Chronic disease care: The essential role of the Veterinary Nurse

Veterinary nurses are uniquely positioned to improve outcomes in chronic disease because they provide the continuity, monitoring, coaching, and relationship-centred communication that long-term conditions require. Using canine allergic/atopic disease and Cytopoint® recheck clinics as the practical example, this session shows how to turn routine rechecks into structured chronic-care reviews: tracking symptoms over time, detecting flare triggers early, reinforcing home-care behaviours, documenting meaningful measures, and coordinating timely escalation to the vet when control is slipping. The focus is on building a repeatable nurse-led workflow that improves patient welfare, strengthens owner capability, and increases practice efficiency through proactive, planned follow-up rather than reactive crisis visits.

• By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
• Design a nurse-led chronic-care cadence (e.g., monthly reviews with planned vet oversight) that provides continuity, supports early flare detection, and keeps long-term cases on a proactive track.
• Implement a simple outcomes-tracking system using an owner-reported measure (e.g., PVAS/itch scoring) to monitor control over time and guide shared decisions at each recheck.
• Run a structured chronic-disease review appointment: agenda setting, purposeful history-taking, focused exam, documentation, and a clear “what to do if things worsen” plan with defined escalation thresholds.
• Use relationship-centred communication behaviours (open questions, reflective listening, benefit-linking) to improve adherence and reduce last-minute “oh, and…” concerns that derail chronic-care appointments.
• Standardise safe, high-quality recheck delivery by preparing consistently (record review, aligning messages with the vet plan, documenting treatment details) so every visit adds measurable clinical value.