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Careers

Alongside having a calm demeanor, empathy and compassion are essential

AT Liphook Equine Hospital there are around 30 people on duty at any one time, providing round-the-clock care for the patients. The nursing team is divided up into yard nurses and clinic nurses.

In charge of Liphook’s clinic nurses is registered equine vet nurse (REVN) Rosina Lillywhite. She is assisted by deputy clinic nurse Katie Clarke. They talked to Vet Record Careers about their roles.

Why did you want to be an REVN? Rosina: I grew up on a family-run riding school near the hospital. I saw an advert for a weekend job at Liphook, applied and got the job. This progressed to become a full-time job as a yard nurse, before I completed my vet nursing training to get to where I am today – heading the team of clinic nurses.

Katie: Having started a career at the RSPCA, I wanted a job where I could help horses while working with the owners’ support.

What did your training involve? R: I qualified from Hartpury College in 2012, after completing the level 3 diploma in equine veterinary nursing. The course syllabus changed while I was in the middle of my studies, which meant that I had to complete a written portfolio as well as the online nursing progress log.

I completed the qualification on a day-release basis from the practice, which helped me through the course. In the same year, I also completed training to become a clinical coach and have mentored colleagues in training since then.

K: I had worked in equine practice for two years before starting vet nurse training, which gave me the foundation knowledge I needed.

The first two years of a vet nursing course are predominantly small animal based, which I really enjoyed. It gave me a wider range of knowledge in the veterinary field, as well as the opportunity to get to know some lovely small animal VNs.

I completed a level 3 diploma in vet nursing at Plumpton College through the apprenticeship scheme. This was a three-year course that involved spending one day a week at college and the rest of each week

at the hospital. I completed my practical assignments – part of the core skills log – with the support of my clinical coach.

Who inspired you?R: My nursing career started as a weekend job, and I was inspired by my colleagues to pursue it as a full-time career.

K: I have loved and owned horses from a young age and an equine career was always on the cards for me. After working for the RSPCA, I felt I would like to offer a more holistic approach to horse care, in

Being an equine veterinary nurse Equine veterinary nurses Rosina Lillywhite and Katie Clarke work at the Liphook Equine Hospital in Hampshire. Here, they talk about their careers, the best bits of the job and their career highlights.

ROSINA’S CV

• Weekend yard nurse at Liphook Equine Hospital (2003)

• Full-time yard nurse • Full-time clinic nurse at Liphook

Equine Hospital • Deputy head clinic nurse • Head clinic nurse at Liphook

Equine Hospital Katie in the imaging suite

KATIE’S CV

• Polo/hunt/pony club groom • Livery groom • Elephant conservation, Botswana• Show jumping groom, Central

Coast, Australia • Dressage groom • Equine officer, RSPCA • Yard nurse at Liphook Equine

Hospital (2012) • Clinic nurse • Deputy head clinic nurse

Equine vet nurses Katie Clarke (left) and Rosina Lillywhite

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a role that involved medical aspects as well as equine welfare.

What are the best bits of the job?R: Diagnostic imaging – I enjoy improving my ability to interpret radiographs to understand what they show.

K: The variation, as well as working with a wide variety of horses and cases. We are lucky to have a broad caseload and work with a team of European specialists and the latest in diagnostic imaging – no two days are ever the same!

. . . and the bits you don’t like? R: The job doesn’t always have the end result you would like and it can be disheartening if a case doesn’t end well.

K: At Liphook we are split into two nursing teams – ‘yard nurses’ and ‘clinic nurses’. This can make it hard to see a case through from start to finish, but it does provide the best care for the horses as each team is a specialist in its field.

What’s been the highlight of your career? R: I volunteered at the 2012 London Olympics as part of the equine vet team. It was an incredible experience, working with top-class professionals from all over the world.

K: The highlight of my career was qualifying with a merit from Plumpton College. I didn’t find school easy and had to re-sit maths GCSE before starting my vet nursing diploma. I am proud to have achieved the grades I did.

An equine veterinary nursing career specialises in working with horses. All student vet nurses begin the same training course and complete the same core units. It is then possible to specialise, taking either small animal, equine or ‘mixed’ practice units.

Veterinary nurses with two years’ postqualification experience working in equine practice can also do an add-on exam to become an equine veterinary nurse (EVN).

Communication skills are vital, especially between nurses and vets. EVNs need to be self-motivated and able to work individually, as well as part of a team.

It’s also a high-pressure environment. In a busy referral hospital, emergencies may arrive at short notice and patients must be triaged calmly, quickly and effectively.

Alongside a calm demeanor, empathy and compassion are essential since an equine hospital can be an unusual and frightening environment for a horse.

Training and skills needed to be an equine vet nurse

The Soulsby Foundation

About the Soulsby Foundation

The Soulsby Foundation was established in 2016 by Lord Soulsby of Swaffham Prior and his colleagues, family and friends on the occasion of his 90th birthday, to honour his life’s work in public service and his pioneering role as a champion of the concept of “One Health” internationally.

Lord Soulsby is unique in having been President of both the Royal Society of Medicine and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. In 2015 he was awarded the Queen’s Medal by the RCVS for his “outstanding lifetime contribution” to bridging the worlds of medical and veterinary science.

Lord Soulsby, who died in May 2017, left an important legacy to both veterinary and human medicine and it is fitting that his colleagues, friends and family have joined together to honour him, and that legacy, in establishing the Soulsby Foundation.

The Foundation is registered with the Charity Commission as an independent charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) working in close association with other like-minded organisations including the RSM, the RCVS (and RCVS Knowledge) and the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene.

Lord Soulsby of Swaffham Prior (1926 – 2017)

Soulsby Travelling Fellowships

The main activity of the Soulsby Foundation is to provide for Travelling Research Fellowships known as “Soulsby Fellowships”.

The Trustees aim to award one or two Soulsby Fellowships annually through a competitive application process. Applications for Fellowships are normally invited between 1st October and midnight (GMT) on 31st December each year.

Each Fellowship will be granted to an individual who has proposed an impactful project within the international field of “One Health”, and is likely to be between £10,000 and £15,000 in value to cover travel and subsistence expenses in carrying out the project.

Criteria for Fellowships Applicants for a Soulsby Fellowship should: • Hold a degree in either human or veterinary medicine;• Be affiliated with a biomedically relevant UK, EU,

US or Australasian academic institution (the Affiliated Institution); and

• Be seeking to conduct a project, normally overseas, in a field related to “One Health” and be able to describe the project, and its potential outcomes and impact, in detail.

The closing date for 2019 Fellowships is 31 January 2019.

For more information about Soulsby Fellowships, including detailed criteria, how to apply, and the process for awarding, please visit www.soulsbyfoundation.org

The Soulsby Foundation is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation registered in the UK with the Charities

Commission, registered charity number 1174783

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