Veterinary Ramblings

You may know Helen MacDonald as the owner of Geronimo the alpaca - however, there is so much more to her story! As such we have decided to release Helen's episode in two parts.  In Part One, we get to know the fascinating person behind the scandal.

We begin this week's episode discussing Helen's time spent in Australia as a child and the difference in culture and education that she experienced when she moved back to the UK. 

Formerly a keen diver, Helen and Julian discuss the wonderful places they have explored under the sea and we learn how one summer changed everything about Helen's career path, beginning her love of Veterinary Nursing. 

With 32 years experience in the industry, Helen has worn many hats. From Head Nurse to Teacher, Locum to Assessor - even hitting the road in 2010 to work in the commercial veterinary sector in sales and practice support.

Her fascination for alpacas led to her buying her first 3 breeding females in 2002. 20 years later, she now has a quality breeding herd of over 80 coloured alpacas. Her focus is on the health and welfare of alpacas with an emphasis on best practice, biosecurity, education and evidence-based science.

Following the horrific events surrounding Geronimo spanning 5 years, she is now a reluctant campaigner for evidence-based science and transparent justifiable policies for disease eradication. We will be discussing Geronimo's story in next week's episode, which will be released on Thursday the 24th of November.

This week we're joined by the wonderful Carly Kilby!

Carly is a veterinary nurse, scout leader and mother. She grew up in South London, but discovered her love for veterinary work and the outdoors after moving to countryside in her teenage years. We discuss the difficulties of finding people who understand the intricacies of a job in the veterinary profession, and the embarrassment of accidentally recounting  disgusting work stories to non-vet friends over dinner.

After qualifying in 2006, Carly has worked within farm, equine, first opinion practice and the referral locum scene. She has gained an ISFM certificate in Feline Friendly Nursing, an ESVPS certificate in anaesthesia, an ISVPS certificate in surgical nursing and is also the BVNA Regional Representative for the South West (Somerset and Gloucestershire)! 

We spend a lot of time talking about the importance of family and the difficulties of finding balance between commitments at home and work. As veterinary professionals, it's something that we can all relate to. Carly talks about her experiences of having to put work before fun during her vet nurse training, and the pressure of being a parent alongside supporting a number of busy teams as a locum.

Carly gives us a reflective 60-second CPD on  returning to work after maternity leave and we discuss the worries, guilt and pressures that working parents can experience when trying to balance life's wants and needs.

If you are ever struggling with any of the issues we spoke about in this episode (or any episode) don't forget there's support out there -  speak up if you're struggling: we all have times when we need some care ourselves. Please reach out to Vetlife on 0303 040 2551.

Join us as we chat with the awesome Ruth Greenhill, an ECC veterinary night nurse at a busy 24hr hospital in central London.  Maintaining a good work-life balance is important to her and she has many fascinating hobbies and passions outside the veterinary world. 

Ruth talks to us about how she uses night-shift work to achieve a better work-life balance and helps her find time for all of her eclectic hobbies. Ruth is an avid snorkeller and at the time of recording was due to complete a scuba diving qualification the very next day. We discuss the differences in dead space between snorkels and anaesthetic equipment. 

Ruth is an amazing ballerina and uses dance to keep her grounded and to blow off steam both in and outside of work. Ruth recalls how she nearly became a professional ballerina - but after a work placement with a veterinary surgeon, decided that she would much rather work in veterinary medicine.

Finally, we quiz Ruth on her diving signals and she delivers an awesome 60-second CPD about how to overcome exam nerves. 

This week we're chatting with Lacey Pitcher, an RVN who has travelled the world and enjoyed a varied career across GP, OOH, Referral and charity medicine. 

We begin this week's show with the most important question, what is her favourite type of bread? Lacey then explains how cheese influenced her to buy her house!

She shares her love of travelling and how her veterinary passport helped her to travel the world. We discuss the strength of the veterinary community and she explains why she set up Veterinary Pay It Forward to show her appreciation for her colleagues and support their mental health. We also talk about brachycephalics and Lacey tells us how she thinks people should deal with their treatment.  

We learn about what neurodiversity is and how it affects people, and Lacey uses her own experience to summarise these points in her 60-Second CPD. She also talks to us about Vets: Stay, Go, Diversify and how it helps people to stay in the veterinary profession and have a fulfilling career. Lastly, we discuss the Mind Matters Initiative and close the show with a reflection question from Lacey.

*Please note, this episode was recorded last year during coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions, however, we had such a fantastic time recording this wonderful conversation with Lou that we still really want to share it with you all!*

*Lou's views are her own and do not represent or reflect the views of the BVNA*

This week we're thrilled to present our episode with the fantastic Lou Northway whom many of you know as Lou The Vet Nurse!

We begin this week's episode by delving into Lou's childhood experiences of visiting the vets, how that inspired her to become a veterinary nurse and how her weekend job developed into her lifelong career.

We discuss how the roles of a veterinary surgeon and a veterinary nurse complement each other, depend on one another and by working together, improve animal welfare for our patients. Lou shares her views on analgesia, how it could be improved by giving vet nurses more responsibility in practice and her passion for clinical auditing.

