Page 8 - Clinical Connections - Autumn 2022

RVC RESEARCH STUDY VETERINARY SERVICES RVC.AC.UK
Veterinary Nursing
VETERINARY NURSES IMPLEMENTING

CLINICAL AUDITS AT THE QMHA

Perdi Welsh, Course Director for post-registration Certificates in Advanced Veterinary Nursing

linical governance and associated in neurology patients. forward to taking an active role in quality
activities, such as clinical audit to The RVC’s Clinical Governance Officer, improvement and performing more audits
C ensure quality enhancement, is Mariah Hashimov, said the auditing process at work."
now enshrined within the RCVS Codes encourages enhanced awareness of familiar
of Professional Conduct for veterinary activities: “We can often overlook things that
surgeons and veterinary nurses. form part of our every day – feeding patients,
Clinical governance is an umbrella term communicating results to clients, recovery
encompassing various activities, including times for routine procedures – but how often
evidence-based practice, CPD and clinical do we pause to consider what we’re doing,
audit, all of which ultimately help veterinary why we’re doing it, what we want to achieve,
professionals make the most informed and and how current practice compares to our
appropriate decisions to ensure quality goals? Part of my role at the RVC is to
improvement for the care of our patients and support RVN’s reflecting and reviewing our
services to clients. day-to-day practice and empower them be
Clinical audit is very much part of the a driving force in making impactful changes,
clinical governance landscape and can play no matter how big or small.”
a hugely important part of the process for Niamh Clancy, RVN and Module Leader
reviewing and improving the standard of for the Anaesthesia & Analgesia pathway,
patient care and clinical practice. told Clinical Connections: "It’s great to see
The first cohort of RVNs undertaking the RVNs being the driving force for change
RVC's new RCVS accredited Certificates and evidence-based veterinary medicine Lyn O’Byrne, RVN and Module Leader
in Advanced Veterinary Nursing have been in practice, especially in a hospital as for the Emergency & Critical Care pathway,
making a positive contribution and impact in large as the QMHA. These RVNs have said: “We’re really impressed by the quality
the QMHA. As part of their studies for their all chosen completely different aspects of and range of subjects our RVNs chose to
CertAVN programme, students are required ECC and anaesthesia and their findings audit and we’re looking forward to their
to design and carry out a clinical audit on will help improve patient care and decrease work being published as part of a drive to
a topic related to the pathway they are the hospital’s carbon footprint! I’m looking share knowledge and disseminate to the
studying. forward to seeing what these RVNs do in the wider veterinary community. This is a great
Seven RVNs from the QMHA recently future with their new-found skills.” example of the way that RVNs can have a
completed the CertAVN, undertaking In relation to her experience of carrying meaningful and positive impact on patient
either the Emergency & Critical Care or the out the clinical audit during her studies on welfare and outcome.”
Anaesthesia & Analgesia pathway. Their the CertAVN in ECC, QMHA RVN Sam If a governance culture and processes are
clinical audit topics ranged from auditing McGaw said: “Undertaking a clinical audit not in place at your work, maybe it's time to
blood transfusion protocols to low flow enabled me to make a positive impact on the start those discussions to ensure that clinical
anaesthesia to reduce carbon footprint, nursing care of ECC patients and improve governance takes priority, and to gather the
nutrition in ECC patients, hypothermia the workplace culture around nutrition. This right people to implement positive change.
prevention of patients undergoing MRI and was a new experience me for me and was Although clinical governance requires a
catheter-associated urinary tract infections supported by the CertAVN tutors. I look whole team approach, RVNs are ideally
placed to take leadership in governance
processes, and particularly to lead on
clinical auditing.
To find out more about the RVC's
Certificates in Advanced Veterinary
Nursing visit: www.rvc.ac.uk/CertAVN

Applications close on 5th February 2023.

For small animal referrals, please call:
01707 666399
Email:
qmhreception@rvc.ac.uk

8 Autumn 2022