Plus-Hex CLINICAL
In 2022 , the careers website Indeed [ 5 ] published advice on how nurses can transition from human nursing to veterinary nursing . The article listed the following transferable skills :
• empathy
• teamwork
• scientific and medical knowledge
• patient advocacy
• critical thinking
• ethics
• physical stamina .
Radiographers have a similar transferable skill set , which can greatly enhance the services of centres with advanced imaging , particularly CT and MRI . The Society of Radiographers ( SOR ) [ 6 ] recognises radiographers returning to the workforce with experience and skills gained in other areas , and the SOR goes on to state that returning radiographers also have a ‘ maturity which is valuable in the workforce and , once back in employment , they tend to stay and be a valuable and flexible member of staff ’. Such statements could also be applied to veterinary nurses returning to the profession .
Seeking inspiration
Not only can transferable skills open avenues of career progression and diversification , but they can also foster collaboration through the sharing and development of ideas between different disciplines . There are a number of examples where veterinary and human healthcare professionals have sought inspiration and advice on improving services from their counterparts .
An article based on the out-of-hours veterinary care experienced by cat owner and human medicine consultant Professor David Oliver [ 7 ] considers the parallels between the NHS and the veterinary profession . Oliver comments that both ‘ require lengthy professional training , both require the use of applied physiology , anatomy and pharmacology as well as skills in end-of-life care ’ and that ‘ both also require good communication skills ’. The author concludes that NHS doctors could learn from veterinary professionals , ‘ in terms of actively communicating with patients , providing near patient testing and bringing on-call rotas in-house ‘.
Animal Trust sought inspiration from the NHS for its practices and standards , following the appointment in 2016 of its operations director from the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne [ 8 ] . This included an NHS-style pay scale for veterinary surgeons ( VSs ) and VNs to provide clear structure , and encouraging a working environment that stimulated staff motivation across the business . The same article also discusses a push on nurse-led clinics to create an environment that encourages and supports VNs to think outside the box and take pressure off VSs .
Celebrating collaboration
Inspiration can lead to collaboration , which can have far-reaching multidisciplinary benefits that improve the care and outcomes for both human and animal patients . The One Health initiatives that developed from One Medicine offer good examples .
The origins of the principles of One Medicine are often attributed to the 19th-century German physician and pathologist Rudolf Virchow , who linked human and animal health and coined the term ‘ zoonosis ’. He stated that ‘ there should be no dividing line between human and animal medicine ’ [ 9 – 11 ] . The One Medicine concept was expanded by Sir William Osler , Dr Calvin Schwabe , Lord Lawson Soulsby and others , who continued to identify commonalities , connections and synergies between human and veterinary medicine [ 10 , 11 ] .
The World Medical Association [ 12 ] states in its resolution on collaboration between human and veterinary medicine that the One Health initiative ‘ aims to promote and implement close meaningful collaboration and communication between human medicine , veterinary medicine and all allied health scientists with the goal of hastening human public health efficacy as well as advanced health care options for humans ( and animals ) via comparative biomedical research ’.
Commenting on the One Health antibiotic amnesty campaign in 2022 , Fergus Allerton of veterinary group Linnaeus said : ‘ With the veterinary sector collaborating with human health colleagues on this amnesty , a One Health approach is being adopted to support the welfare of people , pets and the planet . In doing so , we can jointly help to reduce the risk of AMR [ antimicrobial resistance ] and preserve the efficacy of antimicrobials long into the future ’ [ 13 ] .
Some other examples of One Health initiatives undertaken by veterinary professionals with their human healthcare counterparts include :
• veterinary and NHS staff addressing the danger posed to pets by smokers [ 14 ]
• studies of diabetes [ 15 ] , obesity , cancer , infection , environmental-toxin-induced disease and immunemediated disease [ 14 ] .
Further examples of collaborations between human and veterinary medicine that have led to scientific advances include cancer research and the development of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine . Warren [ 16 ] describes how a collaboration between ophthalmologists at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and UC Davis School of Medicine in the USA resulted in direct advances
Volume 39 ( 3 ) • June 2024
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