第 1 部 「動物病院における動物看護職の重要性」
Part 1: The Importance of Veterinary Nursing in Veterinary Hospitals
原大二郎 獣徳会動物医療センター 院長
Daijiro HARA Director, Jutoku-kai, Animal Medical Center

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

such as guard dogs or cats for rodent control, but

Thank you for the opportunity topeople now began to think of them as ʻcompanionsʼspeak to you today. Iʼm the Executiveand part of the family. Around the same time, veterinary

Director at JAHA and have been

medicine education in Japan was extended from four

involved in veterinary medicine foryears to six years, a change which resulted in a less-companion animals for 30 years. Our

pressured curriculum with more emphasis on clinicalhospital has hired veterinary nurses

practice for dogs, cats and other companion animals.

ever since it opened so, based on my experience ofUniversity teachers began to go to the US or UK to study

running an animal hospital, I would like to talk about

new veterinary medicine that wasnʼt written in thethe current situation relating to veterinary nurses.

textbooks of the time. They then brought the expertiseback with them to teach to their students. I think thisJutoku-kai Animal Medical Center is located in Aichi

was a very meaningful time in the history of veterinary

Prefecture. First, I would like to look back on the history

medicine. Around 1985, companion animal hospitalsof veterinary nurses and veterinarians as well as thebegan to increase in number, becoming newlysocial conditions of the past 30 years. I graduated fromestablished in various parts of the country. It was thencollege in 1972, and started working as a livestockthat hospital owners/operators, including myself,veterinarian. In those days there used to be many

started to feel the necessity of veterinary nurses. Therefacilities called ʻveterinary clinicsʼ or ʻlivestock clinicsʼ.

emerged a growing demand for human resources

These treated a wide variety of animals from dogs andalready holding a basic education in veterinary nursing

cats that participate in shows to livestock animals suchand with work-ready skills for conventional operations.

as cows, pigs, and chickens. Most of these facilities,

As such, it was natural for hospital owners/operators toregardless of their names, had only one veterinarian.

prefer to employ graduates from vocational schools

These facilities were usually called a ʻveterinary hospitalʼ

specializing in veterinary nursing rather than highand had all the features of a hospital such as a waiting

school or junior college graduates.

room, consultation room, X-ray room, etc., all within asingle small room.

As you know, the late 1980ʼs was the period when there
were already some signs of the bubble economy inI started my own practice in 1980. Two years before

Japan. At this time veterinary medicine made great

that, I took an interest in companion animal medicine

advances and we, the animal hospital owners/

because of my experience in the USA. What I foundoperators, began to absorb new knowledge frommost interesting about companion animal medicine ismodern veterinary medicine. As you well know, thethat, unlike industry veterinarians, companion animal

1990s that followed are now called “the lost decade”.

veterinarians seemed to be addressing the life limitation

They were the years when the bubble economyof animals. I felt that this field would be a morecollapsed. Around this time, private organizations

meaningful and satisfying one to work in, and I wasstarted to certify veterinary nurses based on their own

young enough. Ten years passed after opening mystandards. At the same time, complaints began to bepractice and, in the 1990s, the social role of animals

raised at committee meetings within veterinary medical

raised in peopleʼs homes began to change. They had

associations handling veterinary medicine issues. We

generally been considered only as working animals,heard complaints such as “what the veterinary nurses atWorkshop Ⅴ Animal Care ̶ Role of Animal Hospitals and Nurses

15

Hospital A are doing is a violation of the Veterinary

nurses, which is being questioned right now. If we have

License Act” or “nurses at Hospital B are doing this andthis quality we will be able to oﬀer suﬃcient veterinarythat in breach of the Veterinary License Act,” etc. These

medical services that meet todayʼs needs with only one

complaints were resulting from differences in theveterinarian. I would say from my experience that 20recognition of veterinary nurses by the veterinarians atpatients is the maximum number that one veterinarian

the hospitals they were hired for. This in turn had led tocan treat per day when supported by two or threedifferences in the scope of the work performed byhighly skilled veterinary nurses.

