The new Code of Professional Conduct for veterinary nurses was launched by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) on 12 April at the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) World Congress in Birmingham.
It describes those professional responsibilities that are fundamental to veterinary nurses’ practice. The Code sets out five principles of practice: professional competence; honesty and integrity; independence and impartiality; client confidentiality and trust; and, professional accountability.
A pocket-sized hard copy of the Code will be posted to all registered veterinary nurses shortly, which will include references to where the supporting guidance and further information can be found on the RCVS website. The online version – at www.rcvs.org.uk/vncode – is fully searchable by keyword, and PDF versions will soon be available to download.
Although only registered veterinary nurses have agreed to abide by the VN Code of Professional Conduct, the College hopes that all veterinary nurses will consider it a useful benchmark of professional standards.