Ethics, Law and the Veterinary Nurse

The importance for individuals to have an awareness of the law as it relates to them professionally has never been more important for veterinary nursing than it is now. With moves in place to regulate veterinary nursing, issues of accountability will arise that will impact on every veterinary nurse in practice. It will be essential for every nurse to be fully informed about the law and their professional obligations. In the multi-cultural society we live in, a knowledge of other cultures, values and beliefs is essential if nurses are to offer the best and most sensitive service to clients and by extension to their animals. Ethical implications extend to every area of working practice; from everyday decisions through to the way in which research is conducted and analysed.This book explores all the ethical issues surrounding veterinary nursing in a clear and comprehensible way. This is the first book that addresses ethics and law specifically from a veterinary nursing perspective. The authors have used their expert knowledge in these areas together with their teaching experience to create a book that will be useful for veterinary nursing students, especially those at Certificate, Diploma and Degree level, and will make interesting reading for the qualified veterinary nurse. Case examples have been used to illustrate the various issues and highlight the relevance of these to everyday practice; every veterinary nurse will identify with at least one of the scenarios presented. Key topics covered include: regulation; representation; research ethics; religious ethics; and, the Veterinary Surgeon's Act. This book not only fulfils the requirements of the veterinary nursing syllabus but will also become a well-thumbed reference for daily practice.