Whats it like being a pediatric or neonatal nurse?

Whats it like being a veterinary nurse?

• i did my work experience as one (although i didnt see too much bad stuff) and i was wondering if i could have an honest veiw from someone who works as one. is it worth it? how much do you get paid? i know its not much and thats whats putting me off becoming one slightly. (you dont have to tell me your exact wage if you dont want to, just a guideline) uk answers preferred please :) american answers will be useful though, i just dont know how different it is over there to here

• Answer:

  I no longer work as a vet nurse, but when I did, I enjoyed most of the work. Being able to help people out with their pets is great, and seeing an animal go home after being so ill or so badly injured that you didn't think it would survive is probably one of the most rewarding things you'll ever do. I also love medicine (I was working as a nurse while doing my veterinary degree, which I'm now 5 weeks off finishing). The worst part of the job is definitely the moronic people you have to deal with at times, and as a nurse it tends to be you rather than the vet who cops the abuse from the unhappy clients. You do see"bad stuff"...occasionally you'll have to deal with deliberate animal abuse, but far more commonly you'll have to deal with the damage done by sheer ignorance. Some people have absolutely no common sense (think the people who ask questions on here like "HELP, my dog's been hit by a car...what should I do???"), and it can be incredibly frustrating to deal with them when you've explained things five times over and they still want to argue with you. Most nurses I know who've left the profession have left because of the clients. The money varies a bit, at least here in Australia, depending on experience and qualifications. We have 'on-the-job' trained nurses and those with formal qualifications. To give you an idea, I was on a wage of $22/hour. (For comparison, a friend working at a supermarket checkout was getting $15/hour)