veterinary nurses from hospital to hospital. Meanwhile,around 1996, aspiring veterinary nurses set up aNow, let me talk about the main subject of todayʼs

technical study group to explore opportunities to better

workshop, that is, the importance of veterinary nurses.

demonstrate their abilities. The nurses at our hospitalWhat, then, is the veterinary nursing profession? It is ajoined this group and our hospital supported them as aprofession that helps to secure the safety of sick animals

group by oﬀering hospital tours. This group, however,by veterinarians, as well as veterinary nurses. This is a

closed after 11 years. In the period between 2000 andvery important aspect and is actually one of thethis year, the fact that there are veterinary nurses inprinciples at our hospital. The role of veterinary nurses isveterinary hospitals has become common knowledge

to maintain an adequate environment for the treatment

among the general public. However, I remember fromof sick animals and to provide nursing techniques in

my clinical experience that the veterinary nurses of theaccordance with animal welfare. Another important roletime didnʼt actually have suﬃcient levels of knowledge

is to oﬀer mental support for owners taking care of sickor skills to match their newly-established social

animals by giving them advice and other forms ofrecognition as qualiﬁed professionals. Today, there aresupport. These two roles are very important. To ensure

over 20 thousand veterinary nurses certiﬁed by privatethat veterinary nurses fulﬁll these roles, the educationalorganizations. It is about time that the veterinary

curriculum is of great importance. To this end, themedical industry made a concerted eﬀort to standardize

equalization of curricula of all veterinary nurse training

the educational curriculum to train them. The industry

institutions in Japan should be completed as early as

needs to equalize the certiﬁcation standards as well as

possible. I have said that the maximum number of

improve the nursesʼ working conditions on behalf of thepatients that one veterinarian can treat per day is 20.

hospitals that hire them. In order to equalize the level ofThis ﬁgure originally came from research I conducted 30

knowledge and skills, we must reﬂect on the past andyears ago during my study in US. It was consideredchange what needs to be changed. We need topossible to achieve this figure if there are three

determine the attributes of veterinary nurses that areveterinary nurses to one veterinarian. The reality at ourmost appropriate for Japanʼs situation and establish thehospital is that we can only secure two nurses (or so) toright certification standards for them so that they can

one veterinarian, and it would be utterly impossible tocontribute to companion animal medical care to a level

achieve four nurses to one veterinarian. But if we werethat matches the new era. Of course, the animal

to have a standardized educational curriculum at all

hospitals need to cooperate a great deal in this effort.

training institutions, equal certiﬁcation standards, and a

The establishment of the Japanese Veterinary Nursing

clear definition of a nurseʼs scope of work, it wouldnʼt

Association in May this year was, in my view, one of thetake long for us to achieve the three-nurses-to-one-vet

trail-blazing efforts to this end. Also, the Japanratio. Then we would be able to oﬀer a higher level of

Veterinary Medical Association formed a committee

veterinary medicine nationwide, although we would

several years ago to actively discuss the equalization ofstill be 30 years behind the US.

certification standards for veterinary nurses and theissuance of public certificates. These contribute toIn 2007, JAHA conducted a questionnaire to survey

animal hospitals being able to run their daily businessworking conditions and the scope of work of veterinary

and to securing the required quality of veterinary

16

Workshop Ⅴ Animal Care ̶ Role of Animal Hospitals and Nurses

nurses certified by the various institutions. Thework.

questionnaires were sent to nurses with more than one
year working experience. We received 356 answers with

As we look towards the future, Japan is expected toa response rate of 22%. Looking at the educational

become a ʻsuper-agingʼ society with average life

backgrounds of the respondents, 9% were high school

expectancy exceeding 90 years of age. As social

graduates, 73% were vocational school graduates, andenvironments change, the number of residences that

