VN Times Podcast

Lacey Pitcher tells us all about her new role at the RCVS as part of the Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) team, how the role aligns with her core values and allows her to continue working in practice as a locum RVN.

Lacey shares how she balances these two roles, her thoughts on well-being within the profession and her top tips for looking after your own mental health.

____________________

LACEY PITCHER RVN

Lacey is a registered veterinary nurse originally based in South Wales, who has worked throughout the UK utilising her qualification in a variety of roles. She is passionate about public education and communication, firmly believing in building bigger tables and not bigger walls.

Lacey has worked alongside rescue for a number of years and has a particular interest in brachycephalic breeds, given their increased welfare needs. Lacey still works out-of-hours in emergency care, alongside her role at the RCVS.

Join us for February’s Happy Hour as we discuss dog breeding, as well as highlighting good breed health – the VN’s role in education and the pre-purchase journey (consults, campaigns, social media etc).

Our amazing panellists for this month’s VN Happy Hour, which took place on 24 February, were:

KATHRYNE WRIGLEY (lead interview)

Kathryne has a keen interest in canine reproduction and completed her dog breeding diploma in 2010. She is a The Kennel Club (KC) Assured Breeder and breed health coordinator for Gordon setters.

In practice, Kathryne is keen to promote responsible breeding and enjoys supporting novice breeders. She has run successful antenatal clinics and, as a trained pregnancy scanner, believes she is in a position to advise and support breeders throughout the breeding process.

LACEY PITCHER

Lacey is passionate about public education and communication. She has worked alongside rescue for a number of years and has a particular interest in brachycephalic breeds given their increased welfare needs.

CHLOE MACKINTOSH

Chloe Mackintosh is head veterinary nurse at PDSA Romford, and has a passion for all things charity and shelter medicine. Chloe enjoys educating owners on preventive medicine, as well as the responsibility of maintaining breed standard health. She will be starting a Masters in molecular biology in September.

VN Times editor Rachael Buzzel is joined by RVN and chair of the Veterinary Critical Care Nurses (VCCN) region of the British Association of Critical Care Nurses (BACCN), Laura Edwards.

Laura shares with us plans for the coming year, and explains how the collaboration between human and animal nurses can open the doors to incredible opportunities and possibilities for both professions.

_________________

LAURA EDWARDS BA, RVN, AFHEA

Laura has worked for the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at The University of Edinburgh since 2011. She started her career as an animal care assistant and then qualified as an RVN in 2017. She started working as a veterinary nursing lecturer at Scotland’s Rural University College in 2019. This move to teaching has been instrumental in focusing her efforts on RVN progression and retention within the sector.

Having worked with and been taught by some of the most inspiring, ambitious, and knowledgeable nurses, Laura has spent the past three years trying to find ways to lift the RVN profile.

In 2021, Laura created the VCCN region within the BACCN and became chair in September 2021.

VN Happy Hour returned on 25 November for a look at obesity and nutrition in companion animals.

Hosts Rachael and James were joined by Nicola Lakeman, a well known and very highly respected veterinary nurse with expertise in the fields of nutrition and nursing clinics, as well as Royal Canin Weight Management Clinic Nurse Georgia Woods-Lee and NutritionRVN.com founder Jessica Joosse.

Have you ever wondered what the role of the vet nurse will look like in the years ahead?

Have you thought about how the current shortages of veterinary surgeons could be eased by the skills of vet nurses if you were allowed to do more? Or what future training requirements will be like for vet nurses?

October’s VN Happy Hour looked at these and other topics affecting vet nurses as we focused on the future of veterinary nursing with BVNA president Alex Taylor, BVNA senior-vice president Jo Oakden and BVNA council member Lyndsay Hughes.

This month’s VN Happy Hour was extra special, as it was the one year anniversary of the launch of our VN power hour. When we launched VN Happy Hour we wanted to create an event which provided not only networking opportunities and thought-provoking discussions but also fun and laughter.

VN Happy Hour returned in September with the theme of “Brachycephalic breeds – the best approach”.

This month saw the return of RVN and brachycephalic campaigner Lacey Pitcher in our lead interview slot to answer delegates’ questions on how to support clients with brachycelphalic pets and more.

Our panel discussion saw Lacey joined by blogger, vlogger and former Peke owner Jane Davidson (JaneRVN), and Happy Hour newbie Polly May Mewse. Known on Instagram as The Brachy Nurse, Polly is a consultant at Animal Trust and brachycephalic breed advocate.

August’s VN Happy Hour – sponsored by Bought By Many – was all about behaviour, and how VNs can support owners of pets with behavioural problems and the importance of “fear free” methods for handling pets in a clinical setting.

Whether you weren’t able to join us on the 26 August or simply want to listen to our fantastic guest speakers again, we have you covered.

