A guest blog by April Murphy RVN
Ever since I was young, I knew I wanted to be a veterinary nurse. I remember collecting books on how to care for cats, dogs and small animals which I would read for hours.
I left school at 16, volunteered on a farm and worked part time at a cattery whilst studying for my distance-based animal care course. At 18, I managed to secure a week’s work experience at a veterinary practice and enrolled on a distance-based animal nursing assistant course.
I applied shortly after to be a veterinary care assistant at the vets I did work experience with and was successful! My main duties consisted of cleaning and sterilising instruments. Their sterilisation room looked out onto their prep room and every day I wished I was out there too. I felt isolated at times but persevered and showed them what a hard worker I was. During this time, I completed my animal nursing assistant course. Nearly a year later, I was offered a student nursing position.
However, being very young and this being the first vets I worked in, stepping out into prep was daunting. The pace was quick, which made me feel anxious and very worried. I was thrown into practice straightaway. Anaesthesia made me feel extremely anxious. I did not feel I was given time or enough support to adjust to my new surroundings and I did not feel self- confident. But college was just around the corner, so I knew there was light at the end of the tunnel.
Months went by and there were no conversations about college or processing my application. The head nurse called me in and said I was now not going to college in January and could possibly be going in September, although this was not guaranteed. I worked so hard all year; I tried my hardest and it felt like it wasn’t good enough. I just felt like I wasn’t being given a chance. I felt low as I was excluding myself from the team and I felt deflated. Words of self-doubt crept in and I knew I needed to leave. When I left this practice, I felt like I had failed and wondered where my life was going.
Gaining confidence
I managed to pick myself up with amazing support from my family and applied to work in a pet store. I was successful and the following two years I worked on myself and felt happy. My colleagues respected and supported me and I was even awarded ‘Colleague of the Year’ in my first year there. I felt proud of myself and was gaining confidence. A further two years passed. I was 21 and felt like something was missing. I missed working in veterinary practice.
I applied to be a veterinary care assistant at Goddard Veterinary Group and I got the job. I was involved in all aspects of the practice. The head nurse was amazing. She explained anaesthesia to me in detail and was in theatre with me constantly. In time, I was monitoring routine procedures on my own. I overcame an obstacle, and found that all I needed was time and support. For the first time I felt good working in practice and knew this is where I wanted to be. The following year our practice was asked if there were any staff who wished to enrol on the veterinary nursing course. This was my chance! I asked the head nurse if she could put me forward and before I knew it, I was in talks with management about enrolling onto the course. The only catch was that I needed to move to a different branch. I knew I had to take this opportunity and was very grateful to the head nurse for all of her invaluable support.
I moved to the Mile End branch for the duration of my three-year nursing course. As time went by, I knew the branch like the back of my hand and was assisting with every aspect of the practice. I put myself forward as the cat advocate and submitted our application form for ISFM cat friendly status. Mile End was, and still is, an incredibly busy branch. It was overwhelming and tough at times being an SVN, handing in assignments, weekly tests, exams, attending college once a week, working my way through CSL and of course, who could forget the spelling bees! I learnt so much and gained extra confidence. I started writing and wrote my first article for the Veterinary Nursing Journal. I was fortunate enough to be chosen to read my case study in the Research Bites section of the BVNA Congress. This was during COVID so it was all distance based, but it felt fantastic to get a shout out at the end! Collectively, my successes throughout my nursing course motivated me and I was a step closer to being qualified.
A journey of learning
On the day of my exams, I felt like I was going to be sick. I had revised so much, my hard work paid off, and I was surprising myself with the progress I was making. The OSCE assessment was a blur and I remember sitting on the train home thinking about which tasks I passed or failed on, but I knew there was nothing I could do but wait. Six weeks later, when I received an email from my college tutor with the subject title “OSCE PASSED”, I stood in prep in disbelief, astonishment, happiness and pride. I cried, messaged and called my family. From the 18-year-old who doubted herself and got knocked back by a practice to now. I was 25 years old and I HAD JUST PASSED MY OSCES! I was a veterinary nurse!
