Ali Heywood is an RVN with over 25 years’ experience in education leadership, and quality assurance. She is passionate about shaping the future of veterinary nursing through quality education, compassionate leadership, and ensuring that the women in our profession can enjoy long, fulfilling, and sustainable careers.

Ali will be writing a series of blogs throughout 2026 linking to the BVNA Presidential theme of compassion and empathy. The first blog to kick start the series is about showing kindness to others.

Abstract

In an industry known for its high standards and high stress, it’s often our gentleness that leaves the deepest mark. This feature explores kindness as a professional strength in veterinary nursing, not a “soft extra.” Drawing on experience as an educator and practitioner, it argues that kindness enhances learning, confidence, and resilience, and sustains wellbeing for both students and staff. Through reflection and evidence from veterinary and healthcare education, the article shows how empathy and compassion improve outcomes, deepen trust, and shape professional identity. It closes with practical ways to embed kindness in teaching and supervision, helping the next generation of veterinary nurses to thrive.

Keywords

kindness; veterinary nursing; empathy; resilience; professional identity

Introduction

It was formative OSCE day. One of my students stood by the station table, task in hand, eyes darting between the equipment and myself. Her shoulders were tense, the colour had drained from her face. She knew what to do, I had seen her practice it many times in lectures, but in that moment, she just looked terrified.

I took a step closer smiled and said, “I have utter faith that you can do this.” She exhaled, straightened her shoulders and started the task. Her voice grew stronger, her hands steadied, and she completed the task exactly as she’d had practiced.

That moment reminded me, kindness isn’t an optional extra. In veterinary nursing, whether in practice or in education, it’s part of the job.

For many years, “professionalism” in our sector has been linked with competence, efficiency and accuracy. Those qualities matter, of course. But veterinary nursing is also a deeply human profession. The gentle way we speak to a worried client, the patience we show a nervous student, the steady reassurance we offer in theatre, these moments define our culture as much as technical skill.

Why Kindness Matters

Veterinary nursing students face a combination of academic, emotional, and practical pressures. They navigate assessments, juggle employment and study, and work in environments where life, death, and uncertainty sit side by side. In these spaces, kindness becomes a form of professional scaffolding.

Research supports what we instinctively know: kindness and compassion improve learning outcomes and clinical performance. In veterinary education, empathy has been positively associated with student wellbeing and engagement [1]. Studies from human healthcare echo this, compassion has been shown to strengthen human connection and trust between caregivers and patients [2]. From experience, I’ve seen how stress can shut down learning. When students are frightened or feel judged, their minds narrow; they focus on avoiding failure rather than exploring what they know. I’ve also seen how a calm tone or encouraging word can reverse that in seconds. Physiologically, it makes sense, stress hormones such as cortisol rise when people feel threatened, which reduces working memory and decision-making ability. When we act with kindness, we lower that threat response and allow learning to re-open.

As Edmondson [3] described in her work on “learning organisations,” psychological safety is the foundation on which growth sits. Kindness helps to create that safety. It invites honesty: students are more likely to say, “I don’t understand,” or “I’m nervous about this,” when they know the response will be patient and supportive.

Kindness also benefits patients and clients. Research shows that empathy and effective communication improve client satisfaction and treatment adherence in veterinary settings [4]. When kindness becomes the cultural norm, it shapes not only how we teach, but how we care.

Kindness in Action

In teaching, kindness rarely looks dramatic. It’s in the small, almost invisible acts:
– Reassuring a student before an assessment.
– Offering gentle correction without embarrassment.
– Recognising the hours a learner has spent practising a skill.
– Making space for questions that others might overlook.

These moments build belonging. A student who feels seen and supported is more likely to stay in the profession, even when it gets hard. Retention challenges in veterinary nursing are well known [5] and while systemic factors matter, everyday kindness plays a quiet role in whether people feel they can endure.

Kindness flows outward too. When educators act with patience, it ripples through the whole team. I see it often in practice: a kind response from a senior nurse to a student creates the tone for everyone else. It gives permission for warmth and honesty. A culture built on kindness doesn’t mean avoiding accountability, it means creating an environment where people feel safe enough to learn, and brave enough to improve.

