I qualified as a veterinary nurse in 1996 and have worked in referral practice and as a veterinary nursing lecturer. I immediately developed an interest in emergency and critical care and transfusion medicine, enjoying the fast pace and intense nursing input of these cases. I love the visible and profound transformation of some patients following a transfusion and I believe it to be a great area to be nurse-led.
I currently work one day a week for Vets Now in the role of Vets Now Clinical Support to the hospitals which involves creating and developing many business-critical projects with the organisation’s Veterinary and Nursing Standards group. The remaining 4 days I work as the Training and Induction Manager for Pet Blood Bank UK. My department organises all induction and internal and external training and education for our staff, supporters, the public and the profession, including ensuring compliance with the regulations of our licensing body. I remain active clinically in both roles, working on the hospital floor for Vets Now and as a trained phlebotomist for PBB. Importantly I can fully appreciate the challenges of maintaining a healthy blood stock for veterinary practices to ensure blood products are available when they are needed to treat emergency and critically ill patients.