VN Guide to Professional Conduct 2008 now available

The RCVS Guide to Professional Conduct for Veterinary Nurses, which updates the first edition published last year is now available to download.

To be posted to all registered and listed VNs shortly, the Guide provides guidance for registered VNs on maintaining standards of their professional conduct.

There are some minor updates to ‘Part 1 – The Responsibilities of a Veterinary Nurse’, including the definition of a veterinary nurse on page 4 and the addition of the Animal Health Acts to the list on page 11. The annex, ‘Mutilations report’, has also been removed from the list in Part 3 as a consequence of this legislation.

More significant updates appear in ‘Part 2 – The Guidance’ which is reproduced from the RCVS Guide to Professional Conduct 2008 (for veterinary surgeons) and set out in the Appendix (from page 16). These include the following areas:

• Provision of client records (page 18, para 7)
• Medicines advertising (page 23, para 5)
• Referral practices and 24-hour availability (page 25, paras 7-8)
• Responsibilities with the prescription and supply of medicines (page 45, paras 13-14)
• Standard of proof (page 48, para 6)

 The 2008 Guide can be ordered via the RCVS Veterinary Nursing Department (020 7202 0788 or [email protected]).