Veterinary Ramblings

This week we sit down with Emily Woodbridge AKA Nexus Vet Physio,  a degree-qualified Veterinary Physiotherapist based in the UK. 

We discuss Emily's experience providing palliative care for her horse, the two sides to horse racing and her educational journey to become a Veterinary Physiotherapist. We also explore different forms of physiotherapy including massage and the more subtle signs of pet pain that can be missed. 

Lastly, Emily shares a fantastic 60 Second CPD which leads to a discussion about warm-ups and cool down for both animals and humans!

This week Veterinary Ramblings is joined by fellow podcaster, Francisco Gomez, the man behind More Than Just A Vet Podcast!

Francisco made the decision to move to the UK to learn English.  He loved it here so much that he decided to stay! We discuss his career progression and what led him to the decision to make Britain his new home. We also talk about brexit and its impact on European freedom of movement, challenges posed by working as a foreign vet in the UK, and of course, Francisco's latest project, "More Than Just A Vet", his new podcast. Julian shares his love of Spanish cuisine and Francisco gives us a fantastic 60-Second CPD on Opthalmology!

Born in Malaga, Spain, Francisco qualified in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Córdoba. Initially, he travelled to the UK for 6 months, however, that turned into 15 years (and counting)! He has been a Veterinary Surgeon at Lawrence Veterinary Centre since 2007, with a short break in between whilst living in Norfolk and a couple of years as a locum. He completed his Certificate in ‘Advanced Veterinary Practice’ in 2013 and has a passion for all surgery, especially ophthalmology cases. In January 2018, he was appointed a Clinical Director at Lawrence Veterinary Clinic.

Outside of work, he is always looking for new hobbies, particularly if they involve computers and the internet! During the pandemic, he learned programming and developed an app called Vetd0se to help people calculate premed dosages. Last year, he started More Than Just A Vet Podcast, in which he seeks to show everyone, not just vets, what the lives, struggles, and passions of veterinary professionals are.

This week, we are joined by the inspirational Sarah Cotton!

Sarah was working as a firefighter when her life changed forever. While responding to a routine traffic incident, she fell 50 feet from a motorway overpass and broke every bone below the waist. She describes her life-changing accident and her journey of recovery, redeveloping her strength, and eventually swimming the English Channel!

After the accident, Sarah had to leave the fire department and went back to college to retrain as a gardener. She is an avid athlete, regularly getting involved with SwimRun and always ready to take on new challenges. Sarah has also helped foster lots of animals, from blind pugs to domesticated pigeons - and gives us a fantastic 60-second CPD on the differences between wood pigeons and feral pigeons!

This week we are joined by Wendy Nevins RVN who has been a qualified VN for nearly 30 years!

We discuss her journey from an aspiring drama teacher to a veterinary nurse and remember the funny side of spot tests during our exams. She also shares her claim to fame with a celebrity client! 

Wendy, ever determined to qualify in veterinary nursing,  explains how her life took her from a small animal practice in Surrey to a mixed practice in North Yorkshire and then into Germany. 

We also reflect on her time working with The Webinar Vet and as the president of the BVNA, and she explains some of the things she would like to change in the veterinary industry in the future. Lastly, Wendy talks about the benefits of an 'F it list' and delivers a fantastic 60-Second CPD entitled 'Speak UP & Stand Up As An RVN'.   

We are joined by Georgia Woods-Lee (@thefatvetnurse) who is an RVN specialising in pet nutrition and obesity.

We discuss how her personal experience with weight management got her into veterinary nutrition and she share her tips for losing weight as a person and for our pets. Georgia also explains how the family food environment can impact pet obesity and the issues overweight pets can suffer from. As there is a lot of emotions attached to obesity, she explains different ways to approach a client conversation regarding their pet's weight and the benefit of using visual tools. Lastly, we discuss how diets could change in the future to combat the environmental impact of meat production and Georgia shares a fantastic original poem she wrote for her 60-Second CPD.

Georgia qualified as a Veterinary Nurse in 2004 from Myerscough College, Preston. After working in mixed practice, a multidisciplinary referral centre and a busy out of hours ECC hospital, in 2010 Georgia was appointed as Head Nurse and clinical coach of a small animal practice in Cheshire, developing successful obesity care and other nursing clinics.

In June 2015, Georgia took the position of ROYAL CANIN® Weight Management Clinic Nurse at the University of Liverpool, Small Animal Teaching Hospital, where she is now dealing exclusively with pet obesity care and nutrition. In addition to the day to day running of the clinic, Georgia assists with all the research the clinic undertakes and has provided education to vets and nurses throughout many countries around the world on the topics of nutrition and obesity care.

Georgia gained her Certificate in Canine and Feline Veterinary Health Nutrition in 2017 and the American Veterinary Technician Specialist (VTS) in nutrition certificate in 2019, being 1 of only 25 people in the world to hold this accreditation. She is also one of the authors of the BSAVA Guide to Nutrition!

Join us for our Christmas ramblings as we spread some festive cheer for the end of the year.

We share our differing opinions on Christmas and Julian recalls a rather embarrassing experience of working on-call on Christmas Day.  Our special episode wouldn't be complete without a lot of festive dad jokes and a double whammy of 60-second CPD,  discussing the potential origins of Rudolf's red nose and the best way to procure quality alcoholic drinks in time for your festive celebrations.