We discuss a period of huge change for Lou that took place over 2020/2021 with her pregnancy and the subsequent birth of her baby during COVID. Lou shares her experiences of being a new mother and offers advice for any veterinary nurses that are considering having a baby.

Lastly, she does an awesome 60-second CPD about quality improvement in human factors and we discuss the importance of fostering a no-blame culture in the workplace.

This week we are joined by the fantastic Craig Tessyman RVN!

Craig started working in practice as a student in 1999 and has worked in small animal practice, referral, emergency out of hours and charity medicine.  He explains how his appearance breaks the mould of what you would expect a veterinary nurse to look like and how he hopes it will make the industry more inclusive!

For the last 6 years, he has worked 100% with non-traditional companion animals (NTCAs or anything that is not a traditional cat or dog). We discuss why there is a need to call exotic animals none traditional companion animals and Craig shares his journey of career progression alongside his hopes for his future within the BVNA council.

We also talk about the state of the veterinary profession as a whole,  including the industry staffing issues, joint venture partnerships and a particular patient Craig has worked with that has since gone viral online!

Lastly, Craig delivers a thoughtful  60-second CPD entitled 'Things they should have tortoise' (Hint: it has something to do with cats!?) and the nuanced ways spider owners can tell what their needs are to avoid getting bitten.

This week, we speak to the wonderful Dr Hannah Perrin - a leading figure in veterinary education.  She's worked with Street Vet, Veterinary Management Group, and lectures at the Royal Veterinary College.  We talk leadership, education, and identity in the veterinary profession, with Hannah delivering an excellent 60-second CPD on how to build a support network as a leader.

Hannah originally qualified as a pharmacologist, before becoming a practice manager in a specialist exotics practice. Working alongside a variety of professionals from specialists and students,  she developed a keen interest in education, research and leadership.  Hannah discusses how varied and rewarding teaching can be, and how we can positively influence others through our leadership and teaching style.

 In 2010 she went back to school for a part-time Master's degree in Health Services Research while consulting for a variety of first opinion and referral practices, followed by a PhD in Veterinary Education focusing on the development of professional identity in vet students and the transition from student to practice.  

She is now Learning and Development lead for VMG (Veterinary Management Group) and Course Director for the VMG/ILM Award, Certificate and Diploma in Veterinary Leadership and Management.  Alongside her professional interests, Hannah loves parkrun, coffee and cake.

This week we are joined by the fantastic Karen Hiestand!

Karen shares her experiences training as a vet in New Zealand and practicing veterinary medicine in both NZ and the UK while also volunteering in many more countries. 

We discuss how problems with clients affect your self-worth and how the industry can improve working environments to deal with traumatic situations through ethics and reflection.  We also share out experience with personal ethics tests and Karen reveals fascinating results regarding ethics in veterinary professionals!

Karen has master’s degrees in applied animal behaviour and welfare, medical ethics and law, a BSc in psychology and is a resident of the European college of animal welfare and behavioural medicine. 

She explains the preliminary findings of her PhD investigating the role of animal empathy in human–companion animal relationships and we learn some intriguing facts about how cats and dogs' brains work.

Lastly, Karen delivers a wonderful 60-Second CPD about the  idea of the autonomy principle and how its used in veterinary medicine!

In this episode, we're chatting to Dr Sean McCormack: Conservationist, Vet, and Presenter!

Graduating from Dublin vet school in 2010, Sean spent the first six years of his veterinary career in domestic, exotic pet, and zoo animal practice. In 2016, Sean left clinics to work in pet nutrition and have more time for media and wildlife conservation work.

Sean tells us about his role at tails.com and his lifelong love of nature, which began as a child turning over rocks in the garden! He explains the academic route he took to study veterinary medicine, his experience of burnout within his career, and the difficulty he had admitting to himself and others that he needed help.

Sean offers wise advice for veterinary students and graduates regarding the different pathways their careers could take and we discuss how  Ealing Wildlife Group came to be, their work to reintroduce beavers (and other species) back to Ealing and the benefits of rewilding for urban communities.

Lastly, Seans explains how to have your own disney princess moment with robins in the garden and delivers a wonderful  60-second CPD about what to do when bats get brought into your practice 

Our guest this week is Nathalie Dowgray, the Head of ISFM at International Cat Care!  

 Nathalie graduated from Massey University, New Zealand in 2002, is a Member of the Australian New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in Feline Medicine and holds a post-graduate diploma in international animal welfare ethics and law and a PhD in feline ageing. 

We discuss the difficulties of differentiating between pets and pests,  how some pests affect native birds in New Zealand and Nathalie's hope for more humane pest control and better animal rights worldwide. 

 She shares her experience of studying and graduating from Massey University, and the various jobs she has held over the years, including her time at Cats Protection where they provide short-term accommodation for pets of people escaping abusive situations and her more recent work at a neuter clinic in Portugal. 

Nathalie joined International Cat Care as Head of ISFM in August 2020.  She explains what the ISFM is, how they help both veterinary professionals and the general public and their transition to a digital platform in the near future. 

Lastly, Nathalie delivers a wonderful 60-Second CPD about welcoming a cat into your consult room!