Hi there,

I am writing to inform you about the plight of vet nurses in Australia. You see, I’m an endangered species in my field of work, a mature age, senior vet nurse. One of the main reasons why vet nurses leave the industry in droves is due to the lack of paid compensation. A vet nurses role has dramatically changed over the last 20 years. We no longer just hold pets for the veterinarian. We have become skilled nurses in such that we can do many things, for example an experienced vet nurse can take blood tests, place iv cannula’s, take x-rays, perform scale and polish’s of teeth, do initial triage of emergency patients, give behavioral advice, give nutritional advice, an anaesthetist, a grief councilor is just to name a few! And yet, with such an outstanding amount a vet nurse can do nowadays we are still paid poorly.
A recent study showed that vet nurses are in the top 10 worst paid jobs in Australia, a top 10 list that we don’t want to be on anymore.
The way people look & treat their pets has also dramatically changed over the last 20 years. They no longer are just the animal that lives outdoors and only gets paid attention every now and then. A pet has become a valued member of a family, often living indoors and receiving a lot of love & affection. If you want your fur baby family member to be well looked after, wouldn’t you want it to be done by a team of skilled vet nurses, that are well looked after themselves? 
Being a vet nurse is physically, mentally and emotionally draining. We do it for the love & passion of the job, but this can only get you so far when you have a mortgage to pay! 
Please don’t let mature age senior vet nurses like me become extinct. We love our jobs, we love our patients and we want to be able to financially afford to work as a vet nurse for our wholes lives, not just the first 3-5 years, before we have our own families to pay for. We are crucial in training inexperienced new graduate vet nurses, to help them become skillful nurses. Would you want your family member pet to be only looked after by inexperienced new grad vet nurses?
It’s time to significantly increase the award rate for vet nurses, so we can do what we love for a lifelong carer!
Thank you for taking the time to read, and for hopefully signing,
Your vet nurse friend,
Lou ��❤️
#payvetnurseswhattheyreworth #increasevetnurseawardrate