Raising awareness about the health of brachycephalic dogs

Hannah Campbell RVN

Throughout my vet nursing journey I have been drawn to improving the welfare of brachycephalic dogs. This was brought on by my early experiences of nursing brachycephalic canines in practice for a variety of breed-related health conditions. As a student, I felt helpless because I had limited knowledge and knew that it may be controversial to raise health issues with owners. However, I saw more C-sections than routine neuterings in brachycephalic dogs, so I knew something had to be done to educate clients.

This inspired my honours project to be on ‘Nursing Implications of Over-Breeding Brachycephalic Canines, Focusing on British and French Bulldogs’. I really benefited from this research and discovered that many owners were unaware of breed-specific conditions; in many cases owners believed noisy breathing to be normal in these breeds. This encouraged me to publish my research, to raise awareness among veterinary professionals and to educate owners of brachycephalic dogs.

Raising awareness of issues with brachycephalic dogs

My first article was published in The Veterinary Nurse in June 2020. I was so happy to raise awareness of the issues. Although, at the time of publication I was working in a small animal hospital in Bermuda where educational nurse clinics were not recognised, so I still felt restricted in terms of raising awareness. After a lot of consideration, I decided to move back to South Wales to enable my nursing career to progress. I was once again plunged into the world of brachycephalic breeding, and regularly dealt with these clients and animals.

I enjoyed reintroducing nurse clinics after the COVID lockdowns and decided this could be used as an opportunity to educate and assist owners of brachycephalic dogs. Initially, I mentioned brachycephalic conformational features during 6-month health checks. During a full nose-to-tail examination, I would highlight certain features to owners. Feedback from owners was positive and many were grateful that they could now spot problems early on. This motivated me to put together an outline for a nurse clinic on brachycephalic health issues.

I wrote another article, this time for the Veterinary Nursing Journal, titled ‘The RVNs Role in Educating Brachycephalic Breeders and Owners’. This drew attention to how we as veterinary professionals can follow the BVA’s 10-point plan to improve the welfare of brachycephalic dogs and raise public awareness about the problems they face. I had lots of nurses contact me to say they found the article useful, because they often didn’t know how to approach the topic. So, I decided to make a resource to support nurses during clinics. This led to me creating an A6 20-page pocket guide titled ‘Brachycephalic Nurse Clinics’ which is now for sale on MolyMed Supplies and Nursing Knowhow. I also produced #breedtobreathe pin badges for anyone to wear and raise awareness at the same time, whether it be in the veterinary setting or public.

Nursing journals

Involvement with BVNA

Since qualifying as an RVN I have been constantly finding ways to progress in my career for mine and my patients' benefit. As well as committing to the job, I am keen to encourage nurses to look after themselves. Last October I was involved in the BVNA’s Chronic Illness Campaign. I wrote an article for them and followed their social media campaign closely using my @thecoeliacvetnurse instagram account. Having coeliac disease myself and knowing other individuals in the profession with chronic health issues, I was pleasantly surprised by how many webinars and resources were provided for employers and, of course, employees. I would love to be involved in this campaign again and I have recently been asked by the BVNA to present a webinar on brachycephalic nursing clinics. This will be available on the BVNA’s website.

Work-life balance

The veterinary industry can be stressful and hard at times so in order to avoid burnout I aim to achieve a good work-life balance. In my current job I work full time but this is spread over 4 days so I am always scheduled off for one day each week. I find that having the whole day off means I can schedule things better, prioritise time for myself and still feel as though I am having a break from the madness each week. As someone who is always looking to improve practice standards, I have realised it is actually better to prioritise rest days/days out with friends in order to be more proactive when at work.

Would you recommend your job?

In short, yes. It is a very rewarding but challenging profession. There is always room for improvement and nurses should be encouraged to find their niche. For me that’s somehow ended up being brachycephalic canines, despite being a crazy cat lady the rest of the time! I also enjoy my role as a clinical coach. I currently have two students but would take on loads if I had the time. As someone who really struggled as a student I love that I am able to support the next generation of RVNs and relate to what they are going through.

Advice to my younger self

Firstly, I would tell myself that failing an exam is not the end of the world. The amount of times I didn’t think I’d make it as a vet nurse when revising for exams was endless. If only I had known it would not define me as a nurse perhaps, I would have been more relaxed. Although, if anything I think this made me work harder and continue to improve in my nursing role now almost 3 years after qualifying. My other key piece of advice would be to not be afraid of suggesting new ideas in practice and discuss them with management, especially when it improves animal welfare.

 

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