VN Times Podcast

A huge advocate for the VN role, Helen speaks to VN Times about how her nursing team has helped take the drama out of the corona crisis.

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Helen Manning is an RVN with more than 20 years experience in a variety of different roles and practices settings.

She has worked in industry as well as independent and corporate practices and is now both manager and a partner at Swaffham Vets in Norfolk.

This month, RVN John Redbond joins VN Times editor Rachael Buzzel to discuss dermatology, what piqued his interest in this speciality, and how VNs who share this passion can get involved.

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John qualified in 2004 and worked at Castle Vets in Reading for 17 years. From 2011 he also ran a dermatology clinic at the practice and completed the BSAVA Merit Award in Dermatology.

He has had several articles published in different journals around the subject of dermatology nursing, and has lectured at events such as at London Vet Show, BSAVA and BVNA.

John left practice in 2018 to become group manager of the Veterinary Nursing Dermatology Group (VNDG) and works for the group’s sponsor Vetruus.

For further information, visit www.vetnursedermgroup.co.uk

Following fantastic social media feedback about her article “Charging for VN consults: will owners pay for services?”, RVN Helen Tottey joins VN Times editor Rachael Buzzel for a chat about what inspired her to tackle this important topic and to offer advice to VN colleagues who may be considering broaching the subject with their practice.

Helen qualified in 1996 and quickly realised clinical nursing was not for her, so she started a full time nurse consulting role in 1998.

Helen has enjoyed a varied career, including working as a Petplan rep, a trainer for Onswitch, and she also set up and ran her own veterinary practice for five years. Helen now works in the business support team for VetPartners, where she is able to help other nurses develop their nurse consulting roles.

2020 looks set to be another exciting year for RVN, blogger, author and lecturer Jane Davidson.

In the latest VN Times podcast, former editor Holly Kernot catches up with Jane, who chats about her career journey so far, becoming an author and embarking on a PhD looking at the history of the veterinary profession.

She also discusses getting lost in The British Library, a desire to feature on the This Morning phone-in while recovering from spinal surgery, and why one might want to avoid putting personal possessions on the floor in carpeted changing rooms.

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Jane RVN is a London and Kent based vet nurse who writes to educate and support vets, vet nurses and pet owners. She runs the award-winning online community #PlanetRVN.

Sharing stories is a universal desire in us all, and Jane uses blogs, vlogs and more to promote vet nursing, animal welfare and share the stories of those who need it.

• Visit https://janervn.com for all things Jane Davidson.

This month, former VN Times editor Holly Kernot speaks to Flick Caldwell, who, in the August 2019 issue of the magazine, shared her experience of working as an RVN, despite suffering with a condition that causes chronic pain.

Here, Flick talks more about her condition and the symptoms that affect her everyday life, and how she copes, as well as how she hopes to help and support other VNs suffering with disabilities.

Read Flick’s article at https://www.vettimes.co.uk/article/the-consult-flick-caldwell/

Almost 90% of BVA members think vets should play a more active role in the sustainable agriculture agenda, so this year’s BVA Congress – being hosted by London Vet Show – will open by discussing ways to “green the profession”.

Ahead of the show, Ellie West of Davies Veterinary Specialists – who will be taking part in the session – discusses why sustainability is critical to global health care and how the veterinary profession can play its part.

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Davies has a strong sustainability ethos, having formed a “green group” in 2017 in response to staff interest in being more environmentally friendly at work. It has since worked with Investors in the Environment (IIE) to enhance its green credentials and achieved Green level accreditation in September.

Miss West graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2003 and worked first as an intern in a private referral practice, then as a general practitioner in a first opinion clinic.

She has been an anaesthetist since 2006; first as an intern at University College Dublin, then as a clinician-teacher at the University of Liverpool and now as a clinical anaesthetist at Davies. She is a European and RCVS-recognised specialist in veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia.

Miss West is the sustainability lead at Davies and achieved a Best Green Champion Award from IIE earlier this year.

More than two-thirds of people experience the impostor phenomenon at some point in their lives – so how can they overcome this oft-debilitating emotional experience?

Step forward Kate Atkin – who will explore the concept in her keynote lecture at BVNA Congress and offer tips on how to manage it.

Ahead of congress, Kate discusses how she discovered the phenomenon while studying for a master’s in applied positive psychology, her experiences with the “impostor chatter”, and how VNs can tackle it in practice.

As a boy with an interest in animals, Matt Rendle was given two options by his careers advisor: be a farmer, or work in an abattoir. Not quite what he had in mind (but those were the 1980s for you).

Thankfully, he didn’t heed the advice and went his own way.

Listen in to hear how he forged a career as an RVN, worked in one of the UK’s most iconic zoos, developed an interest in wildlife and exotics and went on to care for everything, from ants to elephants.