I often think about that OSCE student when I’m teaching. Her success didn’t come from lowering the bar, it came from believing she could reach it. Kindness is the bridge between potential and performance.

The Myth of Being “Too Soft”

There’s a persistent myth that kindness dilutes rigour. That to maintain high standards, we must be detached, brisk, or tough. But kindness and accountability are not opposites, they’re partners.

As educators, we can hold students to professional standards while still showing empathy. In fact, doing so models the very professionalism we want them to embody. Kindness isn’t avoiding difficult feedback; it’s how we deliver it.

When we say, “Next time, remember to…” instead of “You forgot…”, we shift the focus from failure to improvement. That’s not softness; that’s effective teaching.

Research in veterinary education supports this [6]. Students perceived supportive feedback and approachability from lecturers as key to professional growth. Kindness, in this sense, becomes a leadership skill, one that creates resilient practitioners capable of high-quality care under pressure.

In leadership too, kindness is powerful. Over the years I’ve learned that being kind doesn’t mean saying yes to everything; it means communicating boundaries clearly and with respect. When we combine compassion with consistency, teams trust us more. They understand that kindness is not indulgence, it’s integrity in action.

Building a Kindness Toolkit

Kindness, like any professional skill, can be cultivated intentionally. A few habits I’ve learned, sometimes the hard way, make a difference:

1. Positive framing. Replace “You didn’t…” with “Next time, try…” It’s a small linguistic shift with a big emotional impact.

2. Mindful body language. A calm tone, open posture, and genuine smile can transform how feedback lands.

3. Small affirmations. “You handled that well,” or “You’ve made real progress.” Encouragement fuels perseverance.

4. Reflective pauses. After difficult days or conversations, taking a few minutes to ask, “Did I act with kindness?” keeps us accountable.

5. Kindness to self. Compassion fatigue is real. The British Veterinary Association’s Vetlife reports increasing calls related to burnout and stress [7]. Sustaining kindness for others depends on giving it to ourselves, too.

Kindness also needs to be visible at leadership level. I’ve found that when senior colleagues model respect, patience and empathy, those behaviours cascade through the team. The most cohesive, high-performing teams I’ve seen weren’t the ones that never faced conflict, they were the ones where people felt safe enough to speak honestly, knowing they’d be heard.

These aren’t grand gestures. They’re daily practices that make the profession, and the people within it, stronger.

Conclusion

That student passed her OSCE, but what she remembered most wasn’t the tick sheet. It was that, at the moment she nearly froze, someone believed in her.

In veterinary nursing, skill matters, but so does the belief we pass on to our students, colleagues and clients. Kindness is not a weakness or a luxury; it’s a professional superpower. It builds confidence, strengthens teams, and reminds us why we entered this profession in the first place: to care.

As we teach, lead, and support others, we have the privilege of shaping not only capable nurses, but kind ones. And that, in the end, might be our greatest contribution.

Acknowledgements

The author thanks the veterinary nursing colleagues and students who continue to demonstrate daily that kindness and professionalism are inseparable.

Conflicts of Interest

The author declares no conflicts of interest.

References

  1. Moffett J, Bartram D, Houston D. Empathy and wellbeing in veterinary education: a review of current perspectives. J Vet Med Educ. 2022;49(3):350-8.
  2. Sinclair S, Beamer K, Hack TF, et al. Sympathy, empathy, and compassion: a grounded theory study of palliative care patients’ understandings. Palliat Med. 2017;31(5):43-47.
  3. Edmondson A. The fearless organization: creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth. Hoboken (NJ): John Wiley & Sons; 2018.
  4. Shaw JR, Bonnett BN, Roter DL, Adams CL. Veterinary client communication patterns and client satisfaction. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2012;240(5):530-8.
  5. Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). Survey of the veterinary nursing profession 2023. London: RCVS; 2023.
  6. Clark CA, Taylor C, Anderson R. Student perceptions of supportive feedback in veterinary clinical education. Vet Rec Open. 2020;7(1): e000411.
  7. British Veterinary Association (BVA). Vetlife annual report 2023. London: BVA; 2023