck off the college register to continue carrying out Schedule 3 work.
The decision to bypass consultation of the wider profession on the decision was queried by council member Andrea Jeffery, but was dismissed, and the draft statement will now return to the legislation working party for consideration.
The move heralds the next step in the move to tighten up the regulation of the veterinary profession, which has already seen the RCVS in ongoing discussions with Defra over achieving overall statutory regulation for nurses.
Currently, veterinary nurses can register with the RCVS to become RVNs, who follow the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Nurses. However, those on the Schedule 3 list whose names are not included in the Register are still able to practice, using the title Veterinary Nurse and the post-nominal letters VN.
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
