Factors Contributing to Registered Veterinary Nurses Deciding to Leave the Veterinary Profession in the UK

In 2017, the majority of RVNs in the United Kingdom were aged between 26 and 35 (RCVS, 2017). The high number of RVNs leaving the profession has created a shortage across the UK, leading to an increase of untrained, unregulated and unregistered support staff taking on some responsibilities of an RVN in practices (Waters, 2017; Johnson, 2017; Coats, 2015). Research into the wellbeing of veterinary professionals has shown that RVNs face many of the same risk-factors for occupational stress as VSs (Deacon & Brough, 2017; Macdonald, 2014). Research undertaken around the subject of veterinary wellbeing suggests that there are many different factors that contribute to occupational stress in RVNs, with many stating reasons including fear of professional mistakes, financial circumstance, time management within the working day, working relationships and management issues (Bedford and Anscombe-skirrow, 2018; Hunt, 2018; Johnson, 2017; Hunt, 2017; Deacon and Brough, 2017; Bonnema, 2017; Coats, 2015; Macdonald, 2014; Ackerley, 2014).