Feline Nurse

Reports To: Head Feline Nurse

Job Purpose: The purpose of the post is to nurse cats to the highest standards of care and support the smooth operation of the clinical activities within the Feline Centre, Small Animal Hospital (SAH). This is achieved by assisting with nursing care and procedures in the Feline Centre, promoting excellent client communication, supervising veterinary and nursing undergraduate students and working within the Terms of the RCVS Guide to Professional Conduct for Nurses.

Participate with the running of the Hyperthyroid Clinic, including acting as an RPS, and supporting with the requirements for this service.

Principal Accountabilities:

• Constantly ensuring that cat friendly clinic principles are adopted throughout the SAH to enable the caring of cats to the highest of standards
• Organising and assisting veterinary clinicians with procedures to include endoscopy, chemotherapy, bronchoscopy, diagnostic imaging, administration of sedations and support for the hyperthyroid treatment service, discharge appointments
• Independently carry out feline nursing duties such as monitoring anaesthesia, intubating patients, assisting with diagnostic procedures, in-patient care, blood sampling, catheter placement, BP measurement, intravenous fluid therapy and nutritional tube feeding
• To provide restraint for blood sampling, sedations, treatments and physical examinations
• Daily nursing care of in-patients, to include cleaning out and feeding, placement of feeding tubes, daily record keeping, patient checks, grooming, pain scoring assessment and fluid therapy as required
• Dispensing and administering (under the direct supervision of a veterinary surgeon) medication to animals, maintaining accurate stock control and following all protocols relating to drug holding, dispensing and handling and giving clear and accurate instructions to clients when dispensing medication
• Assisting with stock control, maintaining working areas to a high standard and actively participating in Clinical Governance and Infection Control directives
• Maintaining accurate patient records with regards to all clinical notes, treatment, diagnoses, client communication and client /patient information
• Ensuring that all procedures and consumables are accurately entered onto the patients’ records in order to keep the invoice up to date at all times during their stay
• Participation in the running of the Hyperthyroid Clinic Service, to include working with the service lead clinician, ordering, auditing, treatments, care of patients and any further requirements of the service.
• To act as an RPS -Radiation Protection Supervisor (training will be provided)
• Maintaining a good working relationship with all team members
• Communicating in an effective and pleasant manner with clients and colleagues
• Be actively involved in the teaching and support of nursing and veterinary undergraduate students, including providing feedback on their skills for assessments and promotion of cat friendly clinic principles
• Be responsible, when required, for providing inductions to nursing and veterinary undergraduate students on clinical rotations, as well as providing inductions to new staff in the Small Animal Hospital regarding cat friendly clinic principles
• Act as a professional mentor to our nursing students
• Act as a clinical coach to our nursing students
• Proactively identify and act upon opportunities for business improvement.  Openly identify and discuss problems in order to implement and sustain improvements that increase the value we deliver to our, clients, employees, and students
• Responsible for keeping themselves and others safe, reporting accidents, near misses and hazards and adhering to health and safety requirements and policies as required by the business/their line manager.
• Carry out all other reasonable duties as requested by the line manager