Jade Pengelly RVN

I am a Veterinary Nurse from Christchurch, New Zealand. I have a Diploma of Veterinary nursing and a Bachelor of Science majoring in Animal Science, minor Equine.

I began my journey into Veterinary Nursing in 2014. I was enrolled in the pre-vet course and was offered a job during my university holidays at my local vet clinic, as a vet nurse assistant. Unfortunately (but looking back, fortunately!), I didn’t get into Vet school, but I continued to work at the Veterinary Practice after switching my studies. I graduated at the end of 2016 and I was offered a full time job as a Veterinary Nurse at the Vet Clinic I had been working for in my holidays.

In 2018, I decided it was time to see the world, and upskill as a vet nurse. My partner and I made the move to the UK and I started working as a locum in Veterinary Practice. I loved locuming, as I was able to work when I wanted, and travel Europe during my time off. The first difference I noticed when I started working in the UK was the calibre of the Veterinary Nurses. They all were so skilled, so knowledgeable, and so eager to help me learn new skills. I was in absolute awe of them! I truly believe that the UK has some of the most talented Vet Nurses in the world, and the quality of training is evident.

After two wonderful years of working in the UK, my visa was up and it was time to move home to New Zealand. I was so inspired by the Vet nurses in the UK that I decided on two goals – I wanted to work as a Vet Nursing Lecturer on my return home, so that I could teach the up and coming student nurses in NZ everything I had learned, and I wanted to write a book about the Veterinary Nursing Profession.

I have been lucky enough to be successful in both – I taught Veterinary Nursing back in New Zealand for two years, and I have just released my first book, titled “Tales of a Vet Nurse”, which is published by Harper Collins. I was inspired to write the book after recognising the lack of awareness of the Veterinary nursing profession from the public. Although I have watched the incredible skills demonstrated by Veterinary Nursing for nearly 10 years, I have never felt like the public, especially pet owners, understand how involved Veterinary nurses are in the day to day running of a veterinary practice. My book contains stories from my time working as a Vet Nurse both in NZ and in the UK, and explains what roles vet nurses have on a day to day basis in Veterinary Practice. My hope is that my book will spread awareness of Veterinary Nursing both in New Zealand and in the UK (it will be released in bookstores in the UK on the 8th of June).

In the future, I hope to keep spreading awareness of the veterinary nursing profession and shout from the rooftops about all of the amazing skills that Veterinary Nurses possess. I am getting involved in #VNAM this month by sharing awareness posts on my Instagram page @talesofavetnurse – and I hope you will get involved too!