This Vet Nurse Awareness Month, VVS have enjoyed recognising and celebrating some of the amazing veterinary nurses that work within our partner practices with the launch of VVS Vet Nurse Awards, 2022!
We invited all of our partner practices to nominate the outstanding individuals in their team that they feel really go above and beyond to support and facilitate the VVS service, helping their patients receive the benefits of specialist-level care in their own practice.
We work with so many fantastic nurses that it came as no surprise when we were inundated with nominations! The VVS Team were overwhelmed with the response and had an incredibly hard time trying to narrow it down to just a handful of winners! After much deliberation, we awarded five very deserving individuals their ‘VVS Vet Nurse Award’, along with a special gift, as a thank you for all they do for their patients and practice teams.
It must be said that every single person who received a nomination, and indeed every nurse working within our partner practices and the wider profession, are really incredible and deserve to be celebrated. Reading all of the wonderful, heart-felt nominations was such a privilege for the team. Comments such as ‘dedicated to providing the best for their patients’, ‘always willing to learn’, ‘always goes the extra mile’, ‘constantly supporting the rest of the team’, ‘amazing at everything they do’ were so frequent, and truly embodies the wider profession as a whole!
We really cannot stress enough how amazing we think every individual nominee is. Thank you to all our partner practices for helping to celebrate the wonderful people in your teams!
Nominees
Alex Gerber, Elizabeth Smith Veterinary Practice
Beth Heslop, Simply Cats Vet Clinic
Ellen Tomlinson, Medivet Cockfosters
Emily Friend, Lynton Veterinary Group
Karen O’Shaughnessy, Lynton Veterinary Group
Lauren Julings, Medivet Southend
Milly Jones, Hampden Veterinary Hospital
Natalie White, Medivet Enfield
Syd Aitken-Ballard, Medivet Potters Bar
Sophie Powell, Fivelands Veterinary Centre
Winners
Charlie Leslie, Elizabeth Smith Veterinary Practice
Kathryn de Hamel, Wolfe Vets
Kelly Wright, Simply Cats Vet Clinic
Michelle Bavage, Medivet Greenwich
Wendy Taylor, Medivet Roehampton
Our Winners
Kelly Wright, Head Nurse at SimplyCats Vet Clinic
Kelly Wright, Head Nurse at SimplyCats Vet Clinic is one of the individuals that really stood out. In her nominations, her team described how “she embodies everything in the spirit of veterinary nursing and beyond”, and that really summed up everything we at VVS know about Kelly! She is so enthusiastic about ensuring her patients receive specialist-guided care. She is a naturally talented ultrasonographer herself, and we absolutely love working with her!
Charlie Leslie, Veterinary Nurse at Elizabeth Smith Veterinary Practice.
Charlie Leslie at Elizabeth Smith Veterinary Practice is an individual whose contribution to her team and her facilitation of the VVS service for her patients really leapt out to us. We know Charlie is pivotal in setting up for specialist-guided consultations, ensuring things run smoothly for patients, and providing updates and communications to the VVS team. For her nominations her team described her as a “fantastic nurse that is always happy to help”, and we couldn’t agree more!
Wendy Taylor, Veterinary Nurse at Medivet Roehampton
Wendy Taylor at Medivet Roehampton is clearly such an integral part of the team and her nominations could not sing her praises enough. Her team said, “there have been lots of changes [at] Roehampton, Wendy has jumped at this change… she is constantly troubleshooting and never gives up until something is sorted… we could not do it without her.” Thank you, Wendy, for also being so involved and engaged with the VVS process and ensuring your patients have access to specialist-led care when they need it!
Michelle Bavage, Veterinary Nurse at Medivet Greenwich
Michelle Bavage at Medivet Greenwich is an individual whose dedication to her role is obvious. She has really gone the extra mile to help support and facilitate the VVS service in her practice. Her team said she always knows how to troubleshoot issues, everything is always set up and ready when Michelle is around, and she really loves to learn from the specialists too. Michelle has also very recently qualified as a registered veterinary nurse and thanked the rest of the team at Medivet Greenwich for the support they provided her. Congratulations on this amazing achievement Michelle!
Kathryn de Hamel, Hospital Lead at Wolfe Vets
Kathryn de Hamel at Wolfe Vets was a standout individual, providing exceptional support and care to help her team and her patients. Her team said, “the incredible service that VVS brings to Wolfe Vets wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for one person- Kathryn.” She is a vital part of the clinic, as well as being efficient and essential to ensuring everything is set up for the case vet and the VVS team. Kathryn really is a pleasure to work with and we are so grateful for all you do!
Our VVS Veterinary Nurses
We of course could not let Vet Nurse Awareness Month pass without mentioning our own fabulous veterinary nurses here at VVS. Hannah Jones, our superb Senior Referral Coordinator, and Abi Julian, our wonderful Referral Coordinator are central to everything that happens at VVS! If you have worked with us, you will have certainly met Hannah or Abi at some point! They handle everything from referral requests and booking enquiries, to triaging cases, facilitating our live-guided consultations as well as helping with any technical queries, and so much more! They are truly amazing at what they do, and the rest of the VVS team would be lost without them!
We have loved being able to really highlight all of the incredible veterinary nurses we work with this month. Undertaking the numerous roles of a Veterinary Nurse takes literal blood, sweat and tears at times. To be the voice of the voiceless, and care for them with dignity and compassion around the clock, takes emotional, physical and mental strength. We are so grateful to all veterinary nurses for their hard work and the dedication they give to the role and to the profession.
Thank you!