Last week, veterinary nurse Hayley Walters delivered a virtual, special guest speaker presentation for British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA) from the comfort of her spare bedroom! Originally intended to be a live event in Telford, the three days of lectures changed to online due to COVID-19.
Hayley was invited to give an inspirational talk about her career and highlight just how many opportunities are available now to registered veterinary nurses (RVNs). Hayley’s vocation has taken her from cows and sheep in the Peak District in England to moon bears and meat dogs in China, to teaching in vet schools in developing countries to receiving an MBE at Buckingham palace.
Hayley said,
“The veterinary nursing profession still has a long way to go to receive the same recognition as human nursing but our profession has not been around for nearly as long. Even after 21 years as a RVN, I am still very proud to be one. It was an honour to be asked to speak at BVNA about the prospects that we have and the difference a well trained RVN can make to an animal’s experience and welfare when in the clinic.”
Hayley also revealed the advice she would give her younger self starting out as a young RVN which included being better informed in dog and cat behaviour and recognising pain in patients post-surgery.
Hayley encouraged all student and registered veterinary nurses to enrol on The University of Edinburgh’s free online MOOC in dog and cat behaviour if they wanted to improve their knowledge in this area. https://www.coursera.org/learn/cats-and-dogs