17% were junior college or university graduates. None

permit the keeping of pets will increase. This trend willof them had finished schooling at junior high level. In

include public residences. Data I presented earlier

other words, 90% had a high school education orindicated how more companion animal hospitals arehigher. Their average length of service was 4 years andbecoming medium- and large-sized facilities. This samea half with the mode being under 2 years.

trend is apparent in the new applications for JAHA
membership. These applications suggest that hospital

Most of the animal hospitals employing these nurses

sizes are becoming larger and there are now only a

had 4 to 6 employees. However, in the future, I predict

small number operating with only one veterinarian. Inthat hospitals with more than 10 employees will exceed

line with this trend, more veterinary nurses will be50%.

employed. Not only female nurses but also male nurses
will increase in number because the latter group is more

The scope of work carried out by animal hospital

likely to pursue a role in managing facilities, including

veterinary nurses covers a wide range of tasks, including

the management of equipment and premises. With

receptionist work, pharmaceutical work, treatment

these points in mind, the next step would be thesupport, clinical examination, hospitalization

improvement of employment conditions for veterinary

management, etc. There were many cases where nurse

nurses. This in turn will enable nurses to work longer,

duties went beyond their usual scope of work. This wasand there will be an increased number of workplaces

often due to their own sense of responsibility orthat are socially recognized.

because the work became an extension of their daily
routine. Also, there were many cases whereMy own ʻJutoku-kaiʼ was established in 1980. At theveterinarians automatically requested nurses to performtime of its opening, there were only three staﬀ members

tasks beyond their normal duties. Such instances were

- a classmate from my university, a female veterinary

apparent especially during operations or emergency

nurse (an agriculture university major), and myself.

treatment. Some tasks appear to be very simple but

Today, we have 26 employees and oﬀer all-year roundmay in fact conflict with veterinary medical rules. For

services, treating about 70 patients per day. The slide

example, often in emergency situations, there wereshows our organization chart. It shows the Hospitalcases when nurses took blood samples, or performed

Director, Chief Veterinary Nurse, and Deputy Director.

resuscitation. These acts were obviously performed out

The department names, indicated here in red, areof necessity while the lead veterinarian was busy

managed by the Chief Veterinary Nurse. A middle-performing treatment, or where personnel were in shortranking leader is assigned to each of the departments,

supply during emergency situations and operations,and nurses perform the primary role in the work ofetc. I imagine that most animal hospitals implement

these areas.

training for veterinary nurses so that they can quickly
cope with emergency situations. JAHA has not received

In the case of our hospital, where we have 12 people,

any complaint or report of health damage to patient

the average length of service of veterinary nurses is 22

animals which received these ʻbeyond the call of dutyʼ

years while the figure for veterinarians is 30 years.

acts by veterinary nurses. However, this is the most risky

ʻVeterinary nurseʼ positions as well as ʻveterinarianʼand underdeveloped area of the industry and a weak

positions marked with the term “work sharing” are notpoint within a profession with clearly deﬁned scope offull-time positions but are shared by more than one

Workshop Ⅴ Animal Care ̶ Role of Animal Hospitals and Nurses

17employee depending on their availability or genderbased commitments in daily life. I think this is thegreatest factor that enables long-term employment
status.
In the area of nutritional guidance, it is the veterinarians
who give guidance regarding the day-to-day animalneeds, but nurses will mainly perform other work. Oneof the important jobs that veterinary nurses perform isto remove the anxiety and fear that hospitalized animals
feel. Likewise, they have to ensure that tasks are䇼㪪㫃㫀㪻㪼㩷㪈䇽

completed eﬃciently and within a short period of time.
The photo in the slide shows the examination room in
our hospital. The person wearing the blue coat is anurse and those in the white coats are veterinarians.
These coats are the same in terms of material anddesign, but the different colors serve to indicate ourdiﬀerent positions.

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