I received my OSCE results on the Thursday and by Monday, transferred to another Goddards branch to be a senior nurse. Being newly qualified and trying to delegate to an already close-knit team was tough. I felt my confidence lower again. During my time at this branch, I learnt so much about myself, about small animals and received my nursing registration. I was officially an RVN!
After six months I transferred back to Mile End and became a clinical coach to an SVN and a VCA as well as taking on extra responsibilities like diary management, organising the rota, audits of controlled drugs and liaising with management. Two years after qualification, I wished to see other practices to gain knowledge and experience.
I worked at another veterinary practice for a few months, however wasn’t challenged enough so decided to move on. My next role was incredibly hard. I was employed as a maternity cover head nurse. Walking into a practice as an external candidate and trying to delegate to a close-knit team was hard. There were an insane number of procedures booked in each day and I was told I needed to complete admit appointments in 10 minutes! I wished to give gold standard service and suggested many ideas, including to start monitoring blood pressure during surgery and I explained the importance of this many times. I even made recovery sheets which were not used. My thoughts and feelings didn’t match the practice’s ethos. I unfortunately experienced a high level of incivility and lack of empathy from management which was very demoralising.
This experience made me strongly consider leaving the nursing profession although I knew my value and knew I was a good nurse!
“Self-care is everything!”
I focused on myself and practiced self-care. I had achieved so much, publishing articles in the VNTimes and VNJ, clinical coaching, being a cat advocate, completing my ISFM certificate in feline nursing and volunteering at a wildlife centre, then a cat neutering project in Greece. I am always eager to support others and bring some happiness into veterinary practice because I know how stressful the industry can be.
My next role was in a cat-only practice – and right from the interview, I noticed how different the atmosphere was. They strive for gold standard service every day. I have learnt so much in the eight months I have been there. From the 18-year-old who was nervous at monitoring anaesthetics, to a decade later, when anaesthesia is something that I am passionate about and wish to further my knowledge on.
With time, dedication and the right support, you can achieve anything. I encourage anyone who has felt similarly to me to speak up. Whether you are a receptionist, VCA, SVN, RVN, vet or management, we are all equal and should be treated as such. We all have very important roles in our practices. We are all superstars, we all matter.
The incivility I experienced in a previous practice was from a female manager. I feel that women should be raising each other up, and people need to be aware how their words and actions can affect others. I would urge that if you are in a similar situation, speak up – know your worth and value. If you need to speak to someone professionally, please do. There are avenues of help available. I messaged Vetlife when I felt low and they were incredible.
Self-care is everything! We are all amazing at what we do but we need to give ourselves kindness and a pat on the back. You cannot pour from an empty cup. On your day off, do something you enjoy. You deserve it.
If I read a story like this sooner in my career, I wouldn’t have felt alone. Everyone has their own story and obstacles. This makes us unique, strong and able to learn from one another. Mental health is something that needs to be highlighted so much more in our profession.
If you take anything from my story, let it be this: you are not alone. You are capable. You are knowledgeable. You deserve to be appreciated and valued. You are an asset to the profession. You have got this!
Enjoy being a veterinary nurse because it is such a beautiful and rewarding role. Do not let one bad experience affect you because there are practices out there who are desperate for a member of staff as amazing as you!
April Louise Murphy RVN ISFMCert FN
April has been a Registered Veterinary Nurse for 3 years working in a variety of vet practices. She has completed her ISFM Certificate in Feline Nursing and is currently a float nurse with Goddard Veterinary Group. She is passionate about feline care and nursing, has a cat called Toffee, loves spending time with her family and enjoys writing. She hopes to encourage veterinary nurses, students, and veterinary care assistants to have a voice and feel valued in their role.
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