Meet Sophie:
Back when I was in primary school, a girl and I would often say “when we are older, we want to work in a vets”, she as a vet and I as a vet nurse. I never once had any desire to be the vet.
The many pets we had at home (countless fish, bird, hamster, rabbits, cat, and dogs) when I was growing up, gave me an insight into how incredible and fun animals are.
I always was (and still am) the one secretly routing for the animal to survive in the film. This is not to say I dislike people – the vulnerability of any species hits me right in the feels, but the voiceless ones do even more so.
To have a job that primarily involves animals, and more importantly, helps them, greatly attracted me.
A week after sitting my GCSE exams, I wasted no time and posted a letter to every veterinary practice in Merseyside (UK), enquiring whether they trained veterinary nurses, and if any position was available.
Each day over the next several weeks, I was on tenterhooks waiting for the postman to arrive (always late in the afternoon in our area!) with news.
Most practices replied with a polite no and recommended I gain animal experience to give myself an advantage for future trainee positions, as competition is high.
Fast forward to the part where I qualified as a hairdresser (no, I won’t highlight your hair), I then studied for six months to become a mental health nurse. But I still wasn’t happy with what I was doing as a career.
Something was missing… animals.
Having now developed invaluable skills and a clear understanding of what I must do, I decided to fully commit myself to pursuing my childhood dream job.
I was happy doing any animal-related job, but obviously, qualifying as a vet nurse was the ultimate goal. And that’s exactly what I aimed for at first.
Thanks to the internet, I discovered the regulatory body for vets in the UK: the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), and used their website as a good source for correct, up-to-date information.
I narrowed my search down and only sent letters out to RCVS-approved training practices in Merseyside, Lancashire, and Cheshire – Now that I could drive, I expanded my field much further than the previous time.
In total, I got invited to three interviews but only attended two of them, as after a trial day at the practice I really wanted, I successfully secured a position there.
I was 19 years old and extremely lucky.
My training practice was a small-animal-only clinic based in Merseyside, spread over two branches.
I was employed full-time and would gain my Level 3 Diploma in Veterinary Nursing (Small Animal) at Myerscough College, Lancashire.
I really landed on my feet there; a short commute, no out-of-hours work, college enrollment within the same year (first few months spent in practice), and the practice paid the course fees.
I signed a contract to work there for one year post qualification and if I broke this, I would have to pay back the course fees in full.
The balance of work, college once a week, and study was tough but achievable.
Hey, if you want something so much, you will gladly get your head down and just do the work.
I enrolled in college in 2008 and had to complete a practice-based competency portfolio and a communication assignment, as well as pass theoretical and practical exams over two years.
From what I hear now, we were some of the lucky ones!
Fortunately, I passed my assignment and all theory exams on the first attempt. It was just the portfolio that lagged behind a little. Once that, too, was completed, I sat my practical exams, which I also passed on the first try.
I was now a fully qualified veterinary nurse in 2011… Yipee!
St. Francis of Assisi- the patron saint of animals
As my one-year post-qualification stint working at my training practice was drawing to an end, in walks Chrissy, a locum vet nurse.
She told me that there’s a big veterinary world out there and that for me to develop my skills as a nurse, I would need to leave this place.
And she was right.
I signed up with a few locum agencies and was inundated with job offers from the word go and from all over.
After a couple of weeks, I secured a full-time, six-month contract at a charity hospital in Merseyside.
This was when I became a veterinary nurse. I ended up signing a permanent contract and stayed for four glorious years until I left to go travelling. It was bittersweet.
While travelling in Asia, no stray dog or cat came near me without a stroke or a smoochie word.
For a couple of days, I volunteered at Bali Animal Welfare Association (BAWA) in Ubud, Bali, walking their many stray dogs.
I was dying to pop an intravenous catheter into a juicy, cephalic vein!
After returning from travelling, I went straight back to work as a self-employed, locum vet nurse.
Locum agencies found work for me very easily, and in total, I worked at four corporate practices, spread over many branches.
I enjoyed my year locumming because I developed new nursing skills, I got to see how other practices are run, and I made a bunch of new friends.
Towards the end of my locum period, Heidie, a locum vet I met at a practice, invited me to join her as a volunteer at a cat neutering clinic in Ithaca, Greece.
We had a great time; although I’m sure the cats would disagree (soz!).
I returned to the charity practice I left just before I went travelling but at a different hospital this time.
It was nice to work with some familiar faces and be crazy busy again.
There I stayed for 18 months until, in December 2019, I left to settle in Greece and travel with my boyfriend when we can.
As of now, I am sitting in a café in Athens, Greece, creating this blog and advertising myself as a dog walker for income.
I always remember to keep the animals close by.
You can catch me on social media:
Further posts…
Steps Towards Becoming a Student Vet Nurse in the UK
As simple as these steps may be, it can still be a challenge to get your foot in the veterinary door. But don’t give up. Working with animals is a very rewarding role. Here I will advise you on…
A Vet Nurse’s Career Spanning 4 Decades
Meet Judith: My career in veterinary nursing began on Monday, 1st December 1980, when I secured a job as a trainee “animal nurse” at a Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) hospital in London, UK.…
10 Different Ways to Volunteer to Gain Animal Experience
The veterinary world is certainly a competitive one. As well as having the required qualifications, some veterinary employees look for applicants with animal experience. Looking after your own pet may not be enough! It is actually a university requirement…
Veterinary Blog 