Veterinary nurses
Veterinary nurses assist veterinarians in the treatment and care of sick or injured animals.
- Employees (UK)
- 14k
- Median annual pay
- £26,666
- Exposure score ?
- 0.8/10 Minimal 2.9/10 Low strict reading, with tools is 2.9/10 with-tools reading, strict is 0.8/10
- Wage exposure
- £30m £108m
Higher exposure than 45% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
A few tasks in this role are within reach of AI, mostly paperwork, scheduling and routine writing. The shape of the role stays the same, and some parts get faster.
If you are in this role
Pick the two or three most repetitive things in your week and try a model on them. Most people underestimate what Claude or ChatGPT already does with admin-shaped work. The time you get back is the gain.
Where the work usually starts.
This role's strict reading is low because its top tasks are judgement, not drafting. The three highest-stakes tasks below are still usually where the work starts. Switch to With tools to see what AI plus the right context can take on.
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Administer anesthesia to animals, under the direction of a veterinarian, and monitor animals' responses to anesthetics so that dosages can be adjusted.
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Care for and monitor the condition of animals recovering from surgery.
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Maintain controlled drug inventory and related log books.
These are the most important tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. The first wins usually come from building workflows around them. That is the difference between a model that could do the job and one that actually does it inside your business.
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Maintain controlled drug inventory and related log books.
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Perform laboratory tests on blood, urine, or feces, such as urinalyses or blood counts, to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of animal health problems.
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Take and develop diagnostic radiographs, using x-ray equipment.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Veterinary Technologists and Technicians" (29-2056.00).
What AI can already do
2 of 31 tasks, unaided
Maintain controlled drug inventory and related log books.
Perform a variety of office, clerical, or accounting duties, such as reception, billing, bookkeeping, or selling products.
What still needs a person
29 of 31 tasks
Administer anesthesia to animals, under the direction of a veterinarian, and monitor animals' responses to anesthetics so that dosages can be adjusted.
Care for and monitor the condition of animals recovering from surgery.
Perform laboratory tests on blood, urine, or feces, such as urinalyses or blood counts, to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of animal health problems.
Prepare and administer medications, vaccines, serums, or treatments, as prescribed by veterinarians.
Restrain animals during exams or procedures.
Administer emergency first aid, such as performing emergency resuscitation or other life saving procedures.
Clean and sterilize instruments, equipment, or materials.
Provide veterinarians with the correct equipment or instruments, as needed.
Perform dental work, such as cleaning, polishing, or extracting teeth.
Observe the behavior and condition of animals and monitor their clinical symptoms.
Give enemas and perform catheterizations, ear flushes, intravenous feedings, or gavages.
Fill prescriptions, measuring medications and labeling containers.
Collect, prepare, and label samples for laboratory testing, culture, or microscopic examination.
Prepare animals for surgery, performing such tasks as shaving surgical areas.
Take and develop diagnostic radiographs, using x-ray equipment.
Discuss medical health of pets with clients, such as post-operative status.
Clean kennels, animal holding areas, surgery suites, examination rooms, or animal loading or unloading facilities to control the spread of disease.
Take animals into treatment areas and assist with physical examinations by performing such duties as obtaining temperature, pulse, or respiration data.
Prepare treatment rooms for surgery.
Maintain laboratory, research, or treatment records, as well as inventories of pharmaceuticals, equipment, or supplies.
Maintain instruments, equipment, or machinery to ensure proper working condition.
Dress and suture wounds and apply splints or other protective devices.
Provide assistance with animal euthanasia and the disposal of remains.
Schedule appointments and procedures for animals.
Provide information or counseling regarding issues such as animal health care, behavior problems, or nutrition.
Monitor medical supplies and place orders when inventory is low.
Supervise or train veterinary students or other staff members.
Bathe animals, clip nails or claws, and brush or cut animals' hair.
Conduct specialized procedures, such as animal branding or tattooing or hoof trimming.
Tasks via O*NET "Veterinary Technologists and Technicians" (29-2056.00).
What AI can already do
8 of 31 tasks, with tools
Maintain controlled drug inventory and related log books.
Perform laboratory tests on blood, urine, or feces, such as urinalyses or blood counts, to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of animal health problems.
Take and develop diagnostic radiographs, using x-ray equipment.
Maintain laboratory, research, or treatment records, as well as inventories of pharmaceuticals, equipment, or supplies.
Schedule appointments and procedures for animals.
Provide information or counseling regarding issues such as animal health care, behavior problems, or nutrition.
Monitor medical supplies and place orders when inventory is low.
Perform a variety of office, clerical, or accounting duties, such as reception, billing, bookkeeping, or selling products.
What still needs a person
23 of 31 tasks
Administer anesthesia to animals, under the direction of a veterinarian, and monitor animals' responses to anesthetics so that dosages can be adjusted.
Care for and monitor the condition of animals recovering from surgery.
Prepare and administer medications, vaccines, serums, or treatments, as prescribed by veterinarians.
Restrain animals during exams or procedures.
Administer emergency first aid, such as performing emergency resuscitation or other life saving procedures.
Clean and sterilize instruments, equipment, or materials.
Provide veterinarians with the correct equipment or instruments, as needed.
Perform dental work, such as cleaning, polishing, or extracting teeth.
Observe the behavior and condition of animals and monitor their clinical symptoms.
Give enemas and perform catheterizations, ear flushes, intravenous feedings, or gavages.
Fill prescriptions, measuring medications and labeling containers.
Collect, prepare, and label samples for laboratory testing, culture, or microscopic examination.
Prepare animals for surgery, performing such tasks as shaving surgical areas.
Discuss medical health of pets with clients, such as post-operative status.
Clean kennels, animal holding areas, surgery suites, examination rooms, or animal loading or unloading facilities to control the spread of disease.
Take animals into treatment areas and assist with physical examinations by performing such duties as obtaining temperature, pulse, or respiration data.
Prepare treatment rooms for surgery.
Maintain instruments, equipment, or machinery to ensure proper working condition.
Dress and suture wounds and apply splints or other protective devices.
Provide assistance with animal euthanasia and the disposal of remains.
Supervise or train veterinary students or other staff members.
Bathe animals, clip nails or claws, and brush or cut animals' hair.
Conduct specialized procedures, such as animal branding or tattooing or hoof trimming.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Associate professional occupations, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons