Small Talk - Spring 2018

Veterinary Careers Hi, my name is Sammy. I am a 2nd year veterinary nursing student completing my training at ProCo Wigan. I attend college one day per week, whilst employed by the Willows Veterinary Group as a student nurse. I am gaining the qualification through city and guilds. At the end of the course I will receive a Level 3 diploma. I wanted to be a veterinary nurse ever since being a small child. I have owned lots of small animals over my childhood and I think looking after them is what has made me want to pursue a career in veterinary nursing. The role includes a variety of day to day tasks, including talking to clients, giving them advice etc, preparing, monitoring and recovering animals from surgery, analysing blood samples in our in-house lab, walking/feeding patients, as well as cleaning and maintaining the practice being a huge part of our role. My favourite part of veterinary nursing is in-patient care, I love keeping up with a patients progress and seeing a patient recover from illness. Hi, my name is Grace. I am a 3rd year student veterinary nurse from Harper Adams University in Shropshire. I am doing a 4 year sandwich course BSc Veterinary Nursing and Practise Management. I did a 6 week placement in year 1 and another 6 week placement at the end of year 1. I then stayed in university until the end of second year, and came to the Laurels for my year long placement. I wanted to be a veterinary nurse as I have a passion for caring for small animals, such as cats, dogs and exotics, such as rabbits and guinea pigs, and I knew it would be a rewarding job. I have a boxer dog, 3 cats and a pet peacock at home. I enjoy my course and we had weekly practical sessions which have helped me when working in practice. On a daily basis my jobs include, admitting surgical patients, theatre nursing, nurse appointments and general cleaning of the practise. One of my favourite parts of the job is weight clinics, chatting to owners about their pet’s diet and identifying how to improve it, and watching the progress of weight loss. By Sammy and Grace Student Veterinary Nurses at Willows Veterinary Group small talk 03 Training to be a veterinary nurse