Many of you will know John Redbond. He’s a champion of helping veterinary nurses to play a more proactive role in the management of dermatology cases, and worked in this role in practice for some time before taking on the position of manager for the Veterinary Nursing Dermatology Group with Vetruus. He’s been doing some amazing work in this field through educating and supporting nurses, and we’re very lucky to have John as the tutor for a new course with ONCORE which will help nurses to implement dermatology clinics in their practice.
Jill at ONCORE had a quick Q&A with John to find out why dermatology makes him ‘tick’, and why he thinks nurses play such an important role in this area of clinical practice.
John Redbond RVN
Dermatology Nurse Advisor
Q. Just tell us a little about yourself – what you are doing now, what you are enjoying about your role?
A. Work is a welcome break at times from life juggling my 9 Month old and 4 year old (not literally), but I do love family life. My working life is spent finding ways to get nurses doing more with dermatology, which is wonderful, truly, because that is my passion. I hope to see some real results soon.
Q. What first captured your interest in dermatology?
A. Lab work really, I enjoyed the lab side of nursing and so from that, developed an interest in dermatology tests and then set up a clinic. But I am noticing a lot of nurses coming at it from the other angle, setting up clinics and so developing their lab skills; which is great.
Q. What is it that makes dermatology nursing so rewarding for you (and for other nurses)?
A. I honestly feel, more than anything else I would do in practice, it made a difference to the case. You can be involved in the entire process and so see it through to the end and think ‘I played a crucial role in that’. Very rewarding.
Q. Tell us a little bit about why you think the nurse’s role in dermatology case management can make such a difference to patient outcomes and client experience
A. Because without the nurses involvement, they simply aren’t given enough time. Time for the consult, the tests and the treatment support. And in dermatology that is critical, any dermatologist will tell you that.
Q. How do you think this fits into the wider picture of veterinary nurse progression?
A. It utilises the nurse in case management, but not in a patronising ‘please give us something to do’ type way, but in a necessary way where the cases are better managed because of it. It also makes complete business sense as it is a totally logical use of nurse time, as it makes money. Literally, everyone wins!
Q. What three pieces of advice would you give to nurses wishing to have more involvement in dermatology and/or setting up dermatology nurse clinics in their practice?
A. Ooh good question!
1: Offer to take cytology samples like tape strips and ear swabs whenever you can; then get practicing in lab, looking at cytology samples down the microscope.
2: Get active with the VNDG, ask for support, peers are a great help. Doing the new ONCORE course will be a massive help.
3: Involve your practice, from reception to management. If they are behind you, you can’t fail.