We also discuss classic Christmas songs that we love (and hate), Christmas morning champagne traditions,  the ultimate Christmas film and Mike & Julians uncanny resemblance to a certain pair of muppets.

Lastly, Mikes shares with us his recent trip to Svalbard, near the North Pole, and the various animals he saw there including polar bears!

Thank you to each and every one of you who have tuned in to our show, we'll be back in January with more fantastic guests interviews that we hope you enjoy! 

This week we are joined by Fabian Rivers AKA Dready Vet!

Fabian is the lead exotics vet at an independent practice in Birmingham and has written, featured and given talks to a variety of veterinary and non-veterinary publications, universities and initiatives.  He is also one of the vets on the Pets Factor, a children’s TV show on the CBBC, and was more recently the presenter on BBC One for Britain's Puppy Boom: Counting the Cost 

He is the British Veterinary Association recent graduate representative and is a keen contributor on topics surrounding mental health, racism, new graduate and student welfare, as well as the wider complexities of the veterinary community. In 2020, he was awarded BVA Young Vet of the Year.

Fabian explains how his family and upbringing influenced his decision to enter veterinary medicine, his interesting journey which lead him to study at the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Brno, Czech Republic, and how his social media and television persona, DreadyVet, came to be.

We also discuss his mums fabulous cooking and how his keen interest in philosophy has helped him. Finally, Fabian shares a few words of wisdom in his 60-second CPD, helping us all to appreciate the small wins in life and reflect on our past. 

Join us this week as we sit down with Anna Mercer AKA Anna The Ferret Nurse!

 In this episode, we talk about everything from ferrets to fine art - including bats, mustelids, skunks, abstract expressionism, bass guitar, qualifying during COVID, and hummus...

Anna shares her experience as a recently qualified vet nurse, and what it was like to qualify during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Anna originally trained as a fine artist so we chat a little about our thoughts on abstract expressionism. After her degree, Anna worked with bats at the Bat Conservation Trust and therapy animals (including a therapy skunk!) in a hospital, which inspired her to retrain as a vet nurse. 

Anna started as a VCA in 2016 and qualified as an RVN in January 2021 after a 10-month delay due to coronavirus. Before this, she had many jobs. She used to work for a company that specialised in animal-assisted therapy, taking exotic animals into brain injury units & mental health wards. She has also worked for an ecologist consultancy performing bat surveys. Anna is currently studying towards a certificate in advanced nursing of small mammals.

As you may have guessed by her name, one of her main passions is everything and anything that involves ferrets! She is keen to promote ferret health and spends her spare time researching health issues and ferret husbandry. You learn more about her work with ferrets on her blog: annatheferretnurse.wordpress.com/

She has a passion for wildlife rehabilitation and has volunteered for many years at The Bat Conservation Trust rescuing bats. In 2019, Anna also volunteered for the charity Barking Mad Dog Rescue, working to improve the lives of abandoned dogs in Romania.

Join us as we sit down with Nikki McLeod AKA @felinefabulousvetnursing!

Nikki has had a fascinating career going from vet nurse to professional photographer and back again! We discuss how the veterinary industry has changed since she first qualified, particularly within the fear-free movement. She also shares her experience working for Pet Blood Bank UK, explaining how it works and the benefits to both pets and pet owners for getting involved in donating blood.

'Nikki qualified with an RCVS Certificate in Veterinary Nursing in 2000 and worked her way up to Head Nurse of a growing small animal practice. Alongside all this hard work at vet nursing, she has a passion for photography, and in 2008 she started a full-time business specialising in weddings and portraits. 

In 2014, she returned to the veterinary profession and describes herself as a 'crazy student', obtaining the following qualifications: The ISFM Certificate in Feline Nursing, The ISFN Advanced Certificate in Feline Behaviour, Low-Stress Handling Silver Certified and Fear Free Veterinary Certified to Level 3 - all of which developed her love for reducing fear, anxiety and stress in the veterinary practice.  She is now studying to top up to BSc (Hons) degree level in Veterinary Nursing and an Advanced Diploma in Applied Animal Behaviour, and is due to begin studying for an NCert in Animal Behaviour! 

She currently works at a small animal practice in Dunfermline, Fife as a part-time RVN, becoming the practice’s resident ‘Cat Advocate’ since February 2018 and helping them become a ‘Cat-Friendly Clinic’ with Silver Status. She has also trained as a Phlebotomist for Pet Blood Bank UK, travelling around central Scotland, helping dogs save lives.'

Join us this week as we sit down with the inspiring Hannah Olliff-Lee AKA Physio.RVN!

Hannah's veterinary nursing journey began in 2012 with a nursing placement in Clapham. She completed her diploma in veterinary nursing in 2015. In 2019, she began sharing her training journey to become an animal physiotherapist through her social media pages (Physio.RVN/@physio.rvn) and in 2021 she qualified as an animal physiotherapist and diversified into social media and marketing.

We discuss Hannahs recent experience speaking at the BVNA congress, how to provide good feedback when leading a team, and the benefits of employee ownership trusts in veterinary practice. She recounts her journey of becoming a veterinary nurse/animal physiotherapist and shares the advice she would give to her younger self.  

Hannah has a love of horses (in particular the endangered breed of Hackney horses) and provides her physiotherapy expertise to help both animals in the clinic and pets at home!