This month we were joined by RVNs Linda Ryan, Elle Boden and Zoe Blake, who expertly answered delegates’ behaviour-related questions.

Zoom threw some technical gremlins our way, so we apologise for the drop in audio during the panel session. Linda, Elle and Zoe are happy for you to contact them via their social media channels should you want to speak to them in more detail about their answers.

There were so many great resources mentioned on the night, so here they all are for you to look through:

LC Fitness

www.instagram.com/lauracopley7

Inspiring Pet Teaching

www.inspiringpets.com

Inspiring Pet Teaching FB page

www.facebook.com/InspiringPets

The Friendly Pet Nurse

https://thefriendlypetnurse.co.uk

The Friendly Pet Nurse FB page

www.facebook.com/thefriendlypetnurse

The Friendly Pet Nurse Instagram page

www.instagram.com/zoethefriendlypetnurse

The Behaviour Nurse

www.thebehaviournurse.com

The Behaviour Nurse FB page

www.facebook.com/ellethebehaviournurse

The Behaviour Nurse Instagram

www.instagram.com/thebehaviournurse

The Behaviour Nurse short questionnaire: Cat Behaviour

www.vettimes.co.uk/app/uploads/2021/09/Short-Questionnaire-Cat-Behaviour.pdf

The Behaviour Nurse short questionnaire: Dog Behaviour

www.vettimes.co.uk/app/uploads/2021/09/Short-Questionnaire-Dog-Behaviour.pdf

Respect The Lead

https://respectthelead.com

International Cat Care

https://icatcare.org

iCat Care Cat Friendly Clinc

https://icatcare.org/veterinary/cat-friendly-clinic

Fear Free Pets

https://fearfreepets.com

AVSAB Positive Veterinary Care Position Statement

https://avsab.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Positive-Veterinary-Care-Position-Statement-download.pdf

Low Stress Handling Dr Sophia Yin

https://lowstresshandling.com

The Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors (APBC)

www.apbc.org.uk

Dogs Trust Welfare crisis

www.dogstrust.org.uk/latest/issues-campaigns/dog-welfare-crisis

The Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT)

https://apdt.co.uk

The Pet Professional Guild British Isles (PPGBI)

https://ppgbi.com

The Association of Into Dogs

www.intodogs.org

IMDT

www.imdt.uk.com/find-a-qualified-imdt-trainer

K9 Working Heroes The Dog Aggression Ladder

http://www.k9workingheroes.co.uk/health/the-dog-aggression-ladder-brightdog-academy-dog-training-shared-link

RSPCA: cats body language

https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/cats/behaviour/understanding

Sustainability has been the theme of Jo Oakden’s year as president of the BVNA – and this increasingly important topic dominates the agenda for BVNA Congress, which returns to Telford International Centre from 2 to 4 October following its hiatus last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In this special episode of the VN Times Podcast, Jo explains why she chose sustainability as her theme, how the four pillars – human, social, economic and environmental – are equally important in ensuring a sustainable veterinary profession, and what she hopes delegates take away from congress.

BIOGRAPHY

Since graduating from the RVC in 2008, Jo has worked in a variety of small animal and mixed veterinary practice. She has also completed the Certificate in Feline Nursing, and the Certificate in Canine and Feline Veterinary Nutrition.

Jo has worked with the BVNA as a regional co-ordinator since 2014 and was elected on to BVNA council in 2017. She is the BVNA president for 2020-21.

Outside of the BVNA, Jo joined VetPartners as business support manager in August 2021, having previously been practice manager at Vets4Pets Leicester Central.

A two-month campaign by the BVNA is aiming to create a better environment for – and a better understanding of – the challenges faced by veterinary nurses who suffer from a chronic illness or condition.

The campaign is being led by BVNA junior vice-president Alex Taylor, who joined the VN Times Podcast to discuss its objectives – chief of which is the creation of a digital toolkit to support VNs, and help practices in developing protocols and supporting their staff.

BIOGRAPHY

Alex Taylor qualified as a nurse in 1997 and has worked in both first opinion and referral practice. She is especially interested in feline nursing and has completed the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM) feline nursing certificate and diploma, as well as the ISFM Advanced Certificate in Feline Behaviour.

Alex works as a locum RVN and runs her own company, The Cat Nurse, where she offers CPD about feline nursing and behaviour. She also volunteers for her local Cats Protection branch.

A BVNA council member since October 2018, Alex is 2020-21 junior vice-president and will become president at BVNA Congress in October.

If you haven’t attended one of our VN Happy Hour virtual events yet, you’re missing out. It’s a “power hour” packed with fun, laughter, top tips, prizes, and talks with fantastic and talented panellists.

This month we were joined by RVNs Claire Harrison, Claire Bloor and Nicola Lakeman, each of whom expertly answered a number of dentistry-related questions submitted by delegates.