Marloes Baltus is a Registered Veterinary Nurse and BVNA Regional Representative for Cumbria and Lancashire. She qualified in July 2014 in the Netherlands, before entering the Register in November 2014.

Here is Marloes’ reflection on her own journey as an SVN:

“My nursing journey started a little different than most British veterinary nurses; being Dutch I trained in the Netherlands, on an international course recognised by the RCVS. I came to my veterinary nursing journey a little later than the average SVN. When I left high school I first attempted to obtain a bachelor’s degree in animal and wildlife management. Between the course not being a right fit for me, and unacknowledged mental health problems, I burned out at 19 years old and quit the course, moved back in with my parents and started a journey to self-discovery with the aid of therapy and much trial and error.

“From a young age I have always had a passion for animals, and decided that maybe veterinary nursing would be a better fit for me. I enrolled on the Dutch course for veterinary nursing in September 2012, where my training would take me two years, lots of theoretical classes and limited practical placements. At this point I was 23, with a lot more life experience than 95% of my classmates. This brought me many challenges, adjusting my expectations of groupwork and educating my fellow students on my own needs and challenges going back into school. Between ADHD, Depression and Borderline Personality Disorder diagnosis, formal education can be quite challenging. I learned to navigate my own head, course expectations and working with peers whose motivations or expectations did not always match with my own.

“I loved the theoretical aspect of the course, learning to understand how and why things work the way they do, and still believe years later that this is the foundation of quality veterinary nursing. During my placements I learned some basics in consulting, monitoring recovery and preparing medications. We did our OSCE’s at the school and immediately got our results after.

“My practical placements were in a small private practice in the Netherlands and a referral centre in the North East. In the Dutch practice I was mainly observing and assisting the vet during his consults. In my English practice I saw much more practical work, but because the Dutch system does not work with an NPL/CSL/OneFile system, I don’t think they always knew what to do with me or what I should be doing. I still learned a lot about work pace and resilience, as the practice was very busy and unfortunately, as many practices still are, understaffed. The nursing team stuck together supporting each other, and it taught me how important it is to work as part of a team.

“Part of our course was a lambing placement for 2 weeks; this was the absolute highlight of my SVN journey. I was placed at a manor house in Warwickshire, with a small flock of 150 Texel/Suffolk/French cross sheep. The farm manager was an older gentleman, who struggled with my name so immediately dubbed me “Nursie”. He snuck my chocolate hobnobs as the house was gluten free and organic. He taught me how to deliver a variety of obstructions, borrowing lambs from other pens to place on the labouring sheep to visualise their position in the womb to aid my understanding of retrieval.

“After qualifying in July 2014, I quickly found my first RVN job in the North East, in a small private cats-only practice. Working there for a year showed me that I may have been qualified, but I had much to learn still. I quickly discovered the difference between a newly qualified British RVN and myself was at least 1000 practical hours and a big list of practical skills.

“My journey as an SVN didn’t properly end in my opinion until I got to my second practice, a year after qualifying, where I worked in a larger team with very experienced RVNs who caught me up on my practical skills. They were supportive, encouraging and understanding, with a clear, “you have the theoretical knowledge, now you just need the confidence to put it in practice” approach to my catch-up training.

“My advice to all SVNs, regardless of what stage of your training you are in, is trust in yourself. Trust on the team around you and keep trying. Everyone has gone through the journey of SVN to RVN, and although each journey is different, the result is the same. The shiny red badge you get to wear with pride. Your team is there to support you and help you, but you must do the work, push yourself and go out of your comfort zone to gain the skills. Trust that you will not be asked to perform tasks your clinical coach and team members do not believe you are capable of doing.

“Be aware of your own limitations and needs, and advocate for them. Both during my SVN journey and RVN journey I have had to re-evaluate my needs and discuss these with my line managers. And although this can be daunting and difficult, it is part of creating a healthy work environment for yourself. Resilience to me is knowing your limits and enforcing your boundaries. Stretching them is part of development, but breaking your limits and boundaries is never healthy. Give and take is required in a team, and in this profession, but burning the candle on both ends only leads to pain. This is important to remember during your SVN journey as well. Learning while working is hard work. Rely on your team and peers to support you, keep your lines of communication open, and most of all, enjoy the work. Veterinary Nursing is a calling, we do this out of compassion, love and a need to care. Celebrate all your little wins, your first successful catheter, blood sample or injection. Celebrate your patients recovering, and the ones you can give a dignified and pain free ending. Be kind to yourself and be kind to your team. You are all in this together”.

Inspired by Marloes’ story? Why not share your own? You can learn more about how you can get involved in this year’s VNAM here; www.bvna.org.uk/project/vnam-2023