Can I please have someone's advice?- Veterinary

I need some advice from someone, so I have been working in an veterinary referral hospital for 9 months now but I'm also part time so July work 3 days a week.
So basically they extended my probation period since not long ago since I was really getting the hang of things in induction and being confident with the clips. (Indiction is where patients go to be induced and be clipped and prepped for their procedure).

I'm getting the hang of some of the clips now and most of the time when Clipping you have someone else helping since trying to get it into theatre on time.

So I had one the head nurses come to me today for a chat as she said some stuff was flagged saying that it has been noticed on a couple occasions that I have caused some clipper rashes on the patients when Clipping and that if these areas aren't improved they will have to think whether to keep me on.

So my probation period ends next month, October. So I'm determined to improve and make sure to keep my job, but I feel like sometimes it is a bit unavoidable with clipper rashes. Is there anything I can do to make sure it doesn't happen?

(edited 7 months ago)

Reply 1

Euapp

I’ve only ever clipped horses so I’m not an expert with pre op procedures on dogs / cats etc. However any problems with skin reactions that I’ve seen either come from incorrect use of pressure on the blade and a wrong angle of the blade against the skin, blades having heated up, or blades being blunt so requiring too many passages over the same area. If you start clipping and the blades don’t cut ask if they have either a new set or some recently sharpened ones. This will eliminate the problem of going over the same area too often and probably the heating up of blades as well as the sharper they are the quicker the job. The only other error that I can think of is that instead of having the flat of the blade against the skin you are aiming the teeth of the blades into the skin which will cause grazing and burning and your clipper rash. Normally ( at least with horses) it’s far better to apply one long movement with equal pressure going forward than many small overlapping lines.
Best of luck. Practice does make perfect.

Reply 2

AshwinFred

I fully understand how you feel feel about the feedback you received. Talking to your supervisor or other experienced workmates seeking guidance would work great in regards. These peoppe might suggest employing a different blade, adjusting the method, even applying more lubrication.

Have you ever considered taking a course on animal grooming to improve your skills. By demonstrating that you are proactive in addressing the issue, you show your commitment to the job and your willingness to learn and improve.

Reply 3

TheVirtualPhoton

You need good pressure and a clean, well-oiled set of clippers to avoid clipper rash. Also try to minimise how many times you clip over the same patch of skin, and allow the blades to cool if they get warm (hopefully you have a spare you could swap in if this is an issue and you're under time pressure?). I like the suggestion above of an animal grooming course, but would also like to suggest asking one of the other nurses to guide your next one or for them to walk you through their next one, just to make sure you have all the details right so you're minimising that rash risk!