"I have always loved animals and started as a volunteer at Mayhew Animal Home. I knew straight away that this was what I wanted to do. Every day, I go home buzzing from a day that is physically exerting and mentally challenging. You are dealing with life and death and you know that your work is important.
"Having already done a degree, I knew I didn’t want to go back to college for three years. I am currently studying for my Animal Nursing Assistant (ANA) qualification.
"It is hard work – I work full-time at The Mayhew Animal Home and have to fit in my assignments in the evenings and weekends. I’m fortunate because the manager, Gillian Scott VN, is really supportive and I have one-to-one sessions with her each week. These sessions ensure I have opportunities to discuss any difficulties I am having and help me to keep up momentum with the workload.
"You have to take responsibility for your own learning and make the most of opportunities to develop your skills each day depending on the animals that you are working with.
"In this field of work, you need to know the theory but you have got to understand how to put it into practice. You might know the theory of how to hold an animal, but there is nothing like the experience of learning how to hold a wriggling or frightened animal. This practical way of learning is also more beneficial in terms of the way you retain your knowledge.
"Once I have completed my ANA my aim is to enrol as a student veterinary nurse.. It will be about three to four years of training in total, but even though it means such a large salary drop, I know it is worth it.
"Without these qualifications I could not practice in my field. Ongoing training has enabled me to improve my skills and made me a more valuable team member at work.
"I will be a lot more confident in my skills as a veterinary nurse and look forward to doing advanced training."
"There are lots of opportunities for veterinary nurses to develop specialist skills and take on minor surgical roles, or specialise in particular animal groups and be able to run nursing clinics."
"I think veterinary nursing is a fantastic profession and would encourage anyone interested in the field. I would recommend that they look into all methods of study to find one that would suit them. I would also recommend that they try to gain a placement experience before starting a course to be sure they have the ability and commitment to complete the course.
"Volunteering is a great way to do this and it’s important to get practical experience because there is a lot of competition to become a veterinary nurse and places at training practices can be hard to come by.”
Gillian Scott, Animal Care Manager and Michelle’s boss at the Mayhew Animal Home, said: “Training to me demonstrates that The Home is keen to invest in its staff because it knows that better trained employees are happy and better trained and happy employees means well cared for animals, which is what our business is all about.”
