In this episode I caught up with Nicole LaForest who you might know on Insta as @veterinarytechnicians. Nicole has achieved an incredible amount in a short amount of time. She graduated high school early and in her junior and senior years was already studying college subjects. Not long after finishing high school Nicole had a degree in cognitive psychology, and has since obtained a degree in human healthcare management and associate degrees in veterinary technology and music. Nicole was a...

In this episode I caught up with behaviour guru Serena Dean. Serena's career in the veterinary industry spans almost 20 years. She's worked in many different capacities including as a senior veterinary nurse in both emergency and general practice, education and training positions, and other leadership and management roles. Serena designed and implemented The Best Behaviour Program for Greencross and currently creates content as a speaker and guest lecturer for multiple industry groups. She...

In this episode I interviewed someone who I really admire. When I was at the VNCA conference in 2015 Amy Newfield was the international key note speaker. After her first lecture I was hooked, and went to all them. Her energy and knowledge really fueled the vet nurse in me and I was inspired to make a lot of positive changes back at Ready Vet. Amy is a Veterinary Technician Specialist in Emergency and Critical Care and a project manager for Blue Pearl. She's mainly focused on large scale...

In this episode I caught up with one of the most positive and energetic veterinary nurses, Ricki. Ricki started her nursing career in general practice in Albury before moving to the sunshine coast to work at Australia Zoo with the bird show team. Ricki was the head bird trainer at Australia Zoo and performed in the show daily. Eventually Ricki's love for connecting with people brought her back into general veterinary practice, and she now works in what has got to be one of the most beautiful...

In this episode I caught up with - by popular demand - Julie Harris. With over 20 years of experience in the veterinary industry Julie is now the Chief People Officer for VetPartners. If you're a practice manager or a senior vet nurse working in a leadership position, or if this is something you aspire to, then this is the episode for you. In addition to her clinical background Julie also has an MBA and a tonne of experience helping people and developing processes. As well as leading her...

In this episode I caught up with Angel Rivera at the 2019 VNCA conference in Brisbane. Angel is a veterinary technician specialist (VTS) in the field of emergency and critical care (ECC). As an internationally recognised speaker he lectures to vets, veterinary nurses, veterinary technicians, and has been published in journals, text books and research abstracts. Angel has worked as a veterinary technician, Director of Nursing, Nursing Education Coordinator, Medical Director, Hospital...

In this episode I went to Melbourne and had the absolute pleasure of meeting Carol Bradley. From humble beginnings as a kennel maid in 1973 Carol worked all the way up to her current role teaching and training vet students at the University of Melbourne. Carol is a Tutor in small animal surgery, and the Veterinary Skills Centre Manager and Nurse Educator. When it comes to teaching vet students Carol is also responsible for lectures and practical class supervision in the surgical discipline...

In this episode I caught up with social media super nurse and all round lovely human, Lou the Vet Nurse. If you don't already follow Lou on Facebook or Insta, you should. Her social media content is full of vet nursing tips and positive inspo. You can find links to Lou's social media and everything else we discuss in the show notes on my website www.radiovetnurse.com. Lou is an RVN in the UK with a special interest in intensive nursing and anaesthesia. In addition to active nursing, Lou is...

In this episode you'll hear from Janet, the President of the Vet Nurse Council of Australia (VNCA). Janet is from New Zealand, currently living in Perth, and is a lecturer in vet nursing at South Metropolitan TAFE. Janet has been nursing for 20+ years and has multiple qualifications including a Bachelor in Veterinary Nursing and an Associate Degree in Adult and Vocational Education. Janet's career has taken her all over the world including specialising in Emergency and Critical Care at the...

In this episode you'll hear from Natalie, the Academic Director of the Australian College of Vet Nursing. Natalie has Certificate IV qualifications in veterinary nursing, canine behaviour, training and assessment, and Diplomas in vocational education and training, surgical nursing, and emergency and critical care. When I listened back to this interview it occurred to me that Natalie is an extremely empathetic person. So much of what she has to say comes from a place of sensitivity towards...

In this episode you'll get to know Hayley from Animal Emergency Services (AES) in Brisbane. I've been wanting to get the emergency nursing angle for a while now because I think it's a really exciting part of our story. I reached out to Dr Alex Hynes who is a senior vet at AES and one of the new faces on the iconic Bondi Vet TV show (side note: it's back, channel Nine, this year. You're welcome!). Dr Alex recommended Hayley as one of AES's most senior emergency and intensive care nurses. As a...

In this episode I catch up with a well-known vet nurse and presenter in Australia, Sue Crampton. Sue is such an accomplished person; she's the owner and founder of Crampton Consulting Group and the Animal Industries Resource Centre and - in addition to vet nursing - has a really interesting collection of qualifications including Bachelor of Business, Diploma in Company Directorship, and Masters in Neuro Linguistic Programming. As one of Australia's leading veterinary educators she's on the go...

In this episode you'll hear from Tiffany - a nurse at Boongarry Veterinary Services in Cairns. She works with the legendary Dr Annabelle Olsson a consulting vet for wildlife, zoos, and the various government agencies that manage endangered animals. As well as being a busy general practice Boongarry also treats thousands of wildlife cases a year, pro bono. Wildlife cases in Far North QLD are different to wildlife anywhere in Australia. The wet tropics region (which is two million hectares...

In this episode you'll hear from a British vet nurse, Sara, who came to locum in Australia and stayed for good. After working as head nurse in a busy hospital for years, Sara made the transition to working as a rep for Dermcare, and she's never looked back. Sara is a happy, upbeat person who is highly intelligent and incredibly funny. She has a razor sharp wit that I thoroughly enjoy. I'm not going to lie, I nearly did my snort-laugh in this interview. I'm really glad I heard Sara's story of...

In this episode you'll hear from Jo Hatcher who was president of the VNCA in 2017. Jo has been a vet nurse for almost 20 years and was one of the first names added to the Radio Vet Nurse guest wish list. She works at Gawler Animal Hospital in South Australia and is also a nurse trainer with the Animal Industries Resource Centre. Jo is very actively involved with the VNCA and is a highly qualified, knowledgeable and passionate vet nurse. Jo started her career as a vet nurse in 1999 and...

In this episode you'll hear from a British vet nurse named Rebekah who travels the world as a locum. Rebekah originally wanted to be a vet and was devastated when she failed at the last hurdle when it came to university admission. Her back-up plan was to complete a Bachelor of Science in Veterinary Nursing at the Royal Veterinary College in London and then transfer to vet. It didn't take long for Rebekah to fall in love with vet nursing and decide that she had found her fit and didn't need to...