BVNA Council is made up of a team of RVNs and SVNs from around the UK, from a range of backgrounds and career pathways. Together, Council members volunteer to champion veterinary nursing, sharing complete belief in what our profession can achieve.
Taking up senior roles within BVNA Council, Officers have opted to dedicate additional time and responsibility to support BVNA and drive the association forward. In this blog series, we meet the BVNA Council members beginning their Officer term in October 2026.
Steph Worsley has been a member of BVNA for over 20 years, and has subsequently volunteered for BVNA in a variety of different roles for the past 18 years. As the current Junior Vice President, she is due to step into the Presidential role in October. Here, Steph shares with us her career journey to date, along with what excites her for the future of the veterinary nursing profession.
What led you to pursue a career in veterinary nursing?
For me it was the age-old reason… I wanted to work with animals. I’d always been interested each time we took our family pets to the vets. When I was completing a diploma in animal science I volunteered at our local PDSA and I became in awe seeing everything the veterinary nurses did behind the scenes! I started looking for student veterinary nurse positions, applying all over the country, and ending up in a practice just around the corner from that PDSA practice!
Where has your career taken you since qualifying as an RVN?
Since qualifying over 20 years ago I have been lucky enough to work in several different settings – a large mixed practice, a smaller practice that covered smallholdings and riding stables on the outskirts of Manchester, and a university teaching hospital where I was an internal medicine veterinary nurse. In the latter, I learned so much and helped teach vet students, this is the point at which I became involved in BVNA as well as doing some lecturing.
Fast forward to the current day, and I am Head Veterinary Nurse at a 2-branch small animal practice, where we also do a lot of local charity work. I still draw on my past experiences to bring knowledge and care to my patients.
Tell us about your previous experience as a BVNA member and volunteer, that has led you to your officer role.
So there is a running joke that if you were to cut me like a stick of rock, I would have BVNA written through me. I originally got involved with BVNA about 18 years ago as a regional co-ordinator, as we were known then – a role that has now evolved into the BVNA Advocates we have now. As part of that role, I would organise local CPD events for the RVNs of Cheshire, Manchester and Merseyside. I was very proud to have won regional co-ordinator of the year in 2011 after organising 13 CPD events in a 12-month period! I made friends for life during that time and learned so much about what the BVNA stood for.
After stepping back for a while, I took the plunge in 2022 to apply for BVNA Council, and that opened my eyes even more. I think especially during the past 2 years, with ongoing work such as the Competition and Markets Authority investigation and the progress towards Veterinary Surgeons Act reform, I have come to appreciate even more how crucial BVNA is as the representative body and voice of the veterinary nursing profession.
So, after discussions with so many different people, I opted to apply for an officer role. Subsequently, the year afterwards, I applied to commence the Presidential ladder as I want to carry on supporting BVNA’s voice.
What excites you the most about being part of the veterinary nursing profession?
What excites me about being part of the veterinary nursing profession? What doesn’t? I love seeing the profession grow and develop, I have seen so many changes over the years – but one constant remains. That is the care, compassion and passion that all veterinary nurses have for their patients, their clients and their colleagues.
Why should SVNs and RVNs be a BVNA member?
BVNA is the only representative voice for veterinary nurses in the UK, at this moment in time in particular it is really key to being part of those ongoing industry-level and profession-wide conversations, such as Veterinary Surgeons Act reform and the CMA investigation.
Aside from that, BVNA offers a members advisory service giving members free and confidential advice on many matters, and signposting to different organisations as required.
Let’s also not forget the UK’s biggest Congress specifically for veterinary nurses – 3 days of high quality CPD each year, it is not to be missed! I’m already looking forward to being joined by so many from the veterinary nursing community this October, as I take up the role of BVNA President.
Find out more about BVNA Council and how we work for the veterinary nursing